Eat Like a Chef: A Mindful Eating Intervention for Health Care Providers

Abstract

Objective: To compare changes in mindful eating habits between students receiving a mindful eating intervention (MEI) vs those who were engaged in usual course work.

Methods: From 2017 to 2019, 109 nutrition and medical students completed a quasi-experimental study, including usual course work either with or without the addition of a 5-week MEI. The Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) was completed before and after the MEI. Repeated measures MANOVA was used to detect differences in changes in the overall MEQ score and its 5 subscales between groups.

Results: Within the MEI group (n = 64), overall MEQ, disinhibition, and eating with awareness scores increased significantly (P < .001, P < .001, and P = .004, respectively). No significant changes were noted within the comparison group (n = 45). Significant between-group differences were noted for the changes in the overall MEQ (P = .03) and disinhibition scores (P = .01).

Conclusions and implications: MEI participation may improve students' overall mindful eating scores. Future research could assess a larger cohort of participants, including health care professionals from other disciplines, assess additional mindfulness measures, and follow students for a longer period to determine the long-term effects on participants' mindful eating.

Keywords: culinary medicine; dietetics education; interprofessional practice; mindful eating; mindful eating interventions.