A conceptual model illustrating the use of mindful eating for health promotion and sustainability.6 Mindful eating is the practice to enjoy food with understanding and compassion, by developing awareness of relationships between food and our body, our feelings, our mind, and the interconnectedness of all that is around us. The practice at individual and collective levels will help maintain our personal health and the health of our planet.
Mindfulness involves being fully present from moment to moment, with full awareness of one’s own emotional state and physical condition, as well as one’s surroundings.1-4 Mindfulness practice has been increasingly incorporated into the treatment of chronic diseases.4 Promising results have been observed in the management of depression, stress, physical function, quality of life, and chronic pain.4,5 Mindful eating generally refers to the application of mindfulness techniques to eating, which involves nonjudgmental awareness of internal and external cues influencing the desire to eat, food choice, quantity of consumption, and the manner in which food is consumed.