Mindful Attention Reduces Hungry Individuals’ Eating Simulations of Attractive Food

Abstract

Previous research showed that using mindful attention (observing mental reactions to external stimuli and recognizing them as transient mental events, rather than viewing them as reflections of reality) reduces the spontaneous approach reactions towards attractive food. In this article we aimed to gain insight in the underlying mechanism. How does the representation of a food object change after paying mindful attention? We assumed that the simulation of eating food provides an answer. We conducted two studies. Study 1 was a pilot study to test the usability of an alternative property generation task question to use in Study 2. The alternative question appeared less functional than the regular one. In Study 2 participants received a brief mindful attention instruction. They observed their reactions to external stimuli as passing mental events rather than subjectively real experiences. They observed pictures of attractive and neutral food items. Finally, they were asked to report typical features of each food item. Results showed that participants reported more taste and texture features for attractive food compared to neutral food. Participants also reported more taste and texture features for attractive foods when they were relatively hungry, but interestingly this effect was fully eliminated in the mindful attention condition. Mindful attention seems to be a defensive mechanism against attractive food cues for hungry individuals. It reduces the sensitivity towards food temptations. This study is highly relevant in a world of growing obesity.