The practice of mindful eating has been applied to the reduction of food cravings, portion control, body mass index, and body weight. Past reviews evaluating the relationship between mindfulness and weight management did not focus on change in mindful eating as the primary outcome or mindful eating as a measured variable. This review demonstrates strong support for inclusion of mindful eating as a component of weight management programs and may provide substantial benefit to the treatment of overweight and obesity.

It is well known that significant others (particularly romantic partners) can influence people's weight management efforts. However, what constitutes effective support-and from which type of individual (e.g., romantic partner, family member, friend)-is unclear. Thus, framed by confirmation theory, we assessed the effectiveness and types of communication of a weight-loss "buddy" through reports of 704 individuals enrolled in a 15-week synchronous online weight-loss program. Roughly 54% of participants chose buddies; and those who did lost more weight and waist inches than those who were involved in the program without buddy support. We also found that a combination of high accepting and high challenging messages from buddies was associated with the greatest decrease in body mass index (BMI) as well as the greatest reduction in waist size. Furthermore, the support by romantic partners paralleled support by other types of buddies. Having a supportive buddy who was not a romantic partner was just as effective as turning to a romantic partner for assistance. This study underscores the important role of a buddy in supporting weight-loss program involvement and encourages individuals to consider enlisting the help of a buddy, as opposed to losing weight alone, in order to maximize weight management effectiveness.

The Holiday Challenge is a free weight maintenance program offered from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. Ninety-three percent of participants maintained or lost weight during the 2014 Holiday Challenge, and 99% said they were very likely to somewhat likely to participate again in the 2015 Holiday Challenge.