A pilot study of a single-session training to promote mindful eating

Although researchers have not yet examined the applicability of mindfulness for weight-gain prevention, mindfulness training has the potential to increase an individual's awareness of factors that enable an individual to avoid weight gain caused by overconsumption.

The study intended to examine the effects of 1 h of mindfulness training on state mindfulness and food consumption.

The research team performed a pilot study.

The study occurred at an urban, northeastern, Catholic university.

Participants were 26 undergraduate, English-speaking students who were at least 18 y old (77% female, 73% Caucasian). Students with food allergies, an inability to fast, or a current or past diagnosis of an eating disorder were ineligible.

Participants fasted for 4 h. Between the third and fourth hours, they attended a 1-h session of mindfulness training that integrated three experiential mindfulness exercises with group discussion. Following training, they applied the skills they learned during a silent lunch.

The Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS), the Awareness subscale of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS-AW), and a modified version of the Acting with Awareness subscale of the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-AW) were used preand posttraining to assess changes in state mindfulness, present-moment awareness, and mealtime awareness, respectively. A postmeal, subjective hunger/fullness Likert scale was used to assess food consumption (healthy vs unhealthy consumption).

The study found a statistically significant increase in state mindfulness (P=.002). Eighty-six percent of participants engaged in healthy food consumption. No statistically significant changes occurred in either present-moment awareness (P=.617) or mealtime awareness (P=.483).

Preliminary results suggest promising benefits for use of mindfulness training on weight-gain prevention in healthy individuals. More research is needed to understand the impact that mindfulness may have on long-term, weight-gain prevention.