Skip to main content
Log in

Mindful eating: effects of a brief induction in the choice and intake of food in children

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the last few years, great attention has been paid to the mindful eating technique as an approach derived from mindfulness to address unhealthy eating behaviour in adults. However, there is limited information in relation to the usefulness of mindful eating interventions in children. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether a brief session of mindful eating could promote healthier dietary food choices in children and/or it might be an adequate strategy to reduce food intake. The experiment was conducted with children between 8 and 11 years old. Fifty children (MINDFUL EATING group) received a session of mindful eating. Fifty-one children (CONTROL group) participated in a creative workshop. Afterwards, the children were invited to an afternoon snack with different types of food. We did not find any significant differences between the two groups on the appetite, food intake, food choices and liking. However, this study shows a trend towards significance of consuming healthier food in the experimental group. Lastly, different levels of emotions were seen between groups after the workshop took place, where the CONTROL group felt more pleasant, with higher levels of calm and found themselves more independent throughout the workshop than the experimental group. In the future, mindful eating interventions in children would be recommended to be assessed in longer sessions and with a bigger sample size, in order to be able to evaluate the effects on food intake, food choice, appetite and liking.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alberts, H. J., Thewissen, R., & Raes, L. (2012). Dealing with problematic eating behaviour. The effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on eating behaviour, food cravings, dichotomous thinking and body image concern. Appetite, 58(3), 847–851.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allirot, X., Saulais, L., Seyssel, K., Graeppi-Dulac, J., Roth, H., Charrié, A., et al. (2013). An isocaloric increase of eating episodes in the morning contributes to decrease energy intake at lunch in lean men. Physiology & Behavior, 110, 169–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allirot, X., da Quinta, N., Chokupermal, K., & Urdaneta, E. (2016). Involving children in cooking activities: A potential strategy for directing food choices toward novel foods containing vegetables. Appetite, 103, 275–285.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allirot, X., Maiz, E., & Urdaneta, E. (2018a). Shopping for food with children: A strategy for directing their choices toward novel foods containing vegetables. Appetite, 120, 287–296.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allirot, X., Miragall, M., Perdices, I., Baños, R. M., Urdaneta, E., & Cebolla, A. (2018b). Effects of a brief mindful eating induction on food choices and energy intake: External eating and mindfulness state as moderators. Mindfulness, 1–11.

  • Atkinson, M. J., & Wade, T. D. (2016). Does mindfulness have potential in eating disorders prevention? A preliminary controlled trial with young adult women. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 10(3), 234–245.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ballesteros, J. M., Dal-Re Saavedra, M., Pérez-Farinós, N., & Villar, C. (2007). La estrategia para la nutrición, actividad física y prevención de la obesidad: Estrategia NAOS. Revista Española de Salud Pública, 81, 443–449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, C., & Blissett, J. (2014). Measuring hunger and satiety in primary school children. Validation of a new picture rating scale. Appetite, 78, 40–48.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (1994). Measuring emotion: The self-assessment manikin and the semantic differential. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 25(1), 49–59.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Call, D., Miron, L., & Orcutt, H. (2014). Effectiveness of brief mindfulness techniques in reducing symptoms of anxiety and stress. Mindfulness, 5(6), 658–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cebolla, A., García-Palacios, A., Soler, J., Guillen, V., Baños, R., & Botella, C. (2012). Psychometric properties of the spanish validation of the five facets of mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ). The European Journal of Psychiatry, 26(2), 118–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu, Y. L., Storey, K. E., & Veugelers, P. J. (2014). Involvement in meal preparation at home is associated with better diet quality among Canadian children. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 46(4), 304–308.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, P., Pace, T., Berg, J., Menon, U., & Szalacha, L. A. (2016). A mindful eating intervention: A theory-guided randomized anti-obesity feasibility study with adolescent latino females. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 28, 22–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Ruyter, J. C., Katan, M. B., Kuijper, L. D., Liem, D. G., & Olthof, M. R. (2013). The effect of sugar-free versus sugar-sweetened beverages on satiety, liking and wanting: An 18 month randomized double-blind trial in children. PLoS One, 8(10), e78039.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • DeCosta, P., Møller, P., Frøst, M. B., & Olsen, A. (2017). Changing children's eating behaviour-a review of experimental research. Appetite, 113, 327–357.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dehghan, M., Akhtar-Danesh, N., & Merchant, A. T. (2006). Childhood obesity, prevalence and prevention. Heart Views, 7(2), 74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durukan, A., & Gül, A. (2019). Mindful eating: Differences of generations and relationship of mindful eating with BMI. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, 18, 100172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A., & Buchner, A. (2007). G* power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, N., Lattimore, P., & Malinowski, P. (2016). Attention with a mindful attitude attenuates subjective appetitive reactions and food intake following food-cue exposure. Appetite, 99, 10–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hebestreit, A., Börnhorst, C., Pala, V., Barba, G., Eiben, G., Veidebaum, T., et al. (2014). Dietary energy density in young children across europe. International Journal of Obesity, 38(S2), S124–S134.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heim, S., Stang, J., & Ireland, M. (2009). A garden pilot project enhances fruit and vegetable consumption among children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(7), 1220–1226.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, P. Y., Lishner, D. A., & Han, K. H. (2014). Mindfulness and eating: An experiment examining the effect of mindful raisin eating on the enjoyment of sampled food. Mindfulness, 5(1), 80–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, C. H., Wang, W., Donatoni, L., & Meier, B. P. (2014). Mindful eating: Trait and state mindfulness predict healthier eating behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 68, 107–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn, J., & Hanh, T. N. (2009). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Delta.

