Mindfulness Training to Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity in Teens
Condition: Overweight; Obesity
MeSH terms: Overweight
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This project will compare the preliminary efficacy of a novel school-delivered intervention,
      mindfulness plus health education intervention, to health education alone on dietary and
      physical activity habits in adolescents. This study has important public health implications
      because of the negative consequences of unhealthy diets and lack of exercise on health, such
      as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. If effective, this intervention has high
      potential for translation to high school settings
    

Detailed description: 
      Unhealthy dietary habits and physical inactivity are important modifiable behavioral risk
      factors for the development of cardiovascular disease. Both behaviors are often established
      during adolescence and are highly prevalent in teenagers. Conversely, the establishment of
      healthy dietary and physical activity habits in youth leads to significant health benefits in
      adulthood, highlighting the need to develop programs aimed at improving dietary and physical
      activity habits in youth. However, thus far, interventions designed to promote healthy
      dietary and exercise habits in adolescents have had modest effects on these behaviors, and
      there is limited knowledge on how to maintain positive changes in these habits over time.
      Current evidence from observational studies suggests that higher mindfulness levels in
      adolescents are associated with better eating and exercise habits. In addition, mindfulness
      is associated with lower impulsivity and better self-control, which are important
      determinants of healthy behaviors in younger populations. Multiple studies have shown that
      mindfulness levels increase in response to mindfulness training, and that an increase in
      mindfulness mediates the effect of mindfulness interventions on health outcomes. Consistent
      with the goals of PA-11-329 "to determine the influence of complementary and alternative
      medicine approaches on developing and sustaining healthy behavior habits in children and
      youth" this multi-PI application seeks to study the role of mindfulness training in promoting
      and maintaining healthy dietary and physical activity habits. We posit that the addition of
      mindfulness training to an educational program, compared to an educational program alone,
      will improve diet and physical activity, and these changes will be maintained over time. In
      addition, we expect to observe a decrease in impulsivity, indicating that impulsivity may
      serve as a potential mediator of the effect of the mindfulness intervention on diet and
      physical activity. This pilot study will test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a
      school-delivered, mindfulness + health education intervention (MHE) compared to health
      education (HE) alone on dietary habits and physical activity in 80 adolescents recruited
      among 9th graders (average age, 14) in 2 high schools in Massachusetts; each school will be
      randomized to either the MHE or HE intervention. Assessments will be performed at baseline,
      at the end of the intervention (2 months post-baseline), and at 8- months (end of academic
      year) follow-up. Innovative aspects of this proposal include studying the effect of
      mindfulness training on health behaviors among youth and the development of a new model
      linking mindfulness, impulsivity and behavioral change in this population. The study is
      significant due to the importance of the behaviors targeted and to the potential for
      translation to high school settings if an effect is demonstrated.
    

Intervention name(s): Meditation
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The intervention's curriculum will include: 1) the body scan; 2) training in the awareness of the sensations of breathing; 3) training in directing the attention to simple activities of daily life; 4) practice of 'open awareness' in which students will be instructed to just notice which events (physical sensation, sound, visual object, thought) their attention is spontaneously drawn to from moment to moment; 5) mindful movement (standing and walking exercises); and 6) mindful eating. In addition to the weekly training session, students will practice mindfulness techniques for 15 minutes daily in class with the health education teacher and for an additional 15 minutes daily on their own
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention