Mindful Eating Intervention, Sustainable Dietary Preferences
Conditions
Keywords
Mindfulness, Sustainable Diet, Nutritional intervention, Young adults
Brief summary
The goal of this randomized controlled clinical trial is to determine whether a mindfulness-based intervention, in addition to nutritional education, improves healthy and sustainable eating habits in 53 young adults aged 18 to 35 years with low adherence to a sustainable diet.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMindfulness-based Intervention
The mindfulness-based intervention consists of a structured online program delivered over four weeks. Participants attend four 2-hour group sessions conducted once weekly. The program includes guided mindfulness practices, experiential exercises, and group discussions aimed at increasing awareness of eating behaviors, emotional triggers, and food-related decision-making.
OTHERNutritional Education
The nutritional education intervention consists of two 1-hour online sessions delivered over two separate weeks. The sessions are based on the EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations for healthy and sustainable eating and provide evidence-based guidance on food choices and dietary patterns consistent with environmental sustainability and health promotion
Sponsors
University of Turin, Italy
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Aged 18 to 35 years; * Low adherence to a sustainable diet, defined as a MedQ-Sus score ≤ 3.0; * Body mass index (BMI) between 18.0 and 29.9 kg/m²; * Able to provide written informed consent; * Generally healthy volunteers; * Omnivorous diet; * No current or past history of eating disorders; * Not pregnant and not planning pregnancy during the study period; * Personally responsible for making food-related decisions.
Exclusion criteria
* MedQ-Sus score ≥ 3.1; * BMI \< 18.0 or \> 29.9 kg/m²; * Unable to provide informed consent; * Dietary restrictions; * Allergy or intolerance to the tested food.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in adherence to the EAT-Lancet Diet | Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions | Change in adherence to a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern, assessed using the EAT-Lancet Index. The index ranges from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater adherence to the EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations. The total score is derived from 14 dietary components, each scored from 0 to 3. Adherence categories are defined as follows: ≤13 (low adherence), 14-16, 17-19, 20-22, and ≥23 (high adherence). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in MedQ-Sus score | Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions | Change in Sustainable diet adherence assessed using the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Sustainability (MedQ-Sus; range: 0-8), with higher scores indicating greater adherence to a sustainable diet. |
| Change in body weight and body mass index (BMI) | Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions | Change in body weight measured in kilograms (kg) and in BMI calculated as weight (kg)/height (m²) |
| Change in Mindfulness | Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions | Change in mindfulness (awareness) assessed using the Awareness subscale of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. Scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater awareness of the present momen. |
| Change in mindful eating behaviors | Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions | Change in mindful eating (awareness) assessed using the awareness subscale of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire. Mean scores range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater awareness of how food affects sensory experiences and internal states. |
| Change in Psychological distress | Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions | Change in depression symptoms assessed using the depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). Scores range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity. |
| Change in sleep quality | Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions | Change in sleep quality assessed using the Mini Sleep Questionnaire. Total scores range from 10 to 70, with higher scores indicating poorer sleep quality. |
Countries
Italy
Outcome results
None listed