Brief Mindfulness Reduces Emotional Eating Via the Alleviation of Negative Emotions

Emotional eating, characterized by dysregulated food intake in response to negative emotions, represents a significant public health concern with potential progression to severe eating disorders. Given its public health implications, there is a critical need for effective early interventions. Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT) has emerged as a promising approach by enhancing self-regulation through increased awareness of hunger, satiety, and negative emotions. The current study examined the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness intervention in mitigating emotional eating among female undergraduate students ( N = 127). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: mindfulness intervention, distraction, or control group. Following negative emotion induction via autobiographical recall, participants engaged in different eating scenarios. The mindfulness group practiced brief mindful breathing and mindful eating of 5 mini-Oreo cookies, while other groups followed standard consumption protocols of the same food. After that participants were provided with snacks through an ad libitum task, and calories intake were calculated. Results indicated that, after controlling for trait Acting with Awareness, the brief mindfulness intervention significantly reduced calorie intake compared to other two groups. Mediation analyses demonstrated a significant indirect effect through reduced negative emotions ( β = -0.16, p = 0.02), and a marginal indirect effect via enhanced satiety sensitivity ( β = -0.15, p = 0.06). These findings suggest mindfulness as a "just-in-time" tool to resist emotional eating.