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Mindfulness, Eating Disorders, and Food Intake Regulation

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Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation

Abstract

Eating encompasses multiple self-regulatory processes, including physiological, behavioral, emotional, and social. This chapter reviews the application of self-regulation theory to mindfulness approaches to treating eating problems and obesity, with a particular focus on Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT). Eating behavior and the psychobiology of food intake lend themselves to being understood from a self-regulation perspective, and the development of MB-EAT as a program was substantively informed by self-regulation models, along with principles compatible with mindfulness theory and Buddhist psychology. The chapter provides an overview of key conceptual issues and therapeutic components from a self-regulation perspective. MB-EAT involves training in mindfulness meditation and guided mindfulness practices designed to address the core issues of dysregulated eating: developing awareness and appropriate use of hunger and satiety cues; recognizing key triggers for overeating, including emotional, social, and cognitive patterns; making more conscious food choices; and cultivating self-acceptance and wisdom. Evidence to date supports the value of MB-EAT in decreasing binge episodes, improving one’s sense of self-control with regard to eating, contributing to weight loss and diabetes management, and diminishing depressive symptoms.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The healing self-touch exercise was developed by Sasha Loring, MS, MEd, at Duke Integrative Medicine.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN, 47809, USA

    Jean L. Kristeller

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  1. Jean L. Kristeller
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Correspondence to Jean L. Kristeller .

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Brian D. Ostafin

  2. Department of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

    Michael D. Robinson

  3. Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

    Brian P. Meier

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Kristeller, J.L. (2015). Mindfulness, Eating Disorders, and Food Intake Regulation. In: Ostafin, B., Robinson, M., Meier, B. (eds) Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2263-5_15

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