Do mindful eating intervention programs improve mindful eating and nutritional status in children?

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nutrition
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Childhood eating behaviors are influenced by various factors, including emotional states and awareness.
• Mindless eating and emotional eating can negatively impact dietary adequacy and overall health in children.
• Parental involvement in interventions can enhance program effectiveness for children's eating habits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the Mindful Eating Intervention Program for Children and Parents (MEIP-CP) on children's mindful eating scores.
• To assess changes in anthropometric measurements and dietary adequacy following the MEIP-CP.
• To determine the program's effect on emotional eating behaviors and awareness in children.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test was employed.
• The study included 64 children (aged 8-11 years) and their parents participating in a six-session MEIP-CP.
• Data collection involved questionnaires, interviews, anthropometric measurements, and 24-hour dietary recalls, analyzed using NAR and MAR.

Main Results:

• Mindless eating scores decreased, and awareness scores increased significantly post-intervention (p < 0.05).
• No significant changes were observed in anthropometric measurements.
• Dietary adequacy, measured by MAR, improved, with the 'good' group increasing from 46.9% to 70.3% by week 6.

Conclusions:

• The MEIP-CP effectively enhances mindful eating practices in children.
• The intervention shows potential in improving dietary adequacy and reducing emotional eating behaviors.
• Parental engagement in mindful eating programs can positively influence children's eating habits and awareness.