| The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the efficacy of a novel community-based intervention for adult women with a range of eating and weight-related concerns. It is the first study of an intervention, called Eat for Life, that combines two innovative paradigms, Intuitive Eating and Mindfulness, to assist women in re-learning positive, sustainable relationships with food and their bodies. Specifically, the study examined whether Eat for Life contributes to increased intuitive eating, body appreciation, and mindfulness, as well as decreased disordered eating. The study also sought to examine whether mindfulness mediated the relationship between group and the other outcome variables. Female employees of the UM system (N = 124) enrolled in the intervention group or wait-list control group and were assessed at pre- and post-10 week intervention or interim. ANCOVAs and ordinal regression were utilized to measure differences between groups. At post-10 weeks, participants in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater scores on intuitive eating, body appreciation, mindfulness, and lower disordered eating than participants in the wait-list control group. Further, mindfulness was found to be a partial mediator of the relationships between group (e.g., Eat for Life condition or wait-list control) and the other outcome variables (e.g., intuitive eating, body appreciation, and disordered eating category). Implications for future research, prevention, and counseling are discussed. |
