Beagle Obesity Incorporating Mindful Eating Practices
A Literature Review of the Role of Mindfulness Practices in Nutritionfor Mothers and Their Children
Am J Lifestyle Med. 2019 Nov-Dec; 13(6): 533536.
A Literature Review of the Role of Mindfulness Practices in Nutritionfor Mothers and Their Children
University of Hawaii at Mnoa, Honolulu,Hawaii
Jinan Banna, PhD, RD, University of Hawaiiat Mnoa, 1955 East West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822; e-mail:
ude.iiawah@annabcj.
Abstract
Nutrition-related problems have been increasingly prevalent among children andadults nationally and globally. Pregnant women and children are particularlysusceptible to nutrition-related concerns. Mindfulness-based programs havedemonstrated favorable outcomes for lifestyles and behaviors and may, therefore,assist in nutrition-related concerns. This column focuses on existing literaturethat focuses on the way mindfulness practices improve eating and nutritionoutcomes for mothers. The synthesized findings of this review provide supportfor the effectiveness of mindfulness practices of mothers affecting improvednutrition for their children.
Keywords: mindfulness, mindful eating, mindful parenting, maternal health, eating behavior
. . . a model of mindful parenting emphasized the importance of demonstratingintentionality and incorporating moment-to-moment awareness in parent-childrelationships.
Introduction
US adults suffer from a number of nutrition-related problems. Obesity in adults isalso a major public health problem.1 In 2015-2016, 39.8% of American adults were affected by obesity. Inadequatefruit and vegetable intake have been expressed as a nutritional concern.Approximately 12.2% of adults meet the recommended daily intake of fruit, and evenless (9.3%) consume the recommended amount of vegetables.2 Although healthy nutrition and adequate diet is important throughout the lifespan, healthy nutrition during pregnancy is of significance because of thedevelopment of the expecting mother and child during pregnancy.3 Throughout pregnancy, nutritional needs increase, including the increasedneed for micronutrients and macronutrients. Healthy weight gain has also been givenincreased attention, with guidelines of a healthy weight gain ranging between 25 and35 pounds for mothers of normal weight.4
Nutritional needs during childhood are also important to consider given the energyand nutrient needs of this developmental time period. In the United States, numerousnutrition-related concerns have been identified among children. The Centers forDisease Control and Prevention reported that 18.5% of children 2 to 19 years oldwere affected by obesity in 2014, and this number has only increased in the past few years.5 Inadequate fruit and vegetable intake is also a concern among childrenbecause only 9% of children eat the recommended daily amount of fruit, with 2%eating the recommended daily amount of vegetables.2 Nutrient deficiencies are also of concern. For instance, iron deficienciesare seen in about 7.1% of children 1 to 5 years of age in the United States.6
Increased attention has focused on the benefits of mindfulness and the rolemindfulness may have in nutrition. Mindfulness stems from Buddhist teachings and maybe defined as the moment-by-moment state of awareness.7 Mindfulness has been increasingly popularized in research and practicebecause of the multitude of benefits associated with it. A bulk of the literatureexamines the benefits of mindfulness in relation to emotional and affective well-being.8 More recently, however, the literature has expanded on these benefits anddemonstrates positive links between mindfulness and other health benefits andbehaviors related to good nutrition.
Increased attention has also been given to mindful parenting and its benefits onparenting interventions and positive youth development. In an article published in2009, a model of mindful parenting emphasized the importance of demonstratingintentionality and incorporating moment-to-moment awareness in parent-child relationships.9
Because of the overwhelming amount of literature that highlights the benefits ofmindfulness, this column aimed to review existing studies and interventions thatexplored the role mindfulness and mindful parenting may have in nutrition.Mindfulness practices have been utilized for eating awareness and eating programs.Such programs have been useful in making individuals conscious of their food choicesand eating practices, leading to weight loss and healthy lifestyles. This literaturereview specifically explored the impacts of mindfulness and nutrition programs formothers.
Methods
A literature search was completed through the PubMed and PsycInfo databases toidentify peer-reviewed journal articles published in the past 5 years that focusedon mindfulness and nutrition programs for mothers. The following terms weresearched: mindfulness AND nutrition ANDmother or mothers. The search was completed by2 reviewers who agreed on inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 10 articleswere found through PubMed, and 4 articles were found through PsycInfo.
Each reviewer individually reviewed the abstract of all 14 articles. Followingabstract review, reviewers came to consensus on the eligibility of each article.Articles were excluded if they did not include mindfulness practices and nutritionimplications. Articles excluded from PubMed included 2 based on substance use, 1duplicate, 1 not yet published, and 1 study focused on mindlessness instead ofmindfulness. Articles excluded from PsycInfo included 1 based on substance use and 1duplicate article. The final review comprised 7 articles, including 3 generalstudies and 4 interventions.
