Examining the Role of Perceived Body Boundaries and Spatial Frame of Reference in the Effect of a Mindfulness Meditation in Emotional Eating

NCT05223348 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: McGillU
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 81
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Emotional eating, or overeating in response to emotions, is problematic because of its link to weight gain, obesity, and psychopathology such as bulimia and binge eating disorder. To date, a vast amount of research has studied the psychological processes that cause individuals to overeat in response to emotions in an effort to develop ways to help individuals reduce their emotional eating. The aim of the current project is to study two psychological processes that can potentially be positively influenced to improve well-being: perceived body boundaries and a person's spatial frame of reference. Particularly, the investigators will examine how perceived body boundaries and spatial frames of reference can be positively influenced through a body scan meditation and thereby improve emotional eating. Perceived body boundaries refers to the continuum along which the self is experienced, from a body-encapsulated entity that is separate from the surrounding world to a more diffuse entity that is more connected with others and the environment. Spatial frames of reference describes the region within one's perception, often based in the body and construed as the self, that may be experienced as egocentric, through a preoccupation with internal events, or as allocentric, with feelings of unity and interdependence with others and the environment. One way for individuals to experience more diffuse body boundaries and allocentric frames of reference is through a body scan meditation. In this practice, individuals are instructed to intentionally shift their attention to various parts of the body and to notice what happens without judging or reacting. Thoughts and emotions are briefly noted if they arise, and attention is shifted back to the body. Recent research has shown that when individuals practice the body scan meditation, individuals are likely to experience greater positive emotions, lower negative emotions, lower ruminations, and higher psychological wellbeing. In addition, research has shown that individuals are able to experience more diffuse perceived body boundaries and more allocentric frames of reference through a body scan meditation. Based on this work, the researchers predict that when emotional eaters practice the body scan meditation, emotional eaters will experience more diffuse body boundaries, more allocentric frames of reference, and lower ruminations, which could in turn reduce their negative affect and food cravings. The researchers will test this hypothesis by asking emotional eaters to complete questionnaires that measure perceived body boundaries, spatial frames of reference, ruminations, negative emotions, and food cravings before and after a body scan meditation. To ensure that any changes in these measures are due to the meditation, the researchers will compare these findings with emotional eaters who complete the same measures before and after a control listening task. The findings of the current study will be used to recommend the body scan meditation to support emotional eaters in regulating their emotions, cravings, and eating behaviors.

Conditions

Eating Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Negative affect subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale

  Negative affect will be measured using the negative affect subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. The lowest score is 10, and the highest score is 50. The higher outcome would mean a worse outcome as this indicates higher negative affect, and a lower score would indicate a better outcome (lower negative affect).

  The investigators are assessing change from baseline (immediately after the mood induction) to immediately after the intervention.

• Desire subscale of the Food Cravings Questionnaire-State Version

  The intensity of food cravings will be measured using the Desire subscale of Food Cravings Questionnaire- State Version. Three items that target cravings for food from the Desire subscale of Food Cravings Questionnaire- State Version will be used in the current study. Specifically, participants rate the three items: "I am craving tasty food", "I have an urge for tasty food", "I have an intense desire to eat tasty food." All items will be rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The mean score on the three items will be used as the food craving measure.

  The investigators are assessing change from baseline (immediately after the mood induction) to immediately after the intervention.

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Perceived Body Boundaries Scale

  The investigators are assessing change from baseline (immediately after the mood induction) to immediately after the intervention

• Spatial Frame of Reference Continuum

  Immediately after the mood induction and immediately after the intervention

• Brief State Rumination Inventory

  Immediately after the mood induction and immediately after the intervention

Other Outcomes (5)

• Adherence Checks

  Immediately after the intervention

• Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness- 2

  Up to 2 days before testing

• Equanimity Scale

  Up to 2 days before testing

Study Arms (2)

Body Scan Meditation

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental condition involves participants listening to a 16-minute recording of a body scan meditation. The body scan condition guides participants to focus on their bodily sensations separately, then together as a whole.

Other: Meditation practice

Listening Task

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The active comparer condition involves participants listening to a 16-minute recording of text that describes the human musculoskeletal system. The text will be narrated by a female voice to match the body scan meditation. In addition, the focus on the body in the text of the active condition matches the focus on the body in the body scan meditation and, as such, controls for demand characteristics.

Other: Meditation practice

Interventions

Meditation practice OTHER

Our intervention will involve two meditation exercises. 1) the experimental condition (body scan meditation). 2) the active comparator condition (listening task)

Body Scan Meditation; Listening Task

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Individuals who self-report as emotional eaters, indicated by a score of 3.25 or higher on the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ; Van Strien et al., 1986)

You may not qualify if:

• Self-reported eating disorders
• Self-reported psychiatric conditions
• More than 10 hours of formal meditation practice (e.g., sitting meditation) or retreat experience in the last one year

Sponsors & Collaborators

• McGill University: lead

Study Sites (1)

McGill University

Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0G4, Canada

Location

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MeSH Terms

Conditions

Feeding Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Animal; Behavior

Study Officials

• Huma Shireen, MA, MPsy

  McGill University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Masking Details: Participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental condition, a body scan meditation, or a control condition, a listening task, using a random digit generator. This randomization will be done in a way that is blinded from the participants to ensure that knowledge of the practice to which they are assigned does not impact how they respond to the self-report questionnaires. In addition, the researcher guiding the mood induction will also remain blind to the participant allocation.
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: James McGill Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 16, 2021
• First Posted: February 3, 2022
• Study Start: December 9, 2021
• Primary Completion: March 18, 2022
• Study Completion: March 18, 2022
• Last Updated: August 26, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)