Mindful Eating Aspects as Bridging Concepts Represented through the MEDEC Cards: Towards a Design Framework for Mindful Eating Technologies

Background: People who have obesity often experience problematic eating behaviours, contributing towards their excessive weight gain. Aims: Understanding problematic eating behaviours and their association to self-compassion, mindfulness and mindful eating is important for the development of future interventions that improve weight-loss and weight-regulation. Methods: One hundred and one participants attending their first session of a 6-session dietetic programme within a Tier 3 medical weight management service in the West Midlands, UK were recruited to complete questionnaires on self-compassion, mindfulness, mindful eating and eating behaviours, such as, emotional, restrained, external, fat and sugar consumption and grazing. Results: The findings suggested all three constructs, self-compassion, mindfulness and mindful eating were significantly and negatively associated with grazing and emotional eating, but mindful eating was the only construct that also displayed a significant and negative association with other eating behaviours that are often barriers to successful weight regulation, such as external eating and fat consumption. Further investigation suggested mindful eating had an indirect effect on fat consumption and grazing via external eating. Conclusion: Whilst, self-compassion, mindfulness and mindful eating displayed a negative relationship with grazing and emotional eating, mindful eating also displayed a negative relationship with fat consumption and external eating. Possible explanations and directions for future work are discussed with an emphasis on the need for more empirical work.

PURPOSE: The development of health‐functional meals to prevent heart failure in non‐diabetic patients with ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (nd‐STEMI) remains a desirable goal. We tested whether the daily intake of normocaloric diet supplemented with macaroni pasta made with durum and barley wheat flour blend (75:25) leading intake of 3g barley β‐glucan (functional pasta, FP) promotes additional cardioprotection in infarcted patients.
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\nMETHODS: We randomized 37 consecutive nd‐STEMI patients (mean age 57 y.o., 8 women) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). At the fifth day after PCI, FP group (n = 19) was daily fed for 3 months with normocaloric diet supplemented with 100g/day of functional pasta “Al Dente”, whereas normocaloric diet of control group (n = 18) was supplemented with normal pasta (durum wheat 100%, NP, 100 g) similarly cooked. Echocardiography and blood analysis were performed at T0 (early after PCI), T1 (1 month after PCI) and T2 (3 months after PCI). Infarct size was measured at T0 and T2 by cardiac MRI with late gadolinium enhancement. Pharmacological treatment was the same in both groups.
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\nRESULTS: At one month of diet, LV ejection fraction was significantly increased by 9% in FP group, but not in control group. In FP group, the global longitudinal strain, a more sensitive index of myocardial contractility, was significantly improved at T1 and T2 compared to T0 by 12.17 and 16.86 % respectively. No significant changes were observed in NP group. Infarct size was similar in both groups. Fibrinogen, nitrite/nitrate and oxidative‐INDEX levels were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced only in FP patients. Despite LDL‐c levels were reduced in both groups, HDL‐c levels were increased only in FP group.
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\nCONCLUSION: Normocaloric diet supplemented with FP “Al Dente” further improves LV function of reperfused nd‐STEMI patients regardless infarct size by reducing levels of circulating oxidative and inflammatory mediators and improving lipid homeostasis.

Scientific evidence suggests that mindful eating (ME) may be effective for promoting healthy plant-based diets. However, data are scarce. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between ME and plant-based diets. In 2023, 13,768 participants from the NutriNet-Santé cohort completed the Mind-Eat Scale, at least three 24-hour dietary records, and a food choices questionnaire. The contribution of plant-based foods was evaluated using the Plant-based Diet Index (PDI), the healthy PDI (hPDI), and the unhealthy PDI (uPDI). Multivariable linear and logistic regressions were performed to analyze the association between ME, the PDI, hPDI, and uPDI scores, the proportions of meat, fish, and dairy products in the diet, and diet groups, adjusting for socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. ME was positively associated with PDI (β = 1.19; 95%CI: 0.98, 1.41) and hPDI (1.00; 0.76, 1.24), and negatively with uPDI (-0.48; -0.70, -0.27), meat (-0.63; -0.76, -0.50), and dairy (-0.86; -1.14, -0.58) consumption. Individuals with higher ME levels were more likely to be lower meat eaters (OR = 1.13; 95%CI: 1.04, 1.23), pesco-vegetarians (1.56; 1.33, 1.83), vegetarians (2.19; 1.57, 3.05), or vegans (1.35; 1.24, 1.48). Participants with higher ME levels were more likely to follow healthy plant-based diets, suggesting ME could help to promote a reduction in animal product consumption. Longitudinal studies are needed to continue exploring this relationship.Clinical Trial Registry: The NutriNet-Santé study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the French Institute for Health and Medical Research (IRB Inserm n◦ 0000388FWA00005831) and the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL n◦ 908450 and n◦ 909216). Electronic informed consent was obtained from all participants. Written informed consent by electronic means for adults, and for legal representant for children < 18 years old. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT03335644 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03335644?locStr=Bobigny,%20France&country=France&state=%C3%8Ele-de-France&city=Bobigny&term=Cohort%20Study&rank=6).

