Abstract
Objectives
Mindful eating (ME) reduces impulsive choice for food, which has implications for obesity. However, its impact on individuals with economic disadvantage and a higher risk for obesity, such as those with food insecurity, has not been evaluated. This study determined the effects of ME in this population.
Methods
Women with food insecurity (n = 117) were recruited from a community sample. They completed baseline measures of food and money delay discounting (assesses impulsivity) and food and money probability discounting (quantifies sensitivity to risk aversion). In a second session, participants were randomized to one of three groups and exposed to either an acute 50-min ME training, a 50-min DVD on nutrition, or a control condition. Discounting was measured post-session for acute effects of each condition. Participants in the ME group were then instructed to practice ME for 1 week. At the 1-week follow-up, discounting was measured again for all three groups.
Results
Results revealed that acute ME and an extended ME practice increased delay discounting for food and money relative to baseline. ME also increased risk aversion for food and money at the 1-week time point. Neither the DVD or control conditions affected food or monetary discounting at any time point.
Conclusions
These results suggest that for women with food insecurity, ME’s effects shift decision-making processes regarding food and money to a more “survival mode” pattern in which more immediate and risk-averse choices are preferred over larger, less immediate, and uncertain ones
Trial Registration.
ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT02930642.
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Data Availability
All data are available at the Open Science Framework. https://osf.io/6n4d3/?view_only=c282bb414397442ba9f163297ad8b58c
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Acknowledgements
We thank Katie Martin (FoodShare) for her assistance in working with the population of this study.
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This research was made possible by grant number 1R15AT009348-01 (PI; Rasmussen) from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NCCIH.
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EBR designed, supervised, and procured funding for the study, write the paper and assisted with data analyses. LRR assisted with data collection, data analysis, and writing of the paper. SP assisted with data collection in the writing and editing of the final manuscript.
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This study was approved and conducted under the auspices of the Idaho State University Institutional Review Board and monitored for safety annually by an independent entity (Westat), as required by clinical trials studies by the NCCIH. Therefore, this study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study.
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Rasmussen, E., Rodriguez, L. & Pemberton, S. Acute and Enduring Effects of Mindful Eating on Delay and Probability Discounting for Food and Money in Food-Insecure Women. Mindfulness 13, 712–729 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01828-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01828-4