Hewlett resident's science project explores girls’ ‘mindful eating'

Sofia Di Scipio, 17, a Hewlett resident and a senior at Sacred Heart Academy, in Hempstead, has completed a science research project that she hopes will impact teenage girls around the world. Its title is “Can Mindful Eating and Training Protect Against Body Self-Objectification and More Generalized Wellness Variables?”

Di Scipio’s research is set to be published in the fall 2020 issue of the Whitman Journal of Psychology, a peer-reviewed online publication based at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md. She said she was surprised. “I was very excited when I found out my work would be published,” she said. “I didn’t expect this to be published anywhere, but it’s very cool that it will be.”

Di Scipio’s research, which she began last year, focuses on “mindful eating” and the impact it has on body image for teenage girls. Mindful eating is defined as maintaining an in-the-moment awareness of the food and beverages you eat and drink, observing how the food makes you feel and the signals your body sends about taste, satisfaction and fullness.

“I decided to see what mindful eating can do when it comes to body image,” Di Scipio said. “I found that mindful eating habits could predict body image dysfunction, but not general wellness among teenage girls.”

She surveyed 174 students at Sacred Heart, a private Catholic school for girls, asking them about mindful eating. “I thought it was important — especially being a female teenager and attending an all-girls school — to research something that impacts all girls in my grade,” she said. “I’m grateful for all my fellow students that participated in the survey.”

Senior Lia DiMitri, a close friend of Di Scipio’s, was one of the students who responded to the survey. DiMitri noted how inspired she was by the effort her friend devoted to the project. “Her hard work ethic and dedication to all tasks delegated to her motivates me to also strive for perfection in all I do,” DiMitri said in an email. “As a teenage girl in this day and age where beauty standards are constantly present, Sofia’s science research project touches a concerning relevant topic.”

Stephen Sullivan, the science research director at Sacred Heart, who taught anthropology and history and oversaw behavioral science research at Lawrence High School for 31 years, said he had been impressed with Di Scipio since they became acquainted. “It’s phenomenal that a 17-year-old kid has undertaken a research project like this,” Sullivan said. “Having the opportunity to address an issue like body image is something that is very important to her.”

Sister Jean Amore, the principal at Sacred Heart, described Di Scipio as an exceptional student. “In every class, a student stands out for her consistent and outstanding scholarship work,” Amore wrote in an email. “Sofia Di Scipio is certainly one of these young women whose motivation and abilities stretch beyond the academic to caring for the social, moral, spiritual and political arenas in life. Her research topic reflects her well-rounded and broad interests and concerns.”

Di Scipio said she was blown away by the support from the school’s students and administration. “I’m very grateful for everyone’s participation,” she said. “I know it’s a topic that’s difficult to talk about. “The survey wasn’t easy, especially for girls who have body image issues, as it was 78 questions long.”

With school out since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Di Scipio’s next project has been postponed. The plan was for two health teachers to hold a group session with students on the importance of mindful eating.

“It’s been difficult learning new content online and not being able to see everybody in person,” Di Scipio said of the new reality of distance learning. “It’s getting harder and harder as the days go on, because you aren’t used to being in the house every day.”

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