Resumen

MATZKIN, Valeria  y  GRUPO DE ESTUDIO DE TRASTORNOS DE LA CONDUCTA ALIMENTARIA, AADYND et al. Mindfulness and Body Image in Eating Disorders . Diaeta [online]. 2019, vol.37, n.169, pp.34-41. ISSN 1852-7337.

Introduction: The Body Image (BI), understood as the representation that we make of our own body, is frequently affected when it comes to Eating Disorders (ED). Within the new practices utilized in the treatment for BI Distortion, Mindfulness highlights; being a technique used to deal with the thoughts, emotions, perceptions and behavioural patterns that sustain a negative BI. The search for scientific support to justify the use of Mindfulness triggered off a bibliographic exploration. The objective of this study is to describe the results of different scientific works in order to analyse the efficiency of using Mindfulness in the treatment for body distortion in ED. Methodology: This study consists of a descriptive bibliographic revision. Scientific publications were included, by means of an updated search in the databases Scielo, Lilacs, Google Scholar and Pubmed. The search ranged from 2007 to 2017 and the key words used were: “Mindfulness”, “Body Image” and “Eating Disorders”. Results: After applying the selection criteria, a total of ten scientific studies remained (90% clinical studies and 10% descriptive). 80% of the studies were carried out on patients with ED and the rest on healthy populations. 40% were individual interventions and 60% were group interventions. The size of the total sample ranged from 12 to 411 participants, between 17 and 48 years old; the majority were women. A diversity of Mindfulness techniques were used for the studies such as: Mirror technique, Body Scan, among others, and so relating the studies turned out to be a complex task. Likewise, the evaluation methods for measuring effectiveness also varied among investigations (evaluation periods, tests, samples, etc.), and the estimated variables were also different (body concern, body satisfaction, pursuit of thinness and anxiety, among others). Conclusion: All the studies confirmed that Mindfulness is an effective practice for treating BI distortion, with strategies directed to thoughts, images and fears related to the body. The clinical experience shows us that the incorporation of Mindfulness in the nutritional treatment might improve adherence to nutritional indications, as BI distortion would impede patient recovery. Anyway, more studies should be conducted to explore the effects of Mindfulness on different aspects of the patient’s health, such as quality of life, wellbeing, and reduction of symptoms. Moreover, new investigations are required to learn about the contribution of this practice in the promotion of a positive BI, based on the promising findings of a small number of studies.

Palabras clave : Mindfulness; Body image; Eating disorders.

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