Exploring the relationship between mindfulness and eating behaviors

The aim of the study was to study the effectiveness of mindfulness training in changing maladaptive eating behaviors. The mindfulness training administered was adapted from various mindfulness-based intervention programs and condensed to be completed within a 30 minutes session. 60 undergraduates (16 males, 44 females) were recruited as participants from Nanyang Technological University. Only participants in the experimental condition underwent mindfulness training. Regardless of condition, all participants completed self- report assessments of various psychological measures (i.e. perceived stress, dispositional mindfulness, difficulties in emotion regulation, emotional eating, and awareness of internal bodily sensations and external cues when eating). Results revealed that mindfulness training was effective in changing maladaptive eating behaviors. There were significant differences in self-report measures of emotional eating and awareness of internal bodily sensations and external cues when eating between the experimental and control conditions. Limitations of the current study, it's implications and future directions considerations were discussed.Bachelor of Art