Effectiveness of Health Coaching in Diabetes Control and Lifestyle Improvement: A Randomized-Controlled Trial

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 13; no. 11; p. 3878
• Main Authors: Lin, Ching-Ling, Huang, Li-Chi, Chang, Yao-Tsung, Chen, Ruey-Yu, Yang, Shwu-Huey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 29.10.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Behavior; blood glucose; Calories; Carbohydrates; Chronic illnesses; Clinical trials; Coaching; Counseling; Diabetes; Diet; Empowerment; Health care; Health education; Health insurance; healthy diet; Hospitals; Intervention; lifestyle; medical facilities; noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; Physicians; Proteins; Taiwan; Teachers; Taiwan
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu13113878

Background: The study aimed to look into the effectiveness of a 6-month health coaching intervention for HbA1c and healthy diet in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: The study was carried out via a two-armed, randomized controlled trial that included 114 diabetic patients at a medical center in Taiwan. During the 6-month period, the intervention group had health coaching and usual care for 6 months, and the control group had usual care only. The outcome variables were HbA1c level and healthy diet for follow-up measurement in the third and sixth month. Results: The study discovered a significant decrease in HbA1c and health diet improvement after the 6-month health coaching. Patients in the intervention group decreased their daily intake of whole grains, fruits, meats and protein, and fats and oils while increasing their vegetables intake. Conclusions: Health coaching may be conducive to the blood sugar control and healthy diet of patients with type 2 diabetes. Further study on health coaching with higher-quality evidence is needed.