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Contributions of mindful eating, intuitive eating, and restraint to BMI, disordered eating, and meal consumption in college students

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity volume 21, pages 83–90 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

Mindful eating and intuitive eating are promoted as means to circumvent potentially maladaptive dietary restraint while maintaining a healthy weight. Although theoretically related, no studies have examined the correlations between intuitive eating, mindful eating, and restraint in the same sample. This study sought to examine these constructs and their correlations with body mass index (BMI), eating-disordered behaviors, and meal consumption in a college sample.

Methods

Participants (N = 125) completed a laboratory taste-test meal and measures of each eating-related construct using the EDDS, IES, MEQ, and TFEQ-Restraint Subscale.

Results

Mindful eating, intuitive eating, and restraint were not strongly correlated. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that restraint and intuitive eating accounted for significant variance in disordered eating and BMI. Elevated restraint was associated with increased BMI and disordered eating; elevated intuitive eating was associated with decreased BMI and disordered eating. Mindful eating did not correlate with any outcome variables. Follow-up analyses suggested that specific intuitive eating subscales accounted for unique variance in the relation between intuitive eating and disordered eating. Intuitive eating was the only construct that was significantly associated with meal consumption.

Conclusions

Intuitive eating and restraint appear to be only weakly correlated, and each is differentially associated with meal consumption. Mindful eating does not appear to relate to outcome variables.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY, 12222, USA

    Lisa M. Anderson, Erin E. Reilly, Katherine Schaumberg, Sasha Dmochowski & Drew A. Anderson

  2. Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA

    Katherine Schaumberg

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  1. Lisa M. Anderson
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  2. Erin E. Reilly
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  3. Katherine Schaumberg
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  4. Sasha Dmochowski
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  5. Drew A. Anderson
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Correspondence to Lisa M. Anderson.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Cite this article

Anderson, L.M., Reilly, E.E., Schaumberg, K. et al. Contributions of mindful eating, intuitive eating, and restraint to BMI, disordered eating, and meal consumption in college students. Eat Weight Disord 21, 83–90 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-015-0210-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-015-0210-3

Keywords

  • BMI
  • Intuitive eating
  • Mindful eating
  • Restraint
  • Taste-test meal
  • College sample