Losing weight starts in the mind Psychic training increases weight loss

Fight obesity with mindfulness training

Problematic eating behavior can be improved through targeted training of mindfulness. Participants sensitized in a self-criticism, self-esteem and mindful meal course lost on average around three kilos more than those who did not attend the course. This emerges from a recent English study.

Researchers at the University of Warwick have shown in a nutritional study that mindfulness courses are good for improving the success of a diet. In four courses, the subjects' awareness of their present state of mind and immediate surroundings was trained in the present moment. Afterwards, these study participants achieved better success with a diet than a comparison group who had not received such training. The study results were recently presented in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Diet programs that are supported by targeted disability training will result in better weight loss, reports an English research team. (Picture: Picture-Factory / fotolia.com)

Obesity has tripled in the last 40 years

As the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, since 1975 the rate of obesity and obesity has nearly tripled. As a result, in 2016, WHO was considered to be just over two billion people worldwide overweight or obese. With a world population of around 7.6 billion people, more than one in four people is affected. Researchers are currently struggling to find new ways to stem this development.

Two hospitals already offer the courses

At the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in England, mindfulness training is currently being used and the effectiveness of the courses assessed. The team led by study leader Dr. Ing. Petra Hanson was able to improve the effectiveness of intensive weight loss programs. "This research is significant because we have shown that problematic eating behavior can be improved with mindfulness," Hanson reports in a press release on the study findings.

New prevention and treatment of overweight

These techniques of mindfulness are, according to the researchers, also applicable to larger populations. Therefore, the strategy could be a useful tool to promote healthy eating and possibly other lifestyle habits in the general prevention and treatment of obesity.

Course of the study

The mindfulness courses were offered as part of a multidisciplinary weight-loss program. The researchers monitored the progress of the participants and found that those who attended at least three of the four courses lost about three kilos more during the weight reduction program than those who did not attend any courses.

Mindfulness for everyone?

The success in losing weight was also reflected in the positive ratings of the students. "People who completed the course said they could better plan meals ahead of time and feel more confident about losing weight," said Hanson. The research team suggests establishing such courses in primary care or in digital form.

Mindfulness can lead to healthier living habits?

"Mindfulness has tremendous potential as a strategy for achieving and maintaining good health and well-being," adds Professor Dr. Thomas Barber from the University of Warwick. Many nascent 21st century diseases are due to an unhealthy lifestyle. The professor considers mindfulness training to be a good way to help people make healthier lifestyle choices and make healthy behavioral changes. (Vb)