The efficacy of a 6-week meditation-based group intervention for Binge Eating Disorder (BED) was evaluated in 18 obese women, using standard and eating-specific mindfulness meditation exercises. A single-group extended baseline design assessed all variables at 3 weeks pre-and post-, and at 1, 3, and 6 weeks; briefer assessment occurred weekly.
Binges decreased in frequency, from 4.02/week to 1.57/week (p < .001), and in severity. Scores on the Binge Eating Scale (BES) and on the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories decreased significantly; sense of control increased. Time using eatingrelated meditations predicted decreases on the BES (r 5 .66, p < .01). Results suggest that meditation training may be an effective component in treating BED.
Agras, W. S., Telch, C. F., Arnow, B., Eldredge, K., Detzer, M. J., Henderson, J., & Marnell, M. (1995). Does interpersonal therapy help patients with binge eating disorder who fail to respond to cognitive-behavioral therapy?Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(3), 356–360.
2.
Agras, W. S., Telch, C. F., Arnow, B., Eldredge, K., Wilfley, D. E., Raeburn, S. D., Henderson, J., & Marnell, M. (1994). Weight loss, cognitive behavioral, and desipramine treatments in binge eating disorder: An additive design. Behavior Therapy, 25, 225–238.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
4.
Beauchamp-Turner, D. L., & Levinson, D. M. (1992). Effects of meditation on stress, health, and affect. Medical Psychotherapy, 5, 123–131.
5.
Beck, A. S., & Steer, R. A. (1987). Beck Anxiety Inventory manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
6.
Beck, A. S., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 53–63.
7.
Carrington, P. (1998). The book of meditation. Boston: Element.
8.
Derogatis, L. R. (1983). SCL-90-R Manual II. Townson, MO: Psychometric Research.
9.
de Zwaan, M., Mitchell, J. E., Seim, H. C., Specker, S. M., Pyle, R. L., Raymond, N. C., & Crosby, R. B. (1994). Eating related and general psychopathology in obese females with binge eating disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 15(1), 43–52.
10.
Epstein, M. (1995). Thoughts without a thinker. New York: HarperCollins.
11.
Fairburn, C. G., & Wilson, G. T. (Eds.). (1993). Binge eating: Nature, assessment, and treatment. New York: Guilford.
12.
Goleman, D. (1988). The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience. New York: Putnam.
13.
Gormally, J., Black, S., Daston, S., & Rardin, D. (1982). The assessment of binge eating severity in obese persons. Addictive Behaviors, 7, 45–55.
14.
Hadigan, C. M., Walsh, B. T., Devlin, M. J., LaChaussee, J. L., & Kissileff, H. R. (1992). Behavioral assessment of satiety in bulimia nervosa. Appetite, 18, 233–241.
15.
Hetherton, T. F., & Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Binge eating as escape from self-awareness. Psychological Bulletin, 110(1), 86–108.
16.
Hetherington, M., & Rolls, B. J. (1989). Sensory-specific satiety in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. In L. H. Schneider, S. J. Cooper, & K. A. Halmi (Eds.), The annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: The psychobiology of human eating disorders (Vol. 575, pp. 387–398). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.
17.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Dell.
18.
Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A. O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L. G., Fletcher, K. E., Pbert, L., Lenderking, W. R., & Santorelli, S. F. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149(7), 936–943.
19.
Kristeller, J. L., & Hallett, C. B. (unpublished MS) A meditation-based intervention for Binge Eating Disorder: Treatment manual. Unpublished manuscript.
20.
Marlatt, G. A., & Kristeller, J. L. (in press). Mindfulness and meditation. In Integrating Spirituality in Clinical Treatment. American Psychological Association Press.
21.
Miller, J. J., Fletcher, K., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry, 17, 192–200.
22.
Ray, S. (1981). The only diet there is. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts.
23.
Rossiter, E. M., Agras, W. S., Telch, C. F., & Bruce, B. (1992). The eating patterns of non-purging bulimic subjects. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11, 111–120.
24.
Rubin, J. B. (1996). Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an integration. New York: Plenum Press.
25.
Sothers, K., & Anchor, K. N. (1989). Prevention and treatment of essential hypertension with meditation-relaxation methods. Medical Psychotherapy, 2, 137–156.
26.
Spitzer, R. L., Yanovski, S., Wadden, T., Wing, R., Marcus, M. D., Stunkard, A., Devlin, M., Michall, J., Hasin, D., & Horne, R. L. (1993). Binge eating disorder: Its further validation in a multisite study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 13(2), 137–153.
27.
Teasdale, J. (1998). Treatment outcomes from a randomized controlled trial of attentional control (mindfulness) training. Paper presented at meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Washington, DC, October.
28.
Teasdale, J., Segal, A., & Williams, J. M. G. (1995). How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive relapse and why should attention control (mindfulness) training help?Behavior Research and Therapy, 33, 25–39.
29.
Telch, C. F., Agras, W. S., & Rossiter, E. M. (1988). Binge eating increases with increasing adiposity. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 7, 115–119.
30.
Wadden, T. A., Foster, G. D., Letizia, K. A., & Wilk, J. E. (1993). Metabolic, anthropometric, and psychological characteristics of obese binge eaters. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 14(1), 17–25.
31.
Yanovski, S. (1993). Binge eating disorder: Current knowledge and future directions. Obesity Research, 1, 306–324.