  • Kopelman, P. G. (2000). Obesity as a medical problem. Nature, 404(6778), 635–643.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leon, F., Couronne, T., Marcuz, M., & Köster, E. (1999). Measuring food liking in children: A comparison of non verbal methods. Food Quality and Preference, 10(2), 93–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mak, T., Bonsmann, S., Genannt, S., Caldeira, S., & Wollgast, J. (2016). How to promote fruit and vegetable consumption in schools: A toolkit. Paper presented at the Acta Paediatrica, 106, 39–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mantzios, M., & Wilson, J. C. (2015). Mindfulness, eating behaviours, and obesity: A review and reflection on current findings. Current Obesity Reports, 4(1), 141–146.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marchiori, D., & Papies, E. K. (2014). A brief mindfulness intervention reduces unhealthy eating when hungry, but not the portion size effect. Appetite, 75, 40–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meers, M. R. (2013). The assessment of mindful food parenting and its relation to parental feeding practices and child food intake. Bowling Green State University: Doctoral dissertation.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Reilly, G. A., Cook, L., Spruijt-Metz, D., & Black, D. S. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions for obesity-related eating behaviours: A literature review. Obesity Reviews, 15(6), 453–461.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Papies, E. K., Barsalou, L. W., & Custers, R. (2012). Mindful attention prevents mindless impulses. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3(3), 291–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papies, E. K., Pronk, T. M., Keesman, M., & Barsalou, L. W. (2015). The benefits of simply observing: Mindful attention modulates the link between motivation and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(1), 148–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pierson, S., Goto, K., Giampaoli, J., Hart, S., & Wylie, A. (2019). Impacts of a mindful eating intervention on healthy food-related behaviors and mindful eating practices among elementary school children. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, 17(2), 41–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz, E., Rodriguez, P., Valero, T., Ávila, J. M., Aranceta-Bartrina, J., Gil, Á., et al. (2017). Dietary intake of individual (free and intrinsic) sugars and food sources in the spanish population: Findings from the ANIBES study. Nutrients, 9(3), 275.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A. K., Sofi, N. Y., Kumar, R., & Bhadoria, A. S. (2015). Childhood obesity: Causes and consequences. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 4(2), 187–192.

  • Sánchez-Cruz, J., Jiménez-Moleón, J. J., Fernández-Quesada, F., & Sánchez, M. J. (2013). Prevalence of child and youth obesity in Spain in 2012. Revista Española De Cardiología (English Edition), 66(5), 371–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savoie-Roskos, M. R., Wengreen, H., & Durward, C. (2017). Increasing fruit and vegetable intake among children and youth through gardening-based interventions: A systematic review. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 117(2), 240–250.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scaglioni, S., De Cosmi, V., Ciappolino, V., Parazzini, F., Brambilla, P., & Agostoni, C. (2018). Factors influencing children’s eating behaviours. Nutrients, 10(6), 706.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Serra-Majem, L., Ribas, L., Ngo, J., Ortega, R. M., García, A., Pérez-Rodrigo, C., & Aranceta, J. (2004). Food, youth and the mediterranean diet in Spain. Development of KIDMED, mediterranean diet quality index in children and adolescents. Public Health Nutrition, 7(7), 931–935.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sud, S., Tamayo, N. C., Faith, M. S., & Keller, K. L. (2010). Increased restrictive feeding practices are associated with reduced energy density in 4–6-year-old, multi-ethnic children at ad libitum laboratory test-meals. Appetite, 55(2), 201–207.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Timmerman, G. M., & Brown, A. (2012). The effect of a mindful restaurant eating intervention on weight management in women. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 44(1), 22–28.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle, J., Guthrie, C. A., Sanderson, S., & Rapoport, L. (2001). Development of the children's eating behaviour questionnaire. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42(7), 963–970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2018). Global action plan on physical activity 2018–2030: More active people for a healthier world.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Institut Olga Triballat for the financial support. We thank all the children who participated in the study as well as their parents and members of primary schools who facilitated the recruitment. We also thank the colleagues from Basque Culinary Center who helped developing the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edurne Maiz.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was funded by Institut Olga Triballat.

Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals

Ethical approval: All procedures performed in the study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the ethical Commission of Basque Culinary Center- Mondragon Unibertsitatea (005/2014) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

de Tomas, I., Maiz, E., Goiri, F. et al. Mindful eating: effects of a brief induction in the choice and intake of food in children. Curr Psychol 41, 2535–2545 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00764-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00764-7

Keywords

Navigation