Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been found to improve the quality of life in overweight and obese women, and even reduce their fasting glucose levels, according to new research.
MBSR, a secular mindfulness meditation program, involves paying attention to one’s thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations in the present moment in a nonjudgmental and nonreactive manner through mindfulness exercises such as breathing awareness. The technique was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
“In overweight and obese women, stress may contribute to increased diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” said Nazia Raja-Khan, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
“MBSR significantly reduces fasting glucose and improves quality of life without changing body weight or insulin resistance. Increased mindfulness and reduced stress may lead to physiological changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and/or sympathetic nervous system that result in lower glucose levels.”
[For more of this story, written by Traci Pedersen, go to http://psychcentral.com/news/2...ese-women/82098.html]
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