One of the most annoying types of fat is belly fat. Even its name makes you wish it had a face you could punch. But a new study suggests that highly mindful people, as in those who rock at focusing their attention on one thing at a time and live in the moment, have significantly less abdominal chub than those who aren't on their level of attentiveness.

For the study, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, researchers measured the body mass index and the amount of fat on the hips and stomachs of 394 male and female participants born between 1959 and 1974. Then, the researchers gave them a 15-question mindfulness assessment to see where they fell on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. During the evaluation, they answered questions like, "I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present," with a number between one and six to indicate how much they agreed with that statement (one indicated almost always; six indicated almost never). Those answers were averaged to get participants' overall mindfulness score, one being the lowest and six being the highest.

After completing the assessment and controlling for other lifestyle variables, like age, sex, and smoking, the study authors compared the participants' test scores with their body-fat and weight measurements.

By now, you know that being tuned into your body while you're eating can impact how much you eat and help you lose weight. Though this study backs up that theory, it's worth noting that the findings are still correlational, so they don't prove causation. The authors say that more research needs to be done to find out how and why being on top of your awareness game can help you lose weight and keep it off.

In the meantime, check out the five ways you can become a more mindful eater and how that strategy helped this woman drop 15 pounds.