Duke Integrative Medicine and eMindful.com Announce Collaborative Efforts to Help Bariatric Patients Manage Behavioral Change



Researchers at Duke Integrative Medicine and eMindful.com a web-based mindfulness training resource, are collaborating to bring cutting-edge stress and weight management tools to consumers nationwide through an online virtual classroom.

"This collaboration exemplifies the commitment of Duke Integrative Medicine to quickly translate the latest health research into tools that will help individuals in their daily lives," said Dr. Ruth Q. Wolever, research director for Duke Integrative Medicine.

One of the first collaborative endeavors will explore the effectiveness of mindful eating to help bariatric surgery patients lose weight and keep it off. Bariatric surgeries, commonly known as weight-loss surgery, may refer to either gastric bypass or lap-band surgeries.

"Mindfulness training helps people become more aware of their choices, thoughts, feelings and habitual eating patterns," said Kelley McCabe, founder of eMindful, who has used mindfulness principles herself to lose more than 50 pounds and keep it off. "It helps break the cycle of self-criticism that can feed habitual eating and reduces stress, which is an integral component of overeating and bingeing."

For bariatric surgery to be successful, patients must make significant changes to their diets and exercise habits. However, patients are not always offered structured techniques to help them address and change habitual eating behaviors after surgery. One of those behaviors is binge eating. A study published in The International Journal of Eating Disorders reported that close to 70 percent of bariatric surgery patients struggle with binge eating. Research conducted at Duke and Indiana State University shows that applied mindfulness training can reduce binge eating episodes from four events per week to one for most people with a binge eating disorder. Furthermore, this training helped patients maintain those improvements for at least the next four months.

Beginning next month, participants can enroll in a 13-session interactive, online mindful eating course for bariatric patients through eMindful.com. The course was developed by the Duke Integrative Medicine researchers. Each week, participants will log-in for 90 to 120 minutes of class. They will be given headsets to allow them to hear and contribute. Those who wish to be present visually can use web cams.

"We are thrilled to build upon eMindful.com's success in making mindfulness training available over the Internet," said Dr. Wolever of Duke IM. "This gives us an opportunity to apply the results of our research in the real world and to help a key group of people with eating control."

eMindful was founded in 2007 and offers several online mindfulness courses for a variety of weight control issues. All courses are taught in real time. Several of the interactive classes offer CMEs for physicians and CEUs for nurses. Other programs include:

-Chocolate and Mindfulness! After an unmarked taste test of three famous types of gourmet chocolate, participants discover why they eat and ways to curb cravings and indulgences.

-Forgive for Good, taught by Dr. Fred Luskin, author of a book by the same name, helps participants develop forgiveness skills.

-Mind-Body MAX taught by bestselling author Dr. Roger Jahnke.

Duke Integrative Medicine's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program includes a variety of courses, ranging from four to eight weeks in length, designed to help people develop specific skills for paying attention and for deep relaxation, and to apply these in daily situations. Courses include:

-Interpersonal Mindfulness deepens and optimizes personal and professional relationships.

-Managing Difficulties with Mindfulness helps people cope with challenging situations.

-Calming Your Anxious Mind, taught by Dr. Jeff Brantley, trains participants to deal with anxiety, fear, and panic using principles from his book by the same name.

-Mindfulness Practices for Achieving and Maintaining a Healthy Weight, taught by mindful eating experts Sasha Loring M.Ed., LCSW & Dr. Ruth Q. Wolever, teaches some of the principles used in the eMindful virtual program for bariatric patients.




Duke Integrative Medicine and eMindful.com Announce Collaborative Efforts to Help Bariatric Patients Manage Behavioral Change



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