Can mindful eating help lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease?

Given the high stress levels, extended periods of screen time and regular social outings many Americans experience day-to-day in environments where high-calorie foods are readily available, it can be easy to fall into the habit of mindless eating - where we're too distracted to pay attention to how much, what and why we're eating. Research suggests that practicing mindfulness - or taking the time to bring awareness to present-moment experiences with an open attitude of curiosity and non-judgment - can be effective in allowing us to make more thoughtful food choices and recognize when we are hungry, satisfied or full. The latest research in this area led by Jennifer Daubenmier, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, suggests that the impact of mindful eating could be even greater.

"Whether eating snacks while watching the game or grazing by the dessert tray at the office event, we often find ourselves overeating not because we're hungry, but because the food looks delicious, we're distracted, or we wish to soothe away unpleasant feelings," explains Dr. Daubenmier. "Our study suggests that mindful eating can go further than making healthy food choices and recognizing when we're full; it could improve glucose levels and heart health to a greater extent than behavioral weight-loss programs that do not teach mindful eating."

Dr. Daubenmier and her colleagues evaluated the effects of a mindfulness-based weight-loss intervention on adults with obesity, and although no statistically significant differences in weight loss were found compared to the control group, the mindfulness intervention showed greater improvements in certain cardiometabolic outcomes tied to Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease up to one year after the intervention ended. The research is published in the March issue of Obesity, the scientific journal of The Obesity Society.

To conduct the study, the researchers randomized nearly 200 adults with obesity to a mindfulness intervention or an active attention control group over a five-and-a-half month period, with a subsequent one-year follow up. Both groups were given identical diet and exercise guidelines.

Mindful eating is eating with intention and attention

Eating is a natural, healthy, and pleasurable activity for satisfying hunger. However, in our food-abundant, diet-obsessed culture, eating is often mindless, consuming, and guilt-inducing instead. Mindful eating is an ancient mindfulness practice with profound modern implications and applications for resolving this troubled love-hate relationship with food.

A famous exercise in mindfulness training is putting a raisin in your mouth to see how long you can keep it there without chewing and swallowing it, while focusing all your attention on its taste and texture. Try it for some firsthand mindfulness practice.