A Pilot Study of a Single-Session Training to Promote Mindful Eating.
A Pilot Study of a Single-Session Training to Promote Mindful Eating.
Adv Mind Body Med. 2013 Spring; 27(2): 18-23
Jacobs J, Cardaciotto L, Block-Lerner J, McMahon C
Context Although researchers have not yet examined the applicability of mindfulness for weight-gain prevention, mindfulness training has the potential to increase an individual’s awareness of factors that enable an individual to avoid weight gain caused by overconsumption. Objective The study intended to examine the effects of 1 h of mindfulness training on state mindfulness and food consumption. Methods The research team performed a pilot study. Setting • The study occurred at an urban, northeastern, Catholic university. Participants Participants were 26 undergraduate, English-speaking students who were at least 18 y old (77% female, 73% Caucasian). Students with food allergies, an inability to fast, or a current or past diagnosis of an eating disorder were ineligible. Intervention Participants fasted for 4 h. Between the third and fourth hours, they attended a 1-h session of mindfulness training that integrated three experiential mindfulness exercises with group discussion. Following training, they applied the skills they learned during a silent lunch. Primary Outcome Measures The Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS), the Awareness subscale of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS-AW), and a modified version of the Acting with Awareness subscale of the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-AW) were used preand posttraining to assess changes in state mindfulness, present-moment awareness, and mealtime awareness, respectively. A postmeal, subjective hunger/fullness Likert scale was used to assess food consumption (healthy vs unhealthy consumption). Results The study found a statistically significant increase in state mindfulness (P = .002). Eighty-six percent of participants engaged in healthy food consumption. No statistically significant changes occurred in either present-moment awareness (P = .617) or mealtime awareness (P = .483). Conclusion Preliminary results suggest promising benefits for use of mindfulness training on weight-gain prevention in healthy individuals. More research is needed to understand the impact that mindfulness may have on long-term, weight-gain prevention. HubMed – eating
Using mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA sequences to test the taxonomic validity of Clinostomum complanatum Rudolphi, 1814 in fish-eating birds and freshwater fishes in Mexico, with the description of a new species.
Parasitol Res. 2013 May 25;
Sereno-Uribe AL, Pinacho-Pinacho CD, García-Varela M, de León GP
The taxonomic history and species composition of the genus Clinostomum has been unstable. Two species, Clinostomum complanatum Rudolphi, 1814 and Clinostomum marginatum Rudolphi, 1819, have been particularly problematic and its validity has been disputed for nearly 200 years. In this paper, we have made use of an integrative taxonomy approach, and we used, in first instance, DNA sequences of two genes (cox1 and ITS) to test the validity of C. complanatum, a species apparently widely distributed in Mexico and to link the metacercariae and adult forms of the recognized species of Clinostomum. Combining molecular data with morphology, host association, and geographical distribution, we searched for the potential existence of undescribed species. A new species of Clinostomum is described based on adults found in the mouthy cavity of three species of fish-eating birds as well as in metacercariae found in freshwater and estuarine fishes. A few morphological characteristics distinguish the new species from other congeners even though reciprocal monophyly in a phylogenetic tree based on maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analysis, genetic divergence, and a multivariate analysis of variance and a principal component analysis of 18 morphometric traits for adults and metacercariae demonstrates the validity of the new species. Based on our results, it seems that C. complanatum is not currently distributed in Mexico, although this requires further verification with a more thoroughful sampling in other areas of the country, but it is plausible to support the hypothesis that C. marginatum is the American form, as previously suggested by other authors. HubMed – eating
Family Meal Traditions.Comparing reported childhood food habits to current food habits among university students.
Appetite. 2013 May 23;
De Backer CJ
The aim of this study is to investigate if reported childhood food habits predict the food habits of students at present. Questions addressed are: does the memory of childhood family meals promote commensality among students? Does the memory of (grand)parents’ cooking influence students’ cooking? And, is there still a gender difference in passing on everyday cooking skills? Using a cross-sectional survey, 104 students were asked about their current eating and cooking habits, and their eating habits and the cooking behaviour of their (grand)parents during their childhood. Results show that frequencies in reported childhood family meals predict frequencies of students’ commensality at present. The effects appear for breakfast and dinner, and stay within the same meal: recalled childhood family breakfasts predict current breakfast commensality, recalled childhood family dinners predict current dinner commensality. In terms of recalled cookery of (grand)parents and the use of family recipes a matrilineal dominance can be observed. Mothers are most influential, and maternal grandmothers outscore paternal grandmothers. Yet, fathers’ childhood cooking did not pass unnoticed either. They seem to influence male students’ cookery. Overall, in a life-stage of transgression students appear to maintain recalled childhood food rituals. Suggestions are discussed to further validate these results. HubMed – eating
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