Impact of an Intuitive Eating Intervention on Disordered Eating Risk Factors in Female-Identifying Undergraduates: A...

Area of Science:

• Nutrition science
• Psychology
• Public health

Background:

• Dietary restraint and low body appreciation are prevalent in female undergraduates, contributing to disordered eating behaviors.
• Intuitive eating, which emphasizes internal hunger and satiety cues, offers a potential strategy to mitigate these issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a five-week intuitive eating intervention on dietary restraint, body appreciation, and intuitive eating.
• To assess the intervention's effectiveness in a sample of female-identifying undergraduates.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving a treatment group (n=7) and a waitlist control group (n=7).
• Intervention delivered by Registered Dietitians over five weeks.
• Measurements of dietary restraint, body appreciation, and intuitive eating at baseline and post-intervention.

Main Results:

• Significant decrease in dietary restraint (p=0.01) and significant increase in intuitive eating (p=0.002) in the treatment group compared to the control.
• The intervention demonstrated replicable effects across all measured outcome variables.
• Sustained positive effects observed at the five-week follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary data suggest that intuitive eating interventions can effectively reduce risk factors for disordered eating.
• The intervention shows potential for improving body appreciation and intuitive eating skills in female undergraduates.
• Further research is warranted to confirm these findings in larger, diverse populations.