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There is a growing interest in researching the effects of meditative practices on the mental health of students. However, less enthusiasm has been shown for research into their effects on social and pro-environmental attitudes. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a training program to promote mindful, empathic, and pro-environmental attitudes in elementary school students. A nonrandomized controlled exploratory study with two arms (treated and controls) and pre-post measurements was performed. The training program (3 weekly 5-min practice sessions over 4 months) was implemented in a classroom of 25 students between the ages of 10 and 12 years (64% boys). All the students completed self-report measures of mindfulness (Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure), empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), and environmental attitudes (New Ecological Paradigm Scale for Children). Compared to the control group, the students who participated in the training program showed significant improvements in mindfulness skills with large effects, in considerate social style and cognitive empathy with medium effects, and in pro-environmental attitudes with large effects. This is one of the first studies to attempt to implement a training program integrated into the school curriculum to develop mindful, empathic, and pro-environmental attitudes in elementary school students without disrupting the flow of lessons. The program, which consists of very short sessions, may contribute to increasing children's sense of connectedness, humanity, and nature in a feasible and effective way. However, more sophisticated trial designs are required in order to assess the scope of our results., Author(s): Carmen Jalón [sup.1] , Jesus Montero-Marin [sup.2] , Marta Modrego-Alarcón [sup.3] , Santiago Gascón [sup.4] , Mayte Navarro-Gil [sup.4] , Alberto Barceló-Soler [sup.3] , Irene Delgado-Suárez [sup.3] , Javier [...]

Background There is an urgent need for mental health promotion in nonclinical settings. Mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) are being widely implemented to reduce stress, but a comprehensive evidence synthesis is lacking. We reviewed trials to assess whether MBPs promote mental health relative to no intervention or comparator interventions. Methods and findings Following a detailed preregistered protocol (PROSPERO CRD42018105213) developed with public and professional stakeholders, 13 databases were searched to August 2020 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining in-person, expert-defined MBPs in nonclinical settings. Two researchers independently selected, extracted, and appraised trials using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias Tool 2.0. Primary outcomes were psychometrically validated anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and mental well-being questionnaires at 1 to 6 months after programme completion. Multiple testing was performed using p < 0.0125 (Bonferroni) for statistical significance. Secondary outcomes, meta-regression and sensitivity analyses were prespecified. Pairwise random-effects multivariate meta-analyses and prediction intervals (PIs) were calculated. A total of 11,605 participants in 136 trials were included (29 countries, 77% women, age range 18 to 73 years). Compared with no intervention, in most but not all scenarios MBPs improved average anxiety (8 trials; standardised mean difference (SMD) = -0.56; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.80 to -0.33; p-value < 0.001; 95% PI -1.19 to 0.06), depression (14 trials; SMD = -0.53; 95% CI -0.72 to -0.34; p-value < 0.001; 95% PI -1.14 to 0.07), distress (27 trials; SMD = -0.45; 95% CI -0.58 to -0.31; p-value < 0.001; 95% PI -1.04 to 0.14), and well-being (9 trials; SMD = 0.33; 95% CI 0.11 to 0.54; p-value = 0.003; 95% PI -0.29 to 0.94). Compared with nonspecific active control conditions, in most but not all scenarios MBPs improved average depression (6 trials; SMD = -0.46; 95% CI -0.81 to -0.10; p-value = 0.012, 95% PI -1.57 to 0.66), with no statistically significant evidence for improving anxiety or distress and no reliable data on well-being. Compared with specific active control conditions, there is no statistically significant evidence of MBPs' superiority. Only effects on distress remained when higher-risk trials were excluded. USA-based trials reported smaller effects. MBPs targeted at higher-risk populations had larger effects than universal MBPs. The main limitation of this review is that confidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach is moderate to very low, mainly due to inconsistency and high risk of bias in many trials. Conclusions Compared with taking no action, MBPs of the included studies promote mental health in nonclinical settings, but given the heterogeneity between studies, the findings do not support generalisation of MBP effects across every setting. MBPs may have specific effects on some common mental health symptoms. Other preventative interventions may be equally effective. Implementation of MBPs in nonclinical settings should be partnered with thorough research to confirm findings and learn which settings are most likely to benefit., Author(s): Julieta Galante 1,2,*, Claire Friedrich 1, Anna F Dawson 3, Marta Modrego-Alarcón 4,5, Pia Gebbing 6, Irene Delgado-Suárez 4,7, Radhika Gupta 1, Lydia Dean 1, Tim Dalgleish 1,8, Ian [...]

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of a 'mindful eating' programme for reducing emotional eating in patients with overweight or obesity. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial (reg. NCT03927534) was conducted with 76 participants with overweight/obesity who were assigned to 'mindful eating' (7 weeks) + treatment as usual (TAU), or to TAU alone. They were assessed at baseline, posttreatment and 12‐month follow‐up. The main outcome was 'emotional eating' (Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, DEBQ); other eating behaviours were also assessed along with psychological and physiological variables. Results: 'Mindful eating' + TAU reduced emotional eating both at posttreatment (B = −0.27; p = 0.006; d = 0.35) and follow‐up (B = −0.53; p < 0.001; d = 0.69) compared to the control group (TAU alone). 'External eating' (DEBQ) was also significantly improved by the intervention at both timepoints. Significant effects at follow‐up were observed for some secondary outcomes related to bulimic behaviours, mindful eating, mindfulness, and self‐compassion. Weight and other physiological parameters were not significantly affected by 'mindful eating' + TAU. Conclusions: These findings support the efficacy of the 'mindful eating' + TAU programme for reducing emotional and external eating, along with some other secondary measures, but no significant changes in weight reduction were observed. Highlights: 'Mindful eating' added to treatment as usual (TAU) is more effective than TAU alone for reducing the emotional eating pattern of obese and overweight patients in primary care (PC) settings.The programme produced improvements in secondary outcomes such as external eating, the severity of bulimic symptoms, the frequency of binge episodes, and some mindfulness and self‐compassion facets.The body mass index (BMI) and other physiological variables were not significantly reduced by the 'Mindful eating' programme; future studies should try to overcome some methodological shortcomings of the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen allergenicity plays an important role on human health and wellness. It is thus of large public interest to increase our knowledge of pollen grain behavior in the atmosphere (source, emission, processes involved during their transport, etc.) at fine temporal and spatial scales. First simulations with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center NMMB/BSC-CTM model of Platanus and Pinus dispersion in the atmosphere were performed during a 5-day pollination event observed in Barcelona, Spain, between 27 – 31 March, 2015. The simulations are compared to vertical profiles measured with the continuous Barcelona Micro Pulse Lidar system. First results show that the vertical distribution is well reproduced by the model in shape, but not in intensity, the model largely underestimating in the afternoon. Guidelines are proposed to improve the dispersion of airborne pollen by numerical prediction models.