Testing a Brief Mindful Eating Program

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Overeating; Overweight; Obesity
• Interventions: Other: Brief mindful eating intervention

• Registration Number: NCT04531436
• Lead Sponsor: McGill University

Brief Summary

This project evaluated the effects of a brief manualized mindful eating intervention as a treatment for overeating with individuals with overweight and obesity.

Detailed Description

Overeating leads to overweight and obesity. Effective eating regulation largely depends on an individual's responsiveness to internal cues of physiological hunger and satiety; this phenomenon is known as interoceptive awareness and has been shown to be lower in individuals with overweight or obesity. Mindfulness training may improve interoceptive awareness and thus may facilitate more effective regulation of eating through increased sensitivity to cues of hunger and fullness. Mindful eating programs have been shown to increase interoceptive awareness of hunger and satiety cues and decrease weight in individuals with obesity. Although these programs are effective, they involve lengthy group sessions, require extensively trained staff, and are not widely available outside of clinical research. Thus, the reach and impact of these programs are limited.

The present study developed and tested a brief mindful eating intervention inspired by Kristeller \& Wolever's (2010) Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training program to increase interoceptive awareness in individuals with overweight and obesity as a means to increase mindful and intuitive eating, reduce overeating and facilitate weight loss. The program consisted of 9 weekly 10-15 minute sessions structured around one simple evidence-based mindful eating exercise, and was delivered to adult (ages 18-67) employees from a Canadian university.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2017-09-01
• Primary Completion: 2018-09-01
• Study Completion: 2018-09-01
• Status Verified: 2020-08
• Study First Submitted: 2020-08-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-08-26
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-08-26
• Study First Posted: 2020-08-28
• Last Update Posted: 2020-08-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 68

Inclusion Criteria

• BMI of 25 to 45 kg/m2 (overweight/obese)
• Willingness to commit to program and complete various assessment measures

Exclusion Criteria

• Having been pregnant in the past six months or planning on becoming pregnant in the next year
• Undergoing treatment for cancer
• Using medications that affect body weight or appetite
• Being diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, major depressive disorder, or another severe psychiatric disease (including dementia)

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	Brief mindful eating intervention	Brief mindful eating intervention

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in overeating	Baseline, week 9, and 24-week follow-up	As measured by the Overeating Questionnaire. Scores can range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating a greater tendency to overeat

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in body weight	Baseline, week 9, and 24-week follow-up	Change in body weight (lbs)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

McGill University; 🇨🇦 Montréal, Quebec, Canada