"Mindful eating: a comparative study between medical and non-medical students of Tanta University".
Asmaa Mohammad, Enas Kassim, Maha El-Sharawy, Ali Ali Elsherbini, Abdelaziz Farouk Eldeeb
Journal of health, population, and nutrition February 6, 2026 DOI: 10.1186/s41043-025-01232-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 576 |
| Population | Undergraduate university students (medical and non-medical) |
| Intervention | Mindful eating |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Eating behaviour Medical students Mindful eating Mindless eating |
| Key findings | Adoption of mindful eating is more common among medical than non-medical students and is associated with lower Body Mass Index. |
Abstract
Mindful eating serves as a therapeutic intervention for recognizing and gradually altering the established daily eating habits and patterns. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of adoption of principles of mindful eating among medical and non-medical university students and to detect the effect of adoption of mindful eating on the Body Mass Index of the studied subjects. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 576 undergraduate students using a structured self-administered questionnaire comprising sociodemographic data, perceived weight and height and Mindful Eating Questionnaire. The majority of the studied students (94.4%) were used to adopt Mindful eating. The percentages of medical and non-medical students were used to adopt Mindful eating were (97.6% and 91.3%, respectively). A statistically significant association was detected between the type of the study (faculty) and adoption of mindful eating (P-value = 0.001). Medical study permits adopting mindful eating by about 73.8% more than non-medical studies. Medical male students showed higher scores for the disinhibition subscale than females (P-value = 0.025) while non-medical female students showed higher scores for the awareness subscale than males (P-value = 0.006). Nearly three fourths of the studied subjects (74.3%) had Body Mass Index ≥ 25. The percentage of medical students (17.4%) having Body Mass Index ≥ 25 was less than the percentage of their non-medical peers (34.0%). The association between the type of the study (faculty) and Body Mass Index categories was statistically significant (P-value = < 0.001). The higher scores on the Mindful Eating Questionnaire overall and on each of the categories except the awareness score had been associated with lower Body Mass Index. Most of the students adopting Mindful eating (75.4%) had Body Mass Index < 25 as compared to their peers who did not adopt Mindful eating where more than one third of them (43.8%) had Body Mass Index ≥ 25. The association between Mindful eating summary score categories and Body Mass Index categories was statistically significant (P-value = 0.016). A significant negative weak correlation was detected between Mindful eating summary score categories and Body Mass Index categories (P-value = 0.044). Academic background reinforces the potential of mindful eating as a viable strategy for promoting healthier eating habits and effective weight management among university students.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 2
- Mindful Eating: The Art of Presence While You Eat. Diabetes Spectrum August 1, 2017
- A structured literature review on the role of mindfulness, mindful eating and intuitive eating in changing eating behaviours: effectiveness and associated potential mechanisms Nutrition research reviews July 18, 2017