Results
In general, the 7 articles explored the association of mindful parenting and/ormindful eating practices and nutrition among pregnant women/mothers and theirchildren. Interventions found positive outcomes, and general studies found positiveassociations between mindful parenting and/or mindful eating and nutrition-relatedoutcomes.
Mindfulness Studies
Mindfulness helped improve eating and nutrition-related outcomes amongmothers.10-12 Forexample, scholars Gouveia et al10 demonstrated that mindful parenting was significantly associated withlower levels of emotional distress among children, which has implications forcoping with (or regulating) emotions through eating. Laraia et al11 found that the association of mindful parenting, specifically thedimension of compassion, is indirectly related to adolescents emotional eatingbehaviors. Mothers who are mindful of their eating behaviors are also mindful oftheir child feeding practices. For example, Tylka et al,12 in 2013, found that mothers who identified eating for physical reasons,rather than emotional reasons, are more likely to monitor food intake inchildren, whereas mothers who engage in contextual skills, such as mindfulness,are more likely to engage in shared feeding responsibilities.12 These studies have implications for child feeding practices, which canlead to childhood obesity and other chronic diseases.
Mindfulness Programs
The review includes 4 programs of mindfulness and nutrition. These programshelped improve eating and nutrition-related skills (ie, overeating) andchildhood feeding practices. In particular, the Slow Down Program and theprogram by Tylka et al12 found that acquiring and practicing mindfulness skills helps mothers withstress management and overeating.13 Additionally, researchers from the Mindful Moms Training program foundthat the mindfulness component of the program reduced stress and depressivesymptoms, improved eating behaviors, and was effective in decreasingexperiential avoidance among pregnant women.11 These interventions have implications for mothers who are overweight orobese during pregnancy. Practicing mindful eating practices could improve thehealth of mothers who influence their childrens feeding and eatingpractices.
Other Implications of Mindfulness
In addition to the favorable outcomes for nutrition-related variables,mindfulness was also shown to have favorable outcomes for nonnutritionvariables. As mentioned above, mindfulness and mindful parenting has been shownto have favorable outcomes for affective and mental well-being.8,9 Therefore,it was not surprising that the mindfulness studies demonstrated favorableoutcomes for the emotional and mental well-being of mothers and children. Forchildren, mindfulness and mindful parenting displayed by mothers were associatedwith lower levels of emotional distress in children, increased inclusion ofinvolving children in feeding responsibilities, and decreased likelihood ofchildren or adolescents engaging in emotional eating.10,12 Similar findings wereobserved in the mindfulness interventions. In the article that compared amindfulness intervention (Mindful Moms Training) to an emotional brain training,the mindfulness intervention demonstrated more favorable outcomes toward copingstrategies identified by mothers.11 Although not included in this review, recent studies have also exploredthe way mindfulness parenting interventions may address concerns related to druguse, including opioid use, and may effectively serve as a basis for a drugtreatment program.14,15
General Discussion
There is a growing body of evidence to show that mindfulness practices improve eatingand nutrition outcomes for mothers. The synthesized findings of this review providesupport for the effectiveness of mindfulness practices of mothers having an impacton improved nutrition for their children. Additionally, mindfulness may helplifestyles of mothers by promoting better health while decreasing stress. Stress hasbeen found to lead to gestational diabetes and endocrine function over the lifecourse for pregnant mothers,16,17 which could affect the health and well-being of their children.Stress management and mindful parenting can play a crucial role in lowering levelsof emotional distress among children.10 Mothers who practice mindful eating behaviors might influence theirchildrens eating and feeding practices, with implications for reducing and/orpreventing childhood overweight and obesity. Although the focus of this study was onmindfulness and nutrition among mothers, other researchers have explored the waymindlessness may affect feeding practices and, thus, nutrition of children.18 Thus, the alternative, mindfulness practices, should be considered to addressthe major public health concern of childhood obesity in the United States.
Limitations and Strengths
The authors acknowledge limitations of this review. NonEnglish language articleswere not included in the review, which might have minimized the relevantliterature. Other databases might have posed relevant literature to mindfulnessand nutrition of mothers. Furthermore, this review is not based on an exhaustivesearch of the literature because it does not include gray literature.
Nevertheless, this review highlights key components of health initiatives thatemphasize mindfulness in nutrition. Practicing mindfulness in parenting andnutrition has been shown to improve health outcomes of mothers and theirchildren; however, there is still a need to understand how mindfulness andnutrition performs in vulnerable populations and among unique cultures.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to theresearch, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/orpublication of this article.
Ethical Approval: Not applicable, because this article does not contain any studies with human oranimal subjects.
Informed Consent: Not applicable, because this article does not contain any studies with human oranimal subjects.
Trial Registration: Not applicable, because this article does not contain any clinical trials.
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