Stress as a mediator of overeating and the effectiveness of mindfulness training as an intervention strategy

Torske, Alyssa J. (2023): Stress as a mediator of overeating and the effectiveness of mindfulness training as an intervention strategy. Dissertation, LMU München: Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (GSN)

Abstract

Prolonged exposure to stress implicates the physiological system, which can have adverse effects on many health-related domains, including eating behavior. As the global prevalence of chronic stress continues to rise, it is imperative to investigate an intervention to reduce stress and its accompanying diseases. Stress-induced overeating, for example, can lead to the accumulation of visceral fat tissue, thereby increasing the risk of developing metabolic and cardiovascular diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Stress-eating can, therefore, not only severely impact physiological health but can also greatly reduce an individual’s quality of life. Mindfulness meditation, through its ability to regulate emotions and increase interoceptive awareness, could serve as a candidate to reduce stress as well as its subsequent maladaptive eating behavior. As the effects of stress and mindfulness can be observed on the behavioral and neuronal levels, the main aims of this dissertation project were threefold: 1) proof of concept: conduct a clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness of web-based mindfulness training and observe its corresponding neural correlates 2) identify the neural processing nodes fundamental for the sensory perception of food stimuli 3) conduct a clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness of a web-based, food-related, mindfulness training on stress-eating and observe its corresponding neural correlates. The results of this dissertation project were able to demonstrate mindfulness training-induced reductions in stress and anxiety, as well as increases in perceived mindfulness, flow state, and attention. Additionally, the results were able to provide initial insight into the application of web-based mindfulness training as an intervention for stress-eating behavior through the observed reductions in perceived food cravings as well as stress- and emotional-eating tendencies. Furthermore, changes observed on the behavioral level were accompanied by changes on the neuronal level thereby emphasizing the effectiveness of mindfulness training as an intervention strategy. Moreover, through the completion of an extensive meta-analysis, this dissertation was able to identify the neural processing nodes of the functional olfactory cortex, the results of which were utilized in subsequent neuroimaging analyses within the scope of this project. In summary, this dissertation provides initial evidence of the effectiveness of web-based mindfulness training as an intervention strategy for stress as well as stress-eating behavior and should be considered for therapeutic or preventative treatment programs.

• Dokumententyp: Dissertationen (Dissertation, LMU München)
• Keywords: Neuroimaging, Mindfulness Training, Stress Reduction, Stress Eating
• Themengebiete: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik ; 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
• Fakultäten: Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (GSN)
• Sprache der Hochschulschrift: Englisch
• Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 1. Dezember 2023
• 1. Bericht­erstatter:in: Koch, Kathrin