Mindfulness and Sustainable Food Choices.

MindFOODness: Exploring the Impact of Mindfulness on Sustainable Food Choices. A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

The goal of this randomized controlled clinical trial is to determine whether a mindfulness-based intervention, in addition to nutritional education, improves healthy and sustainable eating habits in 53 young adults aged 18 to 35 years with low adherence to a sustainable diet.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mindful Eating Intervention; Sustainable Dietary Preferences
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Mindfulness-based Intervention; Other: Nutritional Education

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Torino
    • Torino, Torino, Italy, 10126
      • University of Torino

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18 to 35 years;
• Low adherence to a sustainable diet, defined as a MedQ-Sus score ≤ 3.0;
• Body mass index (BMI) between 18.0 and 29.9 kg/m²;
• Able to provide written informed consent;
• Generally healthy volunteers;
• Omnivorous diet;
• No current or past history of eating disorders;
• Not pregnant and not planning pregnancy during the study period;
• Personally responsible for making food-related decisions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• MedQ-Sus score ≥ 3.1;
• BMI < 18.0 or > 29.9 kg/m²;
• Unable to provide informed consent;
• Dietary restrictions;
• Allergy or intolerance to the tested food.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mindfulness + Nutritional Education; Participants in the experimental group will attend two 1-hour online nutritional education sessions delivered over two consecutive weeks. In addition, they will participate in a structured online mindfulness program consisting of four 2-hour sessions delivered once weekly for four weeks. Dietary habits, anthropometric measures, and psychological variables will be assessed at baseline and upon completion of the intervention.	Behavioral: Mindfulness-based Intervention; The mindfulness-based intervention consists of a structured online program delivered over four weeks. Participants attend four 2-hour group sessions conducted once weekly. The program includes guided mindfulness practices, experiential exercises, and group discussions aimed at increasing awareness of eating behaviors, emotional triggers, and food-related decision-making.; Other: Nutritional Education; The nutritional education intervention consists of two 1-hour online sessions delivered over two separate weeks. The sessions are based on the EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations for healthy and sustainable eating and provide evidence-based guidance on food choices and dietary patterns consistent with environmental sustainability and health promotion
Other: Nutritional Education; Participants in the control group will attend two 1-hour online nutritional education sessions delivered over two separate weeks. The sessions are based on the EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations for healthy and sustainable eating. Dietary habits, anthropometric measures, and psychological variables will be assessed at baseline and upon completion of the intervention.	Other: Nutritional Education; The nutritional education intervention consists of two 1-hour online sessions delivered over two separate weeks. The sessions are based on the EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations for healthy and sustainable eating and provide evidence-based guidance on food choices and dietary patterns consistent with environmental sustainability and health promotion

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in adherence to the EAT-Lancet Diet	Change in adherence to a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern, assessed using the EAT-Lancet Index. The index ranges from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater adherence to the EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations. The total score is derived from 14 dietary components, each scored from 0 to 3. Adherence categories are defined as follows: ≤13 (low adherence), 14-16, 17-19, 20-22, and ≥23 (high adherence).	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in MedQ-Sus score	Change in Sustainable diet adherence assessed using the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Sustainability (MedQ-Sus; range: 0-8), with higher scores indicating greater adherence to a sustainable diet.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in body weight and body mass index (BMI)	Change in body weight measured in kilograms (kg) and in BMI calculated as weight (kg)/height (m²)	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in Mindfulness	Change in mindfulness (awareness) assessed using the Awareness subscale of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. Scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater awareness of the present momen.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in mindful eating behaviors	Change in mindful eating (awareness) assessed using the awareness subscale of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire. Mean scores range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater awareness of how food affects sensory experiences and internal states.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in Psychological distress	Change in depression symptoms assessed using the depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). Scores range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in sleep quality	Change in sleep quality assessed using the Mini Sleep Questionnaire. Total scores range from 10 to 70, with higher scores indicating poorer sleep quality.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in Mindfulness	Change in Mindfulness (acceptance) assessed using the Acceptance subscale of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. Scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater acceptance (non-judgmental attitude toward experience).	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in Mindfulness	Change in mindful eating (recognition) assessed using the recognition subscale of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire. Mean scores range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater ability to recognize hunger, satiety, and cues that lead to eating beyond physiological needs.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in Psychological distress	Change in anxiety symptoms assessed using the Anxiety subscale of the DASS-21. Scores range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions
Change in Psychological distress	Change in stress symptoms assessed using the stress subscale of the DASS-21. Scores range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the end of the nutritional education sessions

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Turin, Italy

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 14, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 11, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): July 11, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 23, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 31, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): April 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 6, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 31, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Mindfulness; Young adults; Nutritional intervention; Sustainable Diet
• Other Study ID Numbers: MindFood

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No