@...@A study from Brown University researchers suggests that a heightened, but nonjudgmental, awareness of one*s thoughts, feelings, sensations and actions is correlated with lower weight and a lower risk of obesity//
Researchers led by Brown epidemiologist Eric Loucks assessed 400 participants of different ages, ethnicities and walks of life, from a larger study called the New England Family Study// The team asked participants a series of questions about their level of or **dispositional mindfulness,** which they defined as **ability to attend in a non~judgmental way to one*s physical and mental processes during ordinary, everyday tasks//**
@...@To gauge levels of this inherent everyday awareness in study participants, the researchers gave them a commonly used 15~item questionnaire called the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale//
The MAAS asks test~takers questions, such as **I find it difficult to stay focused on what*s happening in the present** and **I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention or thinking of something else//** Test~takers respond by picking a number from 1 to 6 , and then their total score is tabulated//