BMI vs. HRV with Dr. Janell Mensinger

In this episode, Dr. Mensinger and Matt Bennett make the research-based argument on why heart rate variability destroys body mass index as a metric of health and longevity! 

Janell Mensinger, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical and School Psychology at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Mensinger is a passionate and dedicated mentor to students pursuing doctoral degrees in clinical psychology and teaches courses in statistics, theories of measurement, and eating disorders. She is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Eating Disorders and has been doing research in the field eating and body concerns for over 20 years. She is widely published and has presented all over the world on topics related to her program of research, which primarily focuses on the intersection of weight stigma and disordered eating. Her research includes one of the first randomized controlled trials highlighting the importance of promoting a weight-neutral (aka weight-inclusive) over a weight-centered approach to health and wellbeing. More recently, in search of more accessible digital interventions for individuals who are struggling with eating and body concerns, she piloted the successful use of a smartphone-based heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback app for enhancing mindful self-awareness and reducing disordered eating among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was recently awarded (2024) an R16 SuRE grant from the National Institutes of Health investigating methods to optimize the validity of measuring mind-body phenomena. This work specifically aims to improve our understanding and measurement of interoceptive sensibility (i.e., the ability to adaptively interpret bodily signals) as it relates to health and wellbeing.

 

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In Matt and Janell’s recent AAPB conference workshop (May 2024) on the problems and pitfalls of the BMI as a health metric, they propose HRV as a potential alternative metric in the context of a stigma-free weight-inclusive approach to healthcare. For more information about a weight inclusive model of health and a sampling of the research Janell has completed over the past 5 years describing and testing this perspective, see the articles below. The 2022 and 2021 papers are open source. Please feel free to email Janell for copies of the 2019 or 2023 papers if you cannot obtain them.

Mensinger, J.L., Shepherd, B.F., Schapiro, S., Aware, Y., Brochu, P. Calogero, R., & Tylka, T., (2023). Mediating effects of a weight-inclusive health promotion program on maladaptive eating in women with high body mass index. Eating Behaviors, 49, 101730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101730

Mensinger, J. L. (2022). Traumatic stress, body shame, and internalized weight stigma as mediators of change in disordered eating: a single-arm pilot study of the Body Trust® framework. Eating Disorders, 30(6), 618-646. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2021.1985807

Calogero, R.M., Tylka, T.L., Mensinger, J.L., Meadows, A., & Danielsdottir, S. (2019). Recognizing fat as a fundamental right: A weight-inclusive approach to size acceptance and healing from sizeism. Women and Therapy, 102,1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/02703149.2018.1524067

Mensinger, J.L., Cox, S., & Henretty, J. (2021). Treatment outcomes and trajectories of change in patients attributing their eating disorder onset to anti-obesity messaging. Psychosomatic Medicine, 83(7), 777-786. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000962