The Effect of Brief Mindfulness Training on Brain Reactivity to Food Cues During Nicotine Withdrawal: A Pilot Functional Imaging Study.
Emily A Kragel, Maggie M Sweitzer, James M. Davis
Mindfulness November 2019 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-019-01201-y (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Daily smokers with a history of smoking lapse after weight gain |
| Interventions | Mindfulness meditation Mindful eating |
| Duration | One week of daily practice; 12-hour smoking abstinence |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Food cravings Smoking cessation Weight |
| Key points | After one week of daily mindfulness meditation and mindful eating practice, smokers with a history of lapse after weight gain showed reduced brain activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, visual areas, and pre-motor areas in response to food images. The authors caution that the study was small and suggest only the possibility that mindfulness training might decrease food cravings after smoking cessation. |
Abstract
Many individuals who smoke relapse due to weight gain. Mindfulness training has been shown to help smokers quit smoking, and, in other populations, has been used to help people lose weight. This study was designed to assess the effect of one week of mindfulness practice on food cravings in smokers during 12-hour smoking abstinence. We assessed daily smokers with a history of smoking lapse after weight gain. Participants were provided with brief training in mindfulness meditation and mindful eating and were asked to practice each skill daily for one week. Before and after this week of mindfulness practice, participants completed surveys to rate their nicotine dependence and food cravings and underwent testing via functional magnetic resonance imaging. Study results included pre-post intervention reduction in brain activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, visual areas, and pre-motor areas, regions potentially associated with response to food images. The study was small; however, it suggests the possibility that mindfulness training might be used to decrease food cravings after smoking cessation.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 4
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- An Exploratory Study of a Meditation-based Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder Journal of Health Psychology May 1, 1999
- Neural mechanisms of mindfulness and meditation: Evidence from neuroimaging studies. World Journal of Radiology July 1, 2014
- Pilot randomized trial on mindfulness training for smokers in young adult binge drinkers BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine September 3, 2013