Mindfulness helped sustain weight loss in a pilot
A CU Anschutz pilot found mindfulness training aided maintenance of prior weight loss, suggesting behavioral reinforcement may extend outcomes beyond initial dieting. The small‑scale result supports integrating psychological skills into weight‑management programs. (x.com)
The pilot appears as “A Preliminary Investigation of the Feasibility of an 8‑week Mindfulness Program for Weight Loss Maintenance” in the American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 48, Number 6 (December 2024), DOI: 10.5993/AJHB.48.6.18 (ingentaconnect.com ). Authors listed on the paper include Selene Y. Tobin, Jaclynn K. Smith, Kelsey DeSalvo, Abbie Beacham, Elizabeth Chamberlain, Marc‑Andre Cornier and Tanya M. Halliday. (ingentaconnect.com ) Enrollment criteria and baseline descriptors reported that women who had achieved a ≥7% reduction in body mass within the prior two months were eligible, with the enrolled cohort mean age 40.2±10.8 years and mean BMI 28.3±4.3. (ingentaconnect.com ) The intervention was delivered as an eight‑week curriculum that included formal practices such as meditation and body scans alongside mindfulness of routine activities and facilitated group discussions. (CU Anschutz News ingentaconnect.com ) Primary feasibility and short‑term outcome metrics reported 70% retention, mean attendance 89.3±13.4%, high participant satisfaction (mean scores ≈9.25/10), and essentially no mean weight regain across completers (−0.04% ±3.3% weight change), with Three‑Factor Eating Questionnaire subscales remaining stable. (ingentaconnect.com ) The authors concluded the program was feasible and recommended randomized, matched‑control trials with longer follow‑up, a recommendation that CU Anschutz contextualized alongside a larger, separate multisite lifestyle trial that reported 24‑month remission of metabolic syndrome in 618 participants. (ingentaconnect.com CU Anschutz News )
