Testing a Brief Mindful Eating Program

Overeating leads to overweight and obesity. Effective eating regulation largely depends on an individual's responsiveness to internal cues of physiological hunger and satiety; this phenomenon is known as interoceptive awareness and has been shown to be lower in individuals with overweight or obesity. Mindfulness training may improve interoceptive awareness and thus may facilitate more effective regulation of eating through increased sensitivity to cues of hunger and fullness. Mindful eating programs have been shown to increase interoceptive awareness of hunger and satiety cues and decrease weight in individuals with obesity. Although these programs are effective, they involve lengthy group sessions, require extensively trained staff, and are not widely available outside of clinical research. Thus, the reach and impact of these programs are limited.

The present study developed and tested a brief mindful eating intervention inspired by Kristeller & Wolever's (2010) Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training program to increase interoceptive awareness in individuals with overweight and obesity as a means to increase mindful and intuitive eating, reduce overeating and facilitate weight loss. The program consisted of 9 weekly 10-15 minute sessions structured around one simple evidence-based mindful eating exercise, and was delivered to adult (ages 18-67) employees from a Canadian university.

Inclusion criteria

• BMI of 25 to 45 kg/m2 (overweight/obese)
• Willingness to commit to program and complete various assessment measures

Exclusion criteria

• Having been pregnant in the past six months or planning on becoming pregnant in the next year
• Undergoing treatment for cancer
• Using medications that affect body weight or appetite
• Being diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, major depressive disorder, or another severe psychiatric disease (including dementia)