EnjoyEAT: Embodied Interaction for Behavior-Aware, CBT-Informed Eating-Disorder Support

Digital tools for eating-disorder support often rely on retrospective self-report or text-based prompts, offering limited support for the embodied, temporally unfolding nature of eating episodes. We introduce Embodied Therapeutic Interaction (ETI), a design framework for translating CBT-informed principles into phase-aligned, behavior-aware interactions, and instantiate it in EnjoyEAT, a prototype combining surface electromyography sensing with pre-meal preparation, in-meal awareness cues, and post-meal reflection. Formative inquiry with experts and people with lived experience yielded requirements concerning temporal vulnerability, bodily awareness, emotional safety, and autonomy-preserving feedback. A four-week, uncontrolled in-the-wild study with 12 participants reporting subclinical tendencies showed decreased EDE-Q scores and positive user-experience ratings. Interviews indicated feedback helped some participants notice and reflect on eating patterns, while revealing tensions around sensing accuracy, setup burden, and sustained engagement. Though not a clinical intervention, EnjoyEAT offers HCI design evidence about phase alignment, soft embodiment, reflective mediation, and emotionally careful feedback for situated recovery support.