A cross-cultural comparison of mindful eating, cognitive distraction and episodic memory with BMI between the UK and China

Hinton, Elanor C., Zhang, Qing, Parfitt, Niamh, Zou, Mengxuan and Ferriday, Danielle (2022) A cross-cultural comparison of mindful eating, cognitive distraction and episodic memory with BMI between the UK and China. Appetite, 179, [106209]. (doi:10.1016/j.appet.2022.106209).

Abstract

Obesity rates are rising in many countries but prevalence varies widely. Cognitive controls of eating, such as mindful eating and episodic memory have been associated with a lower body mass index (BMI), whereas cognitive distraction has been associated with higher BMI. The objective of this study was to examine associations between cognitive controls of eating with BMI in the UK and China to investigate whether there are cross-cultural differences in these individualist and collectivist countries, respectively. Participants from the UK (n=126; mean age=30.6[s.d.=10.5]; mean BMI=25.80 [s.d.=6.54]; 76.2% female) and China (n=125; mean age=24.0[s.d.=7.5]; mean BMI=22.26[s.d.=4.62]; 74.4% female) completed measures of (i) mindful eating (Mindful eating questionnaire (MEQ) and Mindful eating inventory (MEI)), (ii) episodic memory (two bespoke measures), (iii) cognitive distraction (MEQ distraction subscale and three bespoke measures), and self-reported BMI (kg/m2) in an online survey (osf.io/zptxw). Multiple linear regression analyses segregated by country showed that MEI was negatively associated with BMI in the UK (β=-.34; 95%CI=-6.84, -.11; p<.05), whereas the MEQ distraction was positively associated with BMI in China (β=.28; 95%CI=.58, 4.27; p<.01). Analysis of covariance demonstrated significant cross-cultural differences in reported mindful eating (MEI: ηp2=.03; MEQ: ηp2=.05) and one measure of cognitive distraction (MEQ: ηp2=.06; bespoke measures: ηp2=.00), but not episodic memory (ηp2=.00). These findings suggest that there are meaningful cross-cultural differences in cognitive controls of eating and their relationship with BMI, but further validation of measures and replication in non-Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democratic (WEIRD) samples is necessary.

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Contributors

Author: Mengxuan Zou

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