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What is Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT)?

By The Science of Mindfulness

Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT)

Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training, also known as MB-EAT, is a group program developed by Jean Kristeller and colleagues for people who struggle with binge eating and overeating1, 2. It teaches participants to bring mindful awareness to eating and to the experiences that surround it, including physical hunger and fullness, the taste and satisfaction of food, and the emotions that can drive eating.

Course Format: In the randomized trial, MB-EAT consisted of 12 group sessions: nine weekly sessions followed by three monthly booster sessions3. Participants learn guided meditation, including meditations focused on eating, and practice mindful eating exercises, awareness of the body’s hunger and fullness signals, and a kinder, less judgmental stance toward their own struggles with food2.

Instructor Requirements: MB-EAT is taught by clinicians and mindfulness teachers who have completed MB-EAT training and have their own meditation practice. Professional training is offered through institutions including the Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute at UC San Diego.

Course Outcomes: An early exploratory study suggested that a meditation-based intervention could help people with binge eating disorder1. The randomized trial that followed enrolled 150 overweight or obese adults, 66% of whom met full criteria for binge eating disorder. Participants were assigned to MB-EAT, a psychoeducational/cognitive-behavioral program, or a waitlist. The primary outcomes were binge days per month, scores on the Binge Eating Scale, and depression. Both active treatments improved relative to the waitlist at one and four months after treatment, with generally comparable results. At four months, 95% of MB-EAT participants with binge eating disorder no longer met criteria for the disorder, compared with 76% of those in the other active program, and the binges that did occur tended to be smaller in the MB-EAT group. The amount of mindfulness practice predicted improvement across many outcomes, including weight loss3.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 studies of mindfulness-based interventions for binge eating found large within-group effects (Hedges’ g = −1.12) and medium-to-large between-group effects (g = −0.70), though the studies varied widely in their results4.

Clinical Populations: MB-EAT has been studied in adults with binge eating disorder and in people with obesity who binge eat3. Eating disorders can be serious conditions, and treatment is best undertaken with a qualified clinician.

Learn More: The trial paper is open to read at Mindfulness. For another program that includes work with difficult emotions, see Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

This page is for general education and is not medical advice. Please speak with a qualified health professional about treatment options.

References

  1. Kristeller, J. L., & Hallett, C. B. (1999). An Exploratory Study of a Meditation-based Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder. Journal of Health Psychology, 4(3), 357-363. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910539900400305
  2. Kristeller, J. L., & Wolever, R. Q. (2010). Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training for Treating Binge Eating Disorder: The Conceptual Foundation. Eating Disorders, 19(1), 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2011.533605
  3. Kristeller, J., Wolever, R. Q., & Sheets, V. (2013). Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT) for Binge Eating: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Mindfulness, 5(3), 282-297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0179-1
  4. Godfrey, K. M., Gallo, L. C., & Afari, N. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions for binge eating: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 38(2), 348-362. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9610-5

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