Body Scan Meditation for Eating Disorders

Emotional eating, or overeating in response to emotions, is problematic because of its link to weight gain, obesity, and psychopathology such as bulimia and binge eating disorder. To date, a vast amount of research has studied the psychological processes that cause individuals to overeat in response to emotions in an effort to develop ways to help individuals reduce their emotional eating. The aim of the current project is to study two psychological processes that can potentially be positively influenced to improve well-being: perceived body boundaries and a person's spatial frame of reference. Particularly, the investigators will examine how perceived body boundaries and spatial frames of reference can be positively influenced through a body scan meditation and thereby improve emotional eating. Perceived body boundaries refers to the continuum along which the self is experienced, from a body-encapsulated entity that is separate from the surrounding world to a more diffuse entity that is more connected with others and the environment. Spatial frames of reference describes the region within one's perception, often based in the body and construed as the self, that may be experienced as egocentric, through a preoccupation with internal events, or as allocentric, with feelings of unity and interdependence with others and the environment. One way for individuals to experience more diffuse body boundaries and allocentric frames of reference is through a body scan meditation. In this practice, individuals are instructed to intentionally shift their attention to various parts of the body and to notice what happens without judging or reacting. Thoughts and emotions are briefly noted if they arise, and attention is shifted back to the body. Recent research has shown that when individuals practice the body scan meditation, individuals are likely to experience greater positive emotions, lower negative emotions, lower ruminations, and higher psychological wellbeing. In addition, research has shown that individuals are able to experience more diffuse perceived body boundaries and more allocentric frames of reference through a body scan meditation. Based on this work, the researchers predict that when emotional eaters practice the body scan meditation, emotional eaters will experience more diffuse body boundaries, more allocentric frames of reference, and lower ruminations, which could in turn reduce their negative affect and food cravings. The researchers will test this hypothesis by asking emotional eaters to complete questionnaires that measure perceived body boundaries, spatial frames of reference, ruminations, negative emotions, and food cravings before and after a body scan meditation. To ensure that any changes in these measures are due to the meditation, the researchers will compare these findings with emotional eaters who complete the same measures before and after a control listening task. The findings of the current study will be used to recommend the body scan meditation to support emotional eaters in regulating their emotions, cravings, and eating behaviors.