Impact of mindfulness and coping strategies on eating behavior of patients with diabetes

Abstract

Background: Diabetes is a multifactorial chronic disorder constituting greater challenge in public health. Diabetes poses a major life stress that requires considerable physical, emotional, and psychological accommodation and coping. Eating behavior is considered to be one of the unhealthy coping strategy and mindfulness being a variable which has found to have several positive effect on individuals’ wellbeing. Objective: The present study aims to understand the relationship among mindfulness, eating behavior, coping strategies of patients with diabetics. Methods: Total of 112 outpatients encompassing 38.3 % (n= 43) of female and 61.6% (n= 69) were male with diabetes. The questionnaire includes socio-demographic detail sheet, Mindfulness attention awareness scale (MAAS), Three factor eating questionnaire revised scale–18 (TFEQ-R-18) and coping strategies questionnaire. Results: Analysis reveals that mindfulness is negatively correlated with dimensions of unhealthy eating behavior which includes cognitive restrain, emotional eating and uncontrolled eating, and the dimensions of coping strategies-catastrophizing and cognitive coping and positively correlated with other dimensions of coping strategies which includes diversion and reinterpreting. Conclusion: these findings need to be replicated by prospective studies to establish causality and to evaluate potential implication. Effective treatments can be administered to individuals with diabetics based upon the existing relationship between variables and the range of psychological symptoms shown by individuals upon the treatment.