Obesity rates have increased dramatically in recent decades, and it has proven difficult to treat. An attentional bias towards food cues may be implicated in the aetiology of obesity and influence cravings and food consumption. This review systematically investigated whether attentional biases to food cues exist in overweight/obese compared with healthy weight individuals. Electronic database were searched for relevant papers from inception to October 2014. Only studies reporting food-related attentional bias between either overweight (body mass index [BMI] 25.0-29.9 kg m(-2)) or obese (BMI ≥ 30) participants and healthy weight participants (BMI 18.5-24.9) were included. The findings of 19 studies were reported in this review. Results of the literature are suggestive of differences in attentional bias, with all but four studies supporting the notion of enhanced reactivity to food stimuli in overweight individuals and individuals with obesity. This support for attentional bias was observed primarily in studies that employed psychophysiological techniques (i.e. electroencephalogram, eye-tracking and functional magnetic resonance imaging). Despite the heterogeneous methodology within the featured studies, all measures of attentional bias demonstrated altered cue-reactivity in individuals with obesity. Considering the theorized implications of attentional biases on obesity pathology, researchers are encouraged to replicate flagship studies to strengthen these inferences.

Parenting a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often associated with reduced quality of life, high stress, depression and anxiety due to the ongoing nature of care. This review systematically investigated the efficacy of mindfulness interventions in reducing stress and increasing psychological wellbeing in parents of children with ASD. A comprehensive electronic database search was conducted for relevant articles. Only studies investigating parental stress or a measure of psychological wellbeing in parents of children with ASD post a mindfulnessbased intervention were included. Ten studies met inclusion criteria; each was examined for treatment fidelity. All included studies contributed at least one self-report finding supporting the efficacy of mindfulness interventions in reducing stress and increasing psychological wellbeing. Three studies included physiological measures of reduced stress and emotional responses. Two reported concomitant improvements in child behavior. Mindfulness-based interventions potentially have long-term positive effects on stress levels and psychological wellbeing of parents of children with ASD, in addition to enhancing their child's behavior. Future research is needed to develop a cost and time effective intervention aimed at maximising efficacy of current interventions in children with ASD and their parents.

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The use of mindfulness interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a relatively new research area, which has followed a more established body of research investigating the efficacy of mindfulness interventions for parents of children with ASD. Given the chronic stress levels experienced by parents and high anxiety and stress levels in individuals with ASD, such research is well justified. The utility of mindfulness in clinical practice for individuals with ASD and their parents will be discussed. This chapter aims to evaluate the research literature, identify important limitations, and propose crucial directions for future research. Acknowledgment of the impact of attitudes, social bias, and a generational shift that may be accelerating the salience of mindfulness is discussed. The author aims to emphasize the importance of high-quality future research with robust methodological designs to clearly identify the potential role for mindfulness in this population. Despite having a solid foundation of preliminary findings, it is important that researchers refine current procedures and evaluation of mindfulness interventions for individuals with ASD and their parents while carefully selecting measures that are not solely self-report or parent report.

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