Examining the Predictive Relationship of Dietary Behaviors and Mindfulness with Body Mass Index in Nurses

Abstract

This quantitative correlational-predictive study examined the extent to which dispositional mindfulness and dietary behaviors of cognitive restraint, emotional eating, and uncontrolled eating, considered both collectively and individually, predict BMI in nurses in the United States. Mindfulness theory and restraint theory provided the foundation for the study. Two research questions addressed the problem space regarding the predictive relationship as a collective model and as individual variables. Dispositional mindfulness was measured by the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale; cognitive restraint, emotional eating, and uncontrolled eating by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (R18-V2); and BMI by height and weight collected in a demographic questionnaire. The study involved online primary data collection from a convenience sample of 157 nurses who participated in a volunteer panel on the SurveyMonkey platform. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression to answer the research questions. Results of the multiple linear regression indicated that dispositional mindfulness, cognitive restraint, emotional eating, and uncontrolled eating, considered collectively, significantly predict BMI in nurses [F(4, 152) = 5.210, p < .001]. Individually, dispositional mindfulness (β = .302, t = 3.213, p = .002) and uncontrolled eating (β = .335, t = 2.548, p = .012) had significant positive predictive relationships with BMI. Neither cognitive restraint nor emotional eating considered individually was a significant predictor of BMI. The findings can be used to inform nurses about the factors that predict obesity in this critically important population.