The effect of behavioral intervention and nutrition education program on serum lipid profile, body weight and blood pressure in Iranian individuals with spinal cord injury: A randomized clinical trial

Objective: The efficacy of nutrition education on body weight and serum lipids has not yet been described in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). In the present study, we examined the effect of a 7-month nutrition education program on lipid profile and body weight in individuals with SCI. Design: Randomized clinical trial. Setting: A tertiary rehabilitation center. Participants: Patients with SCI who were referred to Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. Intervention: The nutrition education program consisted of 5 education sessions during a period of 7 months. Outcome measures: Body weight and serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measure at the beginning of the trial and after 7 months. Two-way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. Results: Total of 57 patients (27 in control group and 30 in education group) participated. Nutrition education program showed no significant effect on the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C (P: 0.224, 0.172, 0.107 and 0.081, respectively). No significant changes in weight and waist circumflex have been observed as well (P: 0.970 and 0.361, respectively). Conclusion: Our findings do not support a significant influence of nutrition education program on weight and lipid profile. It seems that the nutrition education program alone is not adequately effective to have beneficial influence on weight and lipid profile.