Traditional Intervention Versus Nutritional Coaching:Which Approach Was More Efficient In Health Promotion?

Abstract

Traditional Intervention Versus Nutritional Coaching: Which Approach Was More Efficient In Health Promotion? Ana Paula Troccoli Noronha; Luciana Oquendo Pereira Lancha; Danielle Kallas; Paula Helena Dayan-Kanas; Antônio Herbert Lancha Jr. School of Physical Education and Sports of the University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Wellness and Health, São Paulo, Brazil The worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity has shown a rapid and progressive increase in the last decades, being characterized as a true world epidemic. In attempt to reduce it, a lot of new diets has been proposed in recent years as strategies for weight loss. However, studies report that 95% of overweight people fail in the maintenance of weight loss diets and then regain part of this weight later. In this context, new approaches such as nutritional coaching, oriented towards behavior change, assume an increasingly important role, specifically in its application to the nutrition sciences. PURPOSE: This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the use of coaching techniques in health parameters such as body weight, fat mass and waist circumference in physically active women, overweight, pre menopausal, compared to the traditional model of diet prescription. METHODS: 10 participants were assigned to the Nutritional Coaching group (NC; n=5), which received weekly care, or Traditional Group (TG; n=5), which received monthly care, for a 3 months intervention study. The physical activity protocol was composed by 40 minutes of resistance training and 20 minutes of treadmill. An individual diet plan was established to create an energy deficit of 750 kcal per day. RESULTS: The average of weight loss in NC group was 4.02 kg, in comparison to TG group (1.46 kg). The average of fat mass loss in the NC group was 4.02 kg in comparison to TG group (2.38 kg). Finally, the average of the reduction in waist circumference in the NC group was 4.5 cm in comparison to the TG group (2.0 cm). CONCLUSION: Nutritional Coaching was effective in promoting weight loss, improving body composition and reducing waist circumference. Nutritional coaching has effective tools that can be used by health professionals to help in promoting behavior change and, consequently, weight loss.