TOPLINE
A 5-week mindfulness-based eating (ME) intervention in adults with obesity and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) was associated with improvements in anxiety, depressive symptoms, emotional dysregulation, self-compassion, shame, and eating behaviors, though it did not significantly improve food-specific inhibitory control.
METHODOLOGY
- A randomized controlled trial enrolled 70 adults with obesity (BMI, 30.0-39.9) and GAD from Brazil; 36 were randomly assigned to the ME group and 34 to an active control group receiving health educational videos.
- The ME intervention consisted of five weekly 150-minute group sessions delivered remotely via videoconferencing, targeting attentional control, emotional regulation, self-compassion, and maladaptive eating patterns.
- The control group received five brief asynchronous health educational videos (8-12 minutes each) covering anxiety management, healthy eating, sleep hygiene, physical activity, and substance use.
- The primary outcome was inhibitory control measured by commission errors on a food-specific Go/No-Go task; secondary outcomes included anxiety severity (GAD 7-item scale), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire), emotional dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale), shame (Other as Shamer Scale), binge eating (Binge Eating Scale), mindful eating (Mindful Eating Questionnaire), and internalized weight stigma (IWS; Weight Bias Internalization Scale).
TAKEAWAY
- No statistically significant between-group difference was observed for the primary outcome of food-specific inhibitory control in the prespecified analysis; sensitivity analyses showed a small effect (mean difference [MD], 0.027; P = .047) which should be interpreted cautiously.
- Significant between-group differences favoring the ME intervention were observed for anxiety severity (MD, −3.87; P < .001), depressive symptoms (MD, −9.76; P < .001), emotional dysregulation (MD, −11.80; P <.001), self-compassion (MD, 9.24; P = .001), shame (MD, −5.10; P < .001), binge eating (MD, −2.0; P = .024), uncontrolled eating (MD, −2.35; P = .012), and cognitive restraint (MD, 1.61; P = .015).
- The ME group showed a significant reduction in insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment index, MD, −0.51; P = .018) compared with the control group, with no significant differences in weight or fat mass.
- At baseline, higher IWS was positively associated with anxiety (B, 0.869; P = .005) and negatively associated with body appreciation (B, −0.619; P = .005).
IN PRACTICE
"These findings support calls for a shift in obesity treatment, toward approaches that emphasize mental health, well-being, and stigma reduction alongside traditional behavioral outcomes," wrote the authors of the study.
SOURCE
The study was led by Natasha Kim de Oliveira da Fonseca, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. It was published online in July in Lancet Regional Health - Americas.
LIMITATIONS
Moderate attrition may have limited generalizability and internal validity. The 5-week intervention period and lack of long-term follow-up may have precluded consolidation of effects, particularly regarding inhibitory control and sustained changes in IWS. Home-practice adherence was not systematically monitored, limiting dose-response inferences.
DISCLOSURES
The study was supported by grants from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and other sources. One author reported researcher-led grants and support for attending academic conferences and events from various sources. All other authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.