Objective: To study the effectiveness of a health promotion program on body composition and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in overweight subjects with poliomyelitis.
Design: Before and after study with 12 months of follow-up
Settings: A university-based hospital.
Participants: Adults with previous diagnosis of poliomyelitis were recruited.
Interventions: A 3-month health promotion program including exercise, diet control and behavior modification.
Main Outcome Measures: Body weight, percentage of body fat, metabolic parameters, including OGTT, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C and triglyceride as well as HRQOL using the questionnaire of SF-36.
Results: Thirty-one subjects (11 males, 20 females) joined this health promotion program with a mean body weight of 64.3±9.7 kg and BMI 27.