Associations of Dispositional Mindfulness with Obesity and Central Adiposity: the New England Family Study
Authors
Loucks, Eric B.Britton, Willoughby B.
Howe, Chanelle J.
Gutman, Roee
Gilman, Stephen E.
Brewer, Judson A.
Eaton, Charles B.
Buka, Stephen L.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and SocietyDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2016-04-01Keywords
AdiposityEpidemiology
Mindfulness
Obesity
Prevention
Mental and Social Health
Movement and Mind-Body Therapies
Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms
Psychiatry
Psychiatry and Psychology
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate whether dispositional mindfulness (defined as the ability to attend nonjudgmentally to one's own physical and mental processes) is associated with obesity and central adiposity. METHODS: Study participants (n = 394) were from the New England Family Study, a prospective birth cohort, with median age 47 years. Dispositional mindfulness was assessed using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Central adiposity was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans with primary outcomes android fat mass and android/gynoid ratio. Obesity was defined as body mass index > /=30 kg/m(2). RESULTS: Multivariable-adjusted regression analyses demonstrated that participants with low vs. high MAAS scores were more likely to be obese (prevalence ratio for obesity = 1.34 (95 % confidence limit (CL): 1.02, 1.77)), adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, birth weight, childhood socioeconomic status, and childhood intelligence. Furthermore, participants with low vs. high MAAS level had a 448 (95 % CL 39, 857) g higher android fat mass and a 0.056 (95 % CL 0.003, 0.110) greater android/gynoid fat mass ratio. Prospective analyses demonstrated that participants who were not obese in childhood and became obese in adulthood (n = 154) had -0.21 (95 % CL -0.41, -0.01; p = 0.04) lower MAAS scores than participants who were not obese in childhood or adulthood (n = 203). CONCLUSIONS: Dispositional mindfulness may be inversely associated with obesity and adiposity. Replication studies are needed to adequately establish whether low dispositional mindfulness is a risk factor for obesity and adiposity.Source
Int J Behav Med. 2016 Apr;23(2):224-33. doi: 10.1007/s12529-015-9513-z. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1007/s12529-015-9513-zPermanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/46289PubMed ID
26481650Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s12529-015-9513-z