Brazilian mindfulness protocol promotes improvements in eating behavior, self-care and life style of primary health care users with chronic conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2026.94230Keywords:
Eating-Related Behavior. Lifestyle Factors. Management of Chronic Conditions. Mindfulness. SUS.Abstract
Mindfulness-based interventions have been adopted and demonstrated effectiveness in improving chronic conditions. This study assessed the effectiveness of a Brazilian mindfulness-based health promotion (MBHP) protocol, in in-person – control (IC) and intervention (II) – and online – control (OC) and intervention (OI) formats, on the nutritional status, eating behavior, and lifestyle (eating practices, level of physical activity, and self-efficacy for physical exercise) of primary healthcare users with chronic conditions in São Paulo. The study was a pilot, controlled, and randomized trial.The results showed that most participants were overweight or obese. The IC group had the lowest mean Body Mass Index, and the OI group had the highest. Comparing nutritional status before and after the interventions revealed weight loss in the IC, II, and OI groups, with no significant differences among them. Improvements in eating habits were observed in all groups, albeit to varying degrees. The IC and OI groups showed the greatest progress, while the II group demonstrated a reduction in inadequate practices. The assessment of eating behavior revealed that only uncontrolled eating significantly decreased in the OC group. No changes were observed in parameters related to physical exercise or self-efficacy. MBHP improved the eating behavior, self-care, and lifestyle of assessed users, with results varying depending on the intervention format and assessment time.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Luciana Gonçalves de Orange, Bianca de Almeida Pititto, Cybelle Rolim de Lima, Rebeca Gonçalves de Melo, Renan Souto Pereira, Marcelo Marcos Piva Demarzo
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