Mindfulness gets plenty of good press these days and so it should because the mental and physical benefits of it are many. Often “mindfulness” is associated with meditation and meditation certainly does link in to mindfulness. Many meditation practices in the Western world centre around bringing attention to current feelings and thoughts. There is no denying the value in this meditative practice but what about those people who have a mindful nature and who live in the moment with awareness? In a new study researchers set out to discover whether having a mindful disposition also confers benefits.
To test this the researchers recruited almost 400 people who completed the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) to assess their inherent levels of mindfulness. You can find this MAAS online if you want to estimate your own innate mindfulness. For each subject the researchers also gathered measurements of body mass index, health, lifestyle, and demographics. Additionally they used an X-ray absorptiometry scanner to measure each person’s belly and hip fat.
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The results showed that even after accounting for factors like age, smoking, and socioeconomic status there was link between mindfulness and body fat. It emerged that those with scores below 4 on the MAAS were 34 per cent more likely to be obese than those with a score of 6. Additionally, people who scored low on mindfulness had an average 448grams of belly fat than those with a high score.
The researchers theorise that this happens because as humans evolved they consumed kilojoules when they could and rested when they had a chance. That made sense in our evolutionary past but in the modern first-world context of fatty, sugary food and sedentary lifestyles it isn’t so adaptive. Mindfulness can help overcome cravings and so people with a mindful nature may have a healthier diet. The researchers also think that mindful people are more able to override the temptation not to exercise (research tells us that people often feel ambivalent about starting exercise although they feel wonderful after they have done it).
Having a disposition towards everyday mindfulness certainly seems to have benefits so how do you cultivate a mindful nature? Certainly regular meditation does enhance your innate mindfulness and there are other ways to enhance your inherent awareness. It is too big a topic to get into here but cultivating your sensitivity rather than your ability, allowing ambiguity, and taking time to look closely at the world around you are just a few ways to flex and build your mindfulness muscles.
