Mindful Eating - Bringing Awareness Into Eating
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Stress Eating
- Sponsor
- Brown University
- Enrollment
- 65
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Change in Reward Based Eating Drive (RED) Scale
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 6 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to test an app-based mindful eating intervention to decrease the reward value of unhealthy food.
Detailed Description
Eating healthily is highly beneficial. However, changing eating habits is notoriously difficult. Individuals often believe that they simply need to "restrain" their eating impulses in order to eat more healthily. However, such an approach has not only been shown to be quite ineffective over long time spans, it is also associated with aversive feelings: It simply does not feel good to struggle with one's own impulses. Investigators are testing a new approach to overcoming unhealthy eating habits, which utilizes mindful eating to change the reward value of unhealthy food. The hypothesis is that if people pay attention to how unhealthy food (e.g. "junk" food) makes them feel in their bodies, their liking it and desire to eat it will decrease naturally. Participants might become aware, for example, that eating a whole bag of chips leads to nausea, while eating a salad makes them feel fresh and energetic. Investigators will assess whether and how the anticipated and actual satisfaction associated with unhealthy food will decrease the more often participants use this intervention.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Craves \& overeats a food at least 4 times/week (can be a specific food or food category - i.e. salty or sweet)
- •Desire to change eating habits
- •Owns a smartphone
- •Fluency in English
Exclusion Criteria
- •Current eating disorder
- •Current strict diet (e.g. paleo, keto, vegan, calorie restriction)
- •Current insulin use
- •Previous use of the EatRightNow application
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change in Reward Based Eating Drive (RED) Scale
Time Frame: 2 months
The Reward Based Eating Drive (RED) Scale will be used to assess three dimensions of reward-related eating (lack of satiety, preoccupation with food, and lack of control over eating), in order to comprehensively assess the spectrum of reward-related eating. The RED is a 13-item questionnaire that uses a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 ("Strongly Disagree") to 4 ("Strongly Agree"). Scores can range from 0 to 52 and higher scores correspond to higher levels of reward-related eating.
Secondary Outcomes
- Change in Salzburg Stress Eating Scale (SSES)(2 months)
- Change in Food Craving Questionnaire - Trait, Reduced (FCQ-T-r)(2 months)