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Mindful acceptance, not awareness, associated with lower food susceptibility

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Food susceptibility refers to an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations when highly palatable foods are available. Mindfulness, or the practice of paying attention, non-judgmentally, in the present moment, is a key element in acceptance-based programs, which have been shown to benefit those with high food susceptibility. This study examined the relationship between food susceptibility and (1) trait mindfulness and (2) mindfulness facets (i.e., awareness, acceptance) in daily life.

Methods

Participants were 108 adults with overweight/obesity (45.56 ± 11.41 years old, 75.9% white, 72.2% female) enrolled in a weight loss trial (Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT02786238). Food susceptibility was measured with the Power of Food Scale (PFS). Mindfulness was assessed using the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHMS) and its two subscales: PHMS-Awareness and PHMS-Acceptance. Two regressions examined the associations of (1) total PHMS on PFS, and (2) simultaneous PHMS subscales on PFS. Covariates were age, sex, race, and education.

Results

Regression results revealed, after adjustment for covariates, that Total PHMS was significantly negatively associated with PFS scores (β = − 0.258, p = 0.001), but only one of the PHMS subscales, Acceptance, was significantly associated with PFS scores (β = − 0.328, p < 0.001). PHMS-Awareness was not related to PFS scores.

Conclusion

Greater levels of mindfulness were associated with lower food susceptibility in treatment-seeking adults with overweight/obesity. Mindful acceptance may be the driving factor in this relationship, suggesting that awareness alone is not sufficient for promoting healthier appetite regulation. Interventions aimed to reduce food susceptibility and improve coping with cravings may benefit from an enhanced focus on teaching mindful-acceptance skills.

Level of evidence

Level III, observational cohort study.

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Funding

This project and manuscript were supported by the following funding sources: Keirns, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI; F31HL152620); Hawkins, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK; K23DK103941), Oklahoma Shared Clinical Translation Resources Center (OSCTR; U5GM104938); Hawkins and Ciciolla, Center for Integrated Research on Child Adversity (CIRCA; P20GM109097) funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 Psychology Building, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Natalie G. Keirns, Madison E. Stout, Harley M. Layman, Lucia Ciciolla & Misty A. W. Hawkins

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Caitlin E. Smith

  3. Department of Research, Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

    Ki L. Cole

Authors
  1. Natalie G. Keirns
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  2. Madison E. Stout
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  3. Caitlin E. Smith
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  4. Harley M. Layman
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  6. Lucia Ciciolla
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  7. Misty A. W. Hawkins
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Misty A. W. Hawkins.

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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Oklahoma State University Institutional Review Board.

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

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Keirns, N.G., Stout, M.E., Smith, C.E. et al. Mindful acceptance, not awareness, associated with lower food susceptibility. Eat Weight Disord 27, 1481–1489 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-021-01288-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-021-01288-0

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