Mindful eating serves as a therapeutic intervention for recognizing and gradually altering the established daily eating habits and patterns. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of adoption of principles of mindful eating among medical and non-medical university students and to detect the effect of adoption of mindful eating on the Body Mass Index of the studied subjects. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 576 undergraduate students using a structured self-administered questionnaire comprising sociodemographic data, perceived weight and height and Mindful Eating Questionnaire. The majority of the studied students (94.4%) were used to adopt Mindful eating. The percentages of medical and non-medical students were used to adopt Mindful eating were (97.6% and 91.3%, respectively). A statistically significant association was detected between the type of the study (faculty) and adoption of mindful eating (P-value = 0.001). Medical study permits adopting mindful eating by about 73.8% more than non-medical studies. Medical male students showed higher scores for the disinhibition subscale than females (P-value = 0.025) while non-medical female students showed higher scores for the awareness subscale than males (P-value = 0.006). Nearly three fourths of the studied subjects (74.3%) had Body Mass Index ≥ 25. The percentage of medical students (17.4%) having Body Mass Index ≥ 25 was less than the percentage of their non-medical peers (34.0%). The association between the type of the study (faculty) and Body Mass Index categories was statistically significant (P-value = < 0.001). The higher scores on the Mindful Eating Questionnaire overall and on each of the categories except the awareness score had been associated with lower Body Mass Index. Most of the students adopting Mindful eating (75.4%) had Body Mass Index < 25 as compared to their peers who did not adopt Mindful eating where more than one third of them (43.8%) had Body Mass Index ≥ 25. The association between Mindful eating summary score categories and Body Mass Index categories was statistically significant (P-value = 0.016). A significant negative weak correlation was detected between Mindful eating summary score categories and Body Mass Index categories (P-value = 0.044). Academic background reinforces the potential of mindful eating as a viable strategy for promoting healthier eating habits and effective weight management among university students.

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d317443e108">Given its sensory and emotional qualities, food as a rich resource for design has been much explored in Human-Food Interaction research. Besides such positive aspects of food and food experiences, other scholars have focused on problematic and disordered eating, as well as technologies’ negative impact on the growing number of people living with these conditions. Drawing from mindfulness-based interventions, health research has explored effective interventions for mindful eating, which however have been limitedly harnessed in interaction design, despite the growing body of HCI research on mindfulness technologies emphasizing also the role of the human body in mindfulness practices. This half-day workshop aims to address this gap, by bringing together designers, practitioners, and HCI researchers from human-food interaction, mindfulness, and somaesthetics to explore the design space of technologies for mindful eating interventions, with a focus on five goals targeting (i) support for the role of the body in mindful eating, (ii) design exploration of technologies supporting mindful eating interventions, (iii) develop theoretical and methodological foundations for designing for mindful eating, (iv) explore ethical aspects of designing for mindful eating interventions, and (v) position mindful eating technology-based interventions within a broader, more sustainable food cycle.

The current review aimed to map the available evidence on the assessments of mindful eating and dietary intake, and the relationship between mindful eating level, food group intake, nutrient intake, and obesity risk. This scoping review is based on Preferred Reporting Items for the Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Extension for the Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) 2020 framework. A literature search was conducted on Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases for studies published between 2014 to 2024, identifying eligible primary studies involving adult and elderly participants. Twenty-two studies were chosen for this review. Most studies assessed mindful eating using Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ), Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Mindful eating practice was associated with lower snack consumption, and specific sub-scales showed a favorable correlation (p&lt;0.05) with fruit and vegetable intake. Body Mass Index (BMI) reductions were observed in the intervention group (MD 0.51, p&lt;0.001). This scoping review demonstrates the scientific basis of the mindful eating promote increased consumption of nutritious foods and nutrients, which is likely to lead to a reduction in obesity risk.

The Role of Mindfulness and Mindful Eating in Sustainable Food Choices: A Scoping Review

Adverse experiences as predictors of maladaptive and adaptive eating: Findings from EAT 2018

Purpose: Mindful eating have a potential in addressing problematic eating behaviors and focusing the challenges often faced in food consumption. In this study, we conducted a randomized controlled trial that incorporated both mindful eating, including nutritional education with an energy-restricted diet. The aim is to contribute to the literature by revealing the comparative effectiveness of these approaches in alleviating problematic eating behaviors. Methods: This prospective randomized controlled study was conducted between January-April 2021 with 70 participants without chronic disease. Our study was approved by Ethics Committee of the Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University. A questionnaire form that examined demographic data and Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ-30), Turkish Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (TEAQ) were applied as pre-test and post-test of the interventions. Interventions were conducted in the groups as diet and education groups, also with control group. Anthropometric variables were reported by participants. Results: Mean age of our participants was 33.40±12.27 years. Participant who had the education compared to the diet and control groups, had higher scores in physical activity (p

BackgroundDialectical behavior therapy conceptualizes problematic behaviors as attempts to regulate emotions that occur when the individual lacks effective skills with which to manage his or her emotions and cope with distress. Problematic eating behaviors, e.g., binge and emotional eating, may serve to alleviate aversive emotional states, being highly associated with overweight and obesity. Dialectical behavior therapy skills training has been proven effective in reducing binge eating in several clinical studies. However, few studies reveal the effects of DBT on adaptive eating behaviors or the stability of outcomes.ObjectivesThis study aimed to test the effect of a brief DBT-based skills training intervention, and the stability of outcomes at 3- and 8-month follow-ups.MethodsSelf-report measures of binge eating, emotional eating, intuitive eating, and mindful eating were taken on 5 timepoints before and after a 10-session DBT skills training intervention (2 baseline measures, 1 post-test, and 2 follow-ups). Data were analyzed using a mixed-model intention-to-treat approach and mediation analysis was conducted with path analysis.ResultsAfter the intervention, intuitive eating and mindful eating scores were significantly higher than before the intervention, while emotional eating and binge eating scores were lower. The results remained stable during the follow-up period, with minor fluctuations and small trends towards returning to baseline values for binge eating and emotional eating. Mindful eating partially mediated the improvements in all outcomes.LimitationsGiven that results are entirely based on self-report measures and that some instruments showed poor reliability, in addition to the high attrition rates, the results should be interpreted as preliminary.ConclusionsThe results provide evidence that a brief DBT intervention is effective not only in reducing problematic eating but also in increasing adaptive eating, achieving reasonably stable results. Also, the mediation analysis results support the hypothesis that mindful eating partially explains the effects of the intervention on binge and emotional eating. Future research should address the limitations of this study by investigating a more diverse sample, triangulating different measurement strategies, and including other putative mediators.

IntroductionMindfulness and mindfulness-based constructs (e.g. self-compassion and mindful eating) have been negatively associated with problematic eating and body-related issues in general and other specific populations. Exploration of mindfulness-based concepts in relation to problematic eating would provide novel insight into the relationships of these elements among gay and bisexual men. The present research aimed to identify the role of body acceptance in exploring previous relationships between mindfulness-based constructs and eating behaviours.MethodsParticipants completed an online questionnaire, comprising measures assessing mindfulness, self-compassion, mindful eating, body acceptance, grazing, emotional eating, restrained eating and external eating (data collection occurred in 2022). Correlation and further mediation analysis was employed to assess the relationships of these constructs within the present sample (n = 164).ResultsPositive associations between body acceptance and mindfulness-based concepts and negative associations to problematic eating (grazing; emotional, restrained, and external eating) were found within a sample of self-identified gay and bisexual men. Mediation analysis showed the importance of body acceptance in exploring relationships between mindfulness, self-compassion, and mindful eating to grazing, emotional, restrained and external eating.ConclusionsFindings highlight the importance of body acceptance when considering the development of mindfulness- and/or compassion-based interventions to attenuate problematic eating among gay and bisexual men.Policy ImplicationsThis research consolidates the importance of mindfulness and related constructs when considering problematic eating, which should be reflected in policy aiming to attenuate unhealthy eating in specific populations.

