A Mindful Eating "App" for Non-Treatment-Seeking University Women with Eating and Weight Concerns Public

Abstract

Although many university women are highly concerned and distressed about their eating and weight, relatively few seek traditional treatment for these problems. Smartphone applications ("apps") are a potentially useful way to disseminate evidence-based intervention strategies to this population. Yet, little research has assessed the effectiveness and acceptability of apps targeting eating behavior. The present study evaluates an app, called the Mindful Eating Coach, that emphasizes appetite monitoring (i.e., self-monitoring of appetite cues) and additional strategies to promote mindful eating. Ninety-four female students (ages 18-30) were recruited for a study described as testing an iPhone app that teaches mindful eating strategies. Participants were randomly assigned to the App group (n = 44) or to a Waitlist control group (n = 50). Dropout was very low and high levels of compliance were found for the core self-monitoring tools of the app, with a substantial number using these features daily. Participants rated the app as very easy to use and as not taking too much time to use. On average, participants rated the app as helpful and preferred over food monitoring as well as over seeking traditional counseling. After 3 weeks of use, all participants were reassessed and those in the App group reported significantly greater improvements in mindful eating, appetite awareness, and general mindfulness than the Waitlist group. Results suggested that the app was somewhat more helpful for women with initially lower levels of general mindfulness. The app did not lead to significantly greater improvement than a waitlist on measures assessing broader eating problems not directly targeted by the app. However, within the App group, improvements in mindful eating and appetite awareness were correlated with reductions on the broader eating measures. The results of this initial evaluation of the Mindful Eating Coach are promising and provide preliminary support for a mindful eating app as a viable alternative for women who are not seeking traditional treatment, and perhaps as an early step in a stepped care treatment model. Continued investigation of the potential for apps to increase access to effective treatment strategies for individuals with disordered eating or related problems seems warranted.

Table of Contents

Introduction..............................................................................................1

Research Design and Method.....................................................................20

Results.....................................................................................................31

Discussion................................................................................................47

References................................................................................................65

Table 1.....................................................................................................74

Table 2.....................................................................................................75

Table 3.....................................................................................................76

Table 4.....................................................................................................77

Table 5.....................................................................................................78

Figure 1....................................................................................................79

Figure 2....................................................................................................80

Figure 3....................................................................................................81

Figure 4....................................................................................................82

Table 6.....................................................................................................83

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Clinical Health Sciences, Nutrition Health Sciences, Public Health
Mot-clé	mobile health appetite awareness self-monitoring mindful eating treatment dissemination
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Craighead, Linda, Emory University
Committee Members	Westen, Drew, Emory University Craighead, W Edward, Emory University Nygaard, Lynne, Emory University Jones, Erin, Emory University

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