Mindfulness-based eating awareness training (MB-EAT) decreases emotional eating behavior among Hong Kong university students: a randomized controlled trial

University students in Hong Kong facing academic stress are prone to engage in emotional eating, that has detrimental physical and psychological effects. Addressing emotional eating through interventions like Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT), which effectively treats clinical eating disorders, is crucial, yet its effectiveness among students remains underexplored. A parallel group randomized controlled trial with 46 students (42 female, 4 male) evaluated the effect of a 10-week MB-EAT intervention, delivered through Zoom, on emotional eating (primary outcome), measured by the Salzburg Emotional Eating Scale at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention, with secondary measures of mood and mindfulness evaluated pre- and post-intervention. Students in the MB-EAT group showed greater reductions in emotional eating and improvements in depression and mindful eating. MB-EAT may offer greater long-term benefits for students with emotional eating by reducing negative psychosocial effects, helping students better cope with stress through emotion regulation and mindful eating skills.