Thankfully, researchers from the McGill University in Canada have found a way to hold the kilos at bay, and it’s relatively simple: Mindfulness training.
A new paper published in the journal Obesity Reviews, examines 19 studies from the past decade that focus on how regular meditation and mindfulness eating strategies contribute to long-term weight loss.
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Initially, in comparison to participants who simply looked to “lifestyle-changes” such as diet and exercise to shed extra kgs, those who actively practised mindfulness were less likely to see results (losing only 3.3% of their initial body weight compared with 4.7%.)
But during follow up examinations, it was found that the latter group continued to drop dress sizes, while the “lifestyle-change” participants had actually regained what they initially lost.
From the findings, doctoral student Kimberly Carriere concludes that mindfulness is a “moderately effective” tactic for those looking to trim down and “largely effective in reducing obesity-related eating behaviours.”
She says the results are “encouraging” and “highlight the potential of using mindfulness training to support weight loss,” adding: “we recommend that further research investigate how integrating mindfulness training into lifestyle-change programs improves weight-loss maintenance.”
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