Effect of a Group Intervention Program Based on Acceptance and Mindfulness on the Physical and Emotional Well-being of Overweight and Obese Individuals
Condition: Overweight and Obesity
MeSH terms: Overweight
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of a 20-week group intervention
      program based on acceptance and mindfulness in emotional eating, weight loss, physiological
      parameters and the level of physical exercise, as well as in the quality-of-life and weight
      self-stigma of overweight and obese people on the short- and medium-term.

      Design, participants, and method: A randomized clinical trial comprising a total of 110
      overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25) participants that are receiving medical treatment at Primary
      Care Centers, 20-65 years, will be included and randomly assigned to standard program (N=55)
      or standard + intervention program (N=55). The standard program group will receive the
      treatment as usual (TAU) that comprises 5 sessions (on a monthly basis) that will include a
      personalized diet and physical exercise recommendations, while the standard + intervention
      program group will receive the same TAU plus the acceptance and mindfulness-based group
      intervention program.

      At baseline prior to randomization, after the intervention, and seven months after the
      program has finished anthropometric and body composition data, biochemical data in blood,
      waist circumference, blood pressure, eating habits, level of physical exercise, general
      health, emotional eating, quality-of-life, weight self-stigma, experiential avoidance,
      self-compassion level and mindfulness abilities will be evaluated.

      It is hypothesized that the integrated treatment of obesity implementing a group intervention
      program based on acceptance and mindfulness could help to reduce the emotional eating,
      enhance weight loss, improve physiological parameters, increase the level of physical
      exercise, improve the quality of life and reduce the weight self-stigma of overweight and
      obese individuals.
    

Detailed description: 
      The standard program group will receive the TAU that comprises 5 monthly sessions of 30
      minutes that will include a personalized diet and physical exercise recommendations.

      The standard + intervention program group will receive the same TAU plus the acceptance and
      mindfulness-based group intervention program. The first ten sessions will be held weekly and
      the last five, biweekly. The duration of sessions will be 2 hours and will include a
      mindfulness practice, the session content (i.e. control as the problem, willingness, etc.),
      followed by a mindful eating practice to train the ability to pay attention to food and
      eating physical sensations. Finally, the session content will be briefly revised and
      practices for the week will be established.

      The following measurements will be evaluated at baseline prior to randomization, after the
      intervention, and seven months after the program has finished: anthropometric and body
      composition data, that is, weight and fat and muscle mass percentage (Bio-electrical
      Impedance Analysis, TANITA) and height (SECA 227); biochemical data in blood; waist
      circumference (Holtain inelastic tape); blood pressure; eating habits (24h recall and
      PREDIMED); level of physical exercise (IPAQ); general health (GHQ-28); emotional eating
      (DEBQ); quality-of-life (IWQOL-Lite); weight self-stigma (WSSQ); experiential avoidance
      (AAQ-II); self-compassion level (SCS) and mindfulness abilities (FFMQ).
    

Intervention name(s): Mind&Life; Standard
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Acceptance and mindfulness-based group intervention program.; Personalized diet and physical exercise recommendations.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Overweight; Obesity; Adults; Mindfulness; Acceptance; Emotional eating