How does the way mindful eating is defined and recommended at the NCA student clinic compare to the emerging evidence base? A retrospective multiple case study
By Vicky Richardson - Nutrition Science and Practice
Abstract
Background:
It has been observed that when student Nutritional Therapists at the Northern College of Acupuncture recommend mindful eating (MfE), it encompasses a range of interventions for a variety of conditions. Whilst research into MfE as a strategy for weight loss exists, other applications of MfE are less established in the literature. No other studies to date have attempted to define its use in clinical practice and compare this with the evidence base.
Aim:
To examine the way mindful eating is defined and recommended at the NCA student clinic compared to the evidence base.
Methodology:
A literature review was conducted, gauging the breadth of evidence for MfE. Seven cases from the last 3 years where MfE recommendations occurred formed a retrospective case study, examining the way MfE was recommended in clinical practice and the range of conditions for which MfE was recommended. Qualitative data collected from client files and video records were thematically analysed. Themes that emerged from the literature review were compared to the themes that emerged from the case data.
Findings:
There was more emphasis on physical MfE processes in the case data. By contrast, the literature emphasised psychological MfE processes. MfE was used mainly to support gastrointestinal functional disorders in the case data but in the literature MfE was used predominantly for weight loss. NCA students are employing a broader use of MfE than the published literature.
Conclusion:
The more robust studies from the literature focused solely on psychological interventions. However, the students’ use of MfE more closely mirrored the way MfE was used in the studies from the integrated medicine setting which were lower in the evidence hierarchy. Further high quality studies on the effectiveness of this approach to MfE are needed. This study extends knowledge about how MfE is used in clinical practice and how the evidence may support this use.
