Eating Behaviors, Personality Types, and Mindful Awareness of App-Users Enrolled in Eat Right Now, a Mindfulness-Based, Eating Program

Krill, Lindsey

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Overview

Year:: 2023
Contributor:: Krill, Lindsey (creator); Brewer, Judson (Advisor); Aston, Elizabeth (Reader); Brown University. School of Public Health (sponsor)
Genre:: theses
Subject:: Mindfulness; Mindfulness-based Interventions; Emotional Eating; mindful eating; Mindfulness Training; Compulsive eating (Binge eating)
Extent:: v, 41 p.

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Abstract:: Objectives: Mindfulness-based eating interventions can reduce engagement in disordered eating behaviors, increase mindfulness and bodily awareness, and decrease stress and anxiety. However, there is limited qualitative work on motivations and personalities of mindful eating application (i.e., app) users and much of the conducted research has been quantitative. This qualitative study examined eating behaviors, personality types, and degree of mindful awareness of app-users enrolled in a mindfulness-based eating program. Method: Interested participants (n = 19) who met inclusion criteria (i.e., 18+ years, based in United States/Canada, English-speaking), were interviewed for this qualitative sub-study. One-on-one Zoom interviews were facilitated by a graduate student and conducted over four months. A semi-structured interview guide was developed by study personnel, with input from program facilitators. Interviews lasted 20-40 minutes and utilized open-ended questions followed by probing based on participant responses. A coding structure was developed from the interview agenda; transcripts were coded individually in NVivo qualitative analysis software by the master’s candidate using applied thematic analysis. Illustrative quotes were subsequently selected and included to reflect each theme. Results: Several prominent themes emerged around (a) participants’ reasons for using the app (e.g., weight management, mindful eating, overall health), (b) reasons for eating and stopping (e.g., disordered eating, external factors, internal cues, emotions), (c) general personality and anxiety (e.g., reaction to pressure, sources of stress/relaxation), and (d) degree of bodily awareness (e.g., attunement to hunger, somatic embodiment of negative versus positive emotions). Participants found mindful eating and mindfulness exercises to be beneficial in increasing attunement to hunger, bodily awareness, and decreasing stress, anxiety, and negative emotions. Conclusions: These findings suggest that individuals eat for numerous reasons outside of physical hunger and fullness. While people seek comfort in eating, food can also be great a stressor for individuals who struggle with eating. Many people have minimal bodily awareness, difficulty trusting bodily sensations and internal cues, and feel disconnected from their bodies, existing mostly in their minds. Additional quantitative research is needed to examine the extent to which app-based mindfulness training can improve individuals’ relationships with food, their bodies, and their emotions.
Notes:: Thesis (M. P. H.)--Brown University, 2023

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Citation

Krill, Lindsey, "Eating Behaviors, Personality Types, and Mindful Awareness of App-Users Enrolled in Eat Right Now, a Mindfulness-Based, Eating Program" (2023). Public Health Theses and Dissertations. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:d3dkcaez/

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Public Health Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations for the Public Health department.
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