Mindfulness may not necessarily lead to weight loss

A new research has revealed that mindfulness may not necessarily lead to weight loss.

Ohio State University researchers reviewed 19 previous studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based programs for weight loss and found that thirteen of the studies documented weight loss among participants who practiced mindfulness, but all lacked either a measure of the change in mindfulness or a statistical analysis of the relationship between being mindful and dropping pounds. In many cases, the studies lacked both.

The single study that did quantify simultaneous weight reductions and increases in mindfulness showed no relationship between the two and another study that documented participants' increase in mindfulness indicated that the intervention did not affect weight loss.

Senior author Charles Emery said that there is an aura around mindfulness intervention in weight loss and yet we need to know, in this era of evidence-based medicine, what the data tell us.

Emery added that there are many reasons to think mindfulness would be relevant for weight loss because people may have a range of behavioral and psychological responses to eating that mindfulness can address, including helping them slow down and focus on enjoying a meal, but the review of the research shows they still have a long way to go to provide convincing evidence of the benefits of mindfulness for weight loss and, especially, how it may work.

Emery concluded that any effort to make behavioral change should be applauded and another researcher KayLoni Olson added that there are many interventions that incorporate a mindfulness component, but that means weight loss could be explained by factors other than mindfulness.

Emery and Olson note that their review raises important research questions about mindfulness and weight loss that remain unanswered: Does being mindful reduce stress and related problematic eating and if so, is it the best intervention available? And if meditation practice, which is a component of mindfulness interventions, leads to eating more slowly, is that about being mindful or just a serendipitous behavioral change?

The review is published online in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.