Impact of a Mindful Eating program on self-compassion and parameters related to mental health of professionals in a hospital context

• Grant number: 23/02924-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Ana Regina Noto
• Grantee: Fernanda Guilhermino Magalhães
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Mindful Eating programs have shown good results for managing eating behavior. However, few studies evaluate the specific elements of the programs that help to explain such benefits. Self-compassion is one of the possible cross-cutting components that contributes to this context and is incorporated into the "Mindful Eating for Health" Program (MEH) from the first session. This project aims to investigate the impact of the MEH program on self-compassion, its relationship with other parameters related to mental health and its mediating effect on eating behavior and self-care of professionals in a hospital context. A pragmatic randomized and controlled study will be carried out with 270 adults, of both genders, randomized into three groups: Control Group, MEH Program (combination of Mindfulness, Mindful Eating and Compassion practices) and Food and Nutrition Education Program (FNEP) (educational activities based on the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population). Anthropometric (waist circumference, body mass and height) and psychometric (self-compassion, self-care, mindfulness, eating behavior, symptoms of anxiety, depression and perceived stress) measurements will be collected, pre- and post-interventions and follow-up. For data analysis, in the R software, will be used: Repeated Measures Anova and Structural Equation Modeling.