The Effectiveness of Mindful Self-compassion Treatment as a Compound Method with Diet Therapy on Body Mass Indexes and the External Shame in Women with High Body Mass Indexes

Introduction: Overweightness has been one of the most prevalent global problems during recent years. This investigation was carried out to compare the compound treatment of diet therapy and mindful self-compassion with diet therapy as a one component treatment. Method: The current research was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test and a two-month follow-up on 40 women with high Body Mass Indexes (BMIs). The participants were selected among the women who had sought professional help in nutrition clinics of Kermanshah in 2019. Convenience sampling was applied and the 40 participants were equally divided between experimental and control groups. Both groups received diet therapy but one of them received eight sessions of mindful self-compassion in addition to the diet therapy. Data were collected using the external shame scale and by measuring the BMIs. The data were analyzed using SPSS-25. Results: The results of repeated measures ANOVA indicated that mindful self-compassion has led to significant reductions in external shame components (except for being ashamed of making mistake), the total external shame score, and the BMI. Conclusion: Teaching and practicing mindful self-compassion can effectively reduce external shame and the BMI. This findings highlight the importance of self-compassion in decreasing psychological problems and weight control.