Exploratory randomised controlled trial of a mindfulness-based weight loss intervention for women

In the paper

“intervention participants showed a greater reduction in binge eating compared to control participants but there were no other significant differences.”

In the paper

“Qualitative data suggested that the most successful part was the cognitive defusion component, with participants finding it particularly useful in relation to exercise.”

In the paper

“2.50 (4.88) and -0.61 (3.34) respectively for physical activity”

In the paper

“and showing a relative increase in physical activity of 2.81 sessions per week.”

In the paper

“Effect sizes for changes over the 6 month duration were small for BMI and GHQ and moderate for physical activity (see Table 4).”

In the paper

“Relative reductions in BMI in the workshop condition were equivalent to 2.32kg.”

In the paper

“the intervention had no significant impact on emotional eating, external eating or psychological flexibility.”

In the paper

“These showed no significant effect of the intervention on BMI, F(1, 60) = 1.59, p = 0.21”

In the paper

“When the data were re-analysed excluding those who reported 'never' using the workshop techniques at 6 months these figures rose to 2.32kg and 3.11 activity sessions per week.”

In the paper

“For BMI change results showed significant correlations with change in DEBQ emotional eating (0.35, p<.05) and binge eating (0.45, p<.05)”

In the paper

“All means were in the predicted directions with BMI going down in the intervention group relative to the control group, physical activity showing an increase in the intervention group compared to a reduction in the control group and recent mental heath difficulties going down in the intervention group and up in the control group (see Table 4).”

In the paper

“Relative reductions in BMI in the intervention condition were equivalent to 1.35kg and increases in physical activity equivalent to 2.8 sessions.”

In the paper

“However, the changes for BMI and mental health were relatively minor with small treatment effect sizes. Physical activity showed a slightly larger change with a moderate treatment effect size (see Table 4).”

In the paper

“Results showed a trend towards significance, F (1, 58) = 2.31, p = .086.”

In the paper

“Of particular note is that in these cases ACT appeared to be as or more effective than traditional approaches when it came to the maintenance of behavioural changes (Gifford et al., 2004; Hayes, Wilson et al., 2004).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Gifford et al., 2004 source
• Not checked yetcites Hayes, Wilson et al., 2004

In the paper

“If this is the case, emotional eating can be viewed as a form of experiential avoidance.”

In the paper

“There is evidence to suggest that obesity is associated with both emotional eating and external eating .”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Blair, Lewis & Booth, 1990 source
• Not checked yetcites Braet & Van Strien, 1997
• Not checked yetcites Wardle, 1987 source

In the paper

“Although a growing number of interventions are now incorporating components aimed at this (e.g., Cooper & Fairburn, 2001; Rapoport, Clark & Wardle, 2000), the development of these still falls far short of that achieved in areas such as nicotine and alcohol dependence to which obesity has been compared (House of Commons Health Committee, 2004).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites House of Commons Health Committee, 2004

In the paper

“Thus knowing how to lose weight is simply not sufficient, we also need to tackle the psychological processes that lead to behaviours associated with weight gain.”

In the paper

“Indeed, experts are increasingly recognising the need to address the psychological aspects of obesity (e.g., Byrne, 2002; Cooper & Fairburn, 2001; House of Commons Health Committee, 2004).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Byrne, 2002 source
• Not checked yetcites Cooper & Fairburn, 2001
• Not checked yetcites House of Commons Health Committee, 2004

In the paper

“In addition, a study by Blair et al., (1990) found significant associations between levels of emotional eating and weight loss success; successful weight control was associated with decreases in emotional eating between baseline and a 1 year follow-up and with low levels of emotional eating at both time points.”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Blair et al., (1990) source

In the paper

“In contrast, unsuccessful weight control was associated with increases between baseline and follow-up and with high levels at both time points.”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Blair et al., (1990) source

In the paper

“KT was not involved in recruitment and was blind to participant identities.”

In the paper

“Nearly half the sample (48%) attended all four workshops whilst three-quarters (74%) attended two of the four workshops.”

In the paper

“Participants were allocated to the intervention and control conditions using a stratified randomisation protocol on the basis of BMI and the existence of medical conditions likely to effect weight (since these variables were considered most likely to influence study outcomes).”

In the paper

“As shown, there were no significant differences in BMI, age (though intervention participants were, on average, slightly older than control participants), level of education, % of participants with medical conditions affecting their weight, % of participants attending formal slimming clubs, number of previous diet attempts, or length spent on current diet.”

In the paper

“The AAQ-II has been shown to have good construct, concurrent, predictive and discriminant validity (Bond et al., submitted).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Bond et al., submitted

In the paper

“the intervention group reported higher levels of binge eating, and lower levels of physical activity, at baseline”

• Also stated in: § Discussion · p. 23 · plain

  “the intervention and control groups were not well-matched for physical activity and binge eating at baseline.”

In the paper

“Attendance was highest at the start of the programme for Workshops 1 and 2 (n=25 and 24 respectively) and dropped off for Workshops 3 and 4 (n=18 and 16 respectively).”

In the paper

“Of the 31 people randomised to the workshop condition, 26 attended one or more of the workshops, 1 attended half a workshop and 4 failed to attend any workshops.”

In the paper

“the present study was designed as an exploratory trial only”

In the paper

“JI, KT and CS had all attended a range of ACT training workshops and, as an informal assessment of treatment integrity, eight of the 12 workshops were observed by either KT or CS. During these sessions no problems relating to treatment integrity were identified.”

In the paper

“All data were collected by assistants who were blind to participant group allocation and who were otherwise uninvolved in the project.”

In the paper

“qualitative data suggested that intervention participants coped better after breaking their diet (for example by avoiding prolonged feelings of guilt and thoughts of failure) which may have helped interrupt previous patterns of diet lapses leading to binge eating episodes (Ogden & Wardle, 1991).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Ogden & Wardle, 1991

In the paper

“It has been shown to have moderate testretest reliability; fair to moderate concurrent validity and poor to fair criterion validity (Smith et al., 2005).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Smith et al., 2005 source

In the paper

“The DEBQ has been shown to have satisfactory to good reliability, excellent factorial validity and satisfactory concurrent and discriminant validity (Van Strien et al., 1986; Wardle, 1987).”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Van Strien et al., 1986 source
• Not checked yetcites Wardle, 1987 source

In the paper

“Following Pocock (1983), computer-generated random numbers were used to order intervention and control group allocation within each block.”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites Pocock (1983)

In the paper

“Internal reliability was moderate at baseline (alpha=0.47, n=62) but acceptable (alpha=0.62) with the exclusion of item 6 (happiness). Thus item 6 was excluded from all subsequent analyses.”

In the paper

“Likewise, failure to adhere to exercise and healthy eating plans may be prompted by rationalisations about, for example, being more conscientious the next day or there being exceptional circumstances that justify the relapse.”

In the paper

“JI was blind to the number of strata and block sizes employed within the randomisation list.”

In the paper

“The scale showed acceptable internal reliability at baseline (alpha=0.74, n=62).”

In the paper

“However, participants in the intervention group reported starting dieting at a significantly older age than those in the control group (25 versus 20 years respectively, p<.05).”

In the paper

“Thus applied to the above cognitions it may help individuals refrain from bouts of overeating and adhere to exercise and eating plans.”