Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Physical Self-efficacy and Emotional Eating in Overweight Children

Overweight and obesity are constantly increasing worldwide Study of the childhood obesity has become a global health priority due to the massive impact of obesity on acute and chronic diseases, general health, development, and well-being. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindful eating training on physical self-efficacy and emotional eating of overweight children. The research method was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test designs with two experimental and control groups. The statistical population of the present study included all overweight children in primary school in Tehran in the academic year 2021 who had no weight loss intervention.  Using an available sampling 30 subjects were selected and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Then the Physical Self-efficacy and Emotional Eating questionnaires were distributed among both groups. The Healthy Lifestyle Training program was then performed on the experimental group and  both groups completed the questionnaires afterward. Significant positive effect was observed for the Mindful Eating Training program on physical self-efficacy and emotional eating of overweight children (P <0.001). Therefore, it could be concluded that Mindful Eating Training can be used to improve and modify the psychological protective factors of overweight children.