The aims of this review were to map and summarize data currently available about 1) key dimensions of eating pleasure; 2) associations of eating pleasure, and its key dimensions, with dietary and health outcomes and 3) the most promising intervention strategies using eating pleasure to promote healthy eating. Using the scoping review methodology, a comprehensive search of the peer-reviewed literature (Medline, PsycInfo, Embase, ERIC, Web of Science, CINAHL, ABI/Inform global and Sociology ) and of the grey literature (ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Google) was carried out by two independent reviewers. We included 119 of the 28,908 studies found. In total, 89 sub-dimensions of eating pleasure were grouped into 22 key dimensions. The most frequently found related to sensory experiences (in 50.9% of the documents), social experiences (42.7%), food characteristics besides sensory attributes (27.3%), food preparation process (19.1%), novelty (16.4%), variety (14.5%), mindful eating (13.6%), visceral eating (12.7%), place where food is consumed (11.8%) and memories associated with eating (10.9%). Forty-five studies, mostly cross-sectional (62.2%), have documented links between eating pleasure and dietary and/or health outcomes. Most studies (57.1%) reported favorable associations between eating pleasure and dietary outcomes. For health outcomes, results were less consistent. The links between eating pleasure and both dietary and health outcomes varied according to the dimensions of eating pleasure studied. Finally, results from 11 independent interventions suggested that strategies focusing on sensory experiences, cooking and/or sharing activities, mindful eating, and positive memories related to healthy food may be most promising. Thus, eating pleasure may be an ally in the promotion of healthy eating. However, systematically developed, evidence-based interventions are needed to better understand how eating pleasure may be a lever for healthy eating.

The aims of this review were to map and summarize data currently available about 1) key dimensions of eating pleasure; 2) associations of eating pleasure, and its key dimensions, with dietary and health outcomes and 3) the most promising intervention strategies using eating pleasure to promote healthy eating. Using the scoping review methodology, a comprehensive search of the peer-reviewed literature (Medline, PsycInfo, Embase, ERIC, Web of Science, CINAHL, ABI/Inform global and Sociology Abstract) and of the grey literature (ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Google) was carried out by two independent reviewers. We included 119 of the 28,908 studies found. In total, 89 sub-dimensions of eating pleasure were grouped into 22 key dimensions. The most frequently found related to sensory experiences (in 50.9% of the documents), social experiences (42.7%), food characteristics besides sensory attributes (27.3%), food preparation process (19.1%), novelty (16.4%), variety (14.5%), mindful eating (13.6%), visceral eating (12.7%), place where food is consumed (11.8%) and memories associated with eating (10.9%). Forty-five studies, mostly cross-sectional (62.2%), have documented links between eating pleasure and dietary and/or health outcomes. Most studies (57.1%) reported favorable associations between eating pleasure and dietary outcomes. For health outcomes, results were less consistent. The links between eating pleasure and both dietary and health outcomes varied according to the dimensions of eating pleasure studied. Finally, results from 11 independent interventions suggested that strategies focusing on sensory experiences, cooking and/or sharing activities, mindful eating, and positive memories related to healthy food may be most promising. Thus, eating pleasure may be an ally in the promotion of healthy eating. However, systematically developed, evidence-based interventions are needed to better understand how eating pleasure may be a lever for healthy eating.

AI-enabled weight and metabolic health management at population scale requires enterprise information systems that transform multimodal data into real-time decision-support workflows. This study proposes the Comprehensive Nutrition and Flexible Caloric Diet (CNFCD) model as a multimodal AI-enabled intelligent hyperautomation framework integrating five human-centered components. Based on real-world operational data from over 110,000 users, an analytical cohort of 18,539 participants generated more than 140,000 longitudinal observations. Results showed significant improvements in body weight, body composition, self-efficacy, and dietary behavior. Key predictors of weight reduction included real-time feedback, slow and mindful eating, and daily green vegetable intake.

International prenatal care guidelines set a standard for clinicians to discuss gestational weight gain with their patients along with the complications associated with prepregnancy obesity and excessive gestational weight gain. Clinicians often lack evidence-based eating, nutrition, and activity strategies to share with patients. This systematic review aimed to find eating patterns and behaviors that could be used safely during pregnancy to limit excessive gestational weight gain. PubMed, MEDLINE, and Web of Science were searched for research or systematic reviews performed in the United States or Canada and published in English from 2013 to 2023. Keyword search terms included weight, manage, behavior, strategy, strategies, gestational weight gain, and nutrition. Excluded research used pediatric or adolescent populations, restrictive diets, such as no carbohydrate or no fat diets, fasting, bariatric surgery, weight loss medications, private industry or profit-earning programs using food brands, or specific diet programs. A total of 844 abstracts were retrieved, with 103 full-text studies reviewed. Behaviors had to be useful for maintaining a healthy gestational weight gain and had to be safe for use during pregnancy. Behaviors useful during pregnancy included meal planning, home meal preparation, portion control, using diets such as the Mediterranean diet, the low-glycemic index diet, and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet (DASH), regular physical activity, sleeping 6-7 h a night, mindful eating, intuitive eating, and regular seif-weighing. The evidence-based strategies outlined in this review are safe for use during pregnancy and can assist patients in avoiding excessive gestational weight gain while maintaining the nutrition needed for healthy fetal growth.