Obesity Prevention: Can Mindfulness Help Prevent The Problem In Children?

Mindfulness practices may be key to helping treat or even prevent obesity in children.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University found that they could help change unhealthy eating patterns in children by teaching them to have increased awareness regarding their thoughts and actions; previous research shows that unhealthy eating patterns may be the result of an imbalance between connections in the brain.

"Adults, and especially children, are primed towards eating more," Dr. Kevin Niswender, a researcher at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said in a news release. "This is great from an evolutionary perspective -- they need food to grow and survive. But in today's world, full of readily available, highly advertised, energy dense foods, it is putting children at risk of obesity."

During the study, researchers analyzed MRIs from 38 children between 8 and 13 in a resting state. They measured the connectivity between brain regions linked with inhibition, impulsivity and reward. Then, they assessed the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and eating behaviors as determined by the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire.

Researchers found that as impulsivity-biased imbalances in the brain go up, food approach behaviors go up while avoidance behaviors go down. The combination of physical and psychological factors at play suggest that mindfulness practice may help with efforts in changing eating habits and physical activity to help increase self-control. 

"We think mindfulness could recalibrate the imbalance in the brain connections associated with childhood obesity," said Dr. Ronald Cowan, of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "Mindfulness has produced mixed results in adults, but so far there have been few studies showing its effectiveness for weight loss in children."

The study is published in the journal Heliyon.

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