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The role of mindfulness training in sustaining weight reduction: retrospective cohort analysis
Petra Hanson1, Maria Lange1, Dominic Oduro-Donkor1
1Division of Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, UK; Warwickshire Institute for the Study of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, UK; and NIHR CRF Human Metabolism Research Unit, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, UK.
Background:
Psychological stress has an established bi-directional relationship with obesity. Mindfulness techniques reduce stress and improve eating behaviours, but their long-term impact remains untested. CALMPOD (Compassionate Approach to Living Mindfully for Prevention of Disease) is a psychoeducational mindfulness-based course evidenced to improve eating patterns across a 6-month period, possibly by reducing stress. However, no long-term evaluation of impact exists.
Aims:
This study retrospectively evaluates 2-year outcomes of CALMPOD on patient engagement, weight and metabolic markers.
Method:
All adults with a body mass index >35 kg/m2 attending an UK obesity service during 2016-2020 were offered CALMPOD. Those who refused CALMPOD were offered standard lifestyle advice. Routine clinic data over 2 years, including age, gender, 6-monthly appointment attendance, weight, haemoglobin A1C and total cholesterol, were pooled and analysed to evaluate CALMPOD.
Results:
Of 289 patients, 163 participated in the CALMPOD course and 126 did not. No baseline demographic differences existed between the participating and non-participating groups. The CALMPOD group had improved attendance across all 6-monthly appointments compared with the non-CALMPOD group (P < 0.05). Mean body weight reduction at 2 years was 5.6 kg (s.d. 11.2, P < 0.001) for the CALMPOD group compared with 3.9 kg (s.d. 10.5, P < 0.001) for the non-CALMPOD group. No differences in haemoglobin A1C and fasting serum total cholesterol were identified between the groups.
Conclusions:
The retrospective evaluation of CALMPOD suggests potential for mindfulness and compassion-based group educational techniques to improve longer-term patient and clinical outcomes. Prospective large-scale studies are needed to evaluate the impact of stress on obesity and the true impact of CALMPOD.
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