Supervisors info:
Ανδρονίκη Νάσκα, Αναπληρώτρια καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Τσίτσας, Δρ. ΕΔΙΠ, Χαροκόπειο πανεπιστήμιο
Γιάννης Τούντας, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
WHO has described obesity as global epidemic. Obesity affects people’s quality of life and is highly correlated with chronic diseases. Overweight and obesity have been recognized as important public health priorities in Greece. Mindfulness based interventions is a growing field of research, considering weight management and eating disorders. Mindful eating can prevent or stop the automatic eating behavior and could thus affect the food quantity consumed. The automatic reaction, relates also to emotional eating, negative thoughts and negative body image.
Method: Eating attitude, mindfulness, self-compassion and anxiety were the dependent values of the intervention and they have been assessed through validated questionnaires, standardized to the Greek population. Fifty seven participants were recruited 35 (61,4%) among them consisting the intervention group and 22(38,6%) the control group. 86,4% of the intervention group and 82,9 of the control group were females. The average age was 43,7 years (SD=13,6)for the intervention group and 47,1 years (SD=10,9) for the control group. The two groups did not differ in their demographic characteristics. The intervention consisted of 8 weekly sessions with 2 hours duration each.
Results: In the intervention group there was a small weight loss, though not significant. Mindfulness and attention, as well as, self-compassion increased significantly and anxious symptoms decreased. In the intervention group overeating symptoms decreased and oral control has increased. In addition the attendees having lower anxiety were more mindful and had more self-compassion. Furthermore in higher levels of self-compassion, the overeating episodes were diminished.
Conclusions:
The results of the intervention are promising for the effectiveness of mindful eating interventions in eating behavioral modification, towards weigh regulation and psychological health.
Keywords:
Mindful eating, Mindfulness based intervention, Obesity, Eating behavior, Behavioral intervention
