Mindful eating and its relationship with body mass index, binge eating, anxiety and negative affect

Abstract

Mindful eating concerns an awareness of our dietary habits, while its absence is typically associated with anxiety, negative affect and binge eating. The objective of this study was to analyze these variables in a sample of 216 individuals, divided in four groups: students who practiced sport regularly, university athletes, yoga practitioners and persons suffering from obesity. They were assessed by a semi-structured interview and the questionnaires MEQ, BES, PANAS and BAI. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ANOVA and multiple regression. Results demonstrated that people who have less awareness of their eating habits are generally more overweight, more anxious and have higher levels of negative affect, while they demonstrate less control over their eating habits. Moreover, these variables can predict binge eating. The model obtained was significant (p < .001) and its predictive capacity through R square corrected was .51. This means that the model predicts a 51% of binge eating from mindful eating, body mass index, anxiety and negative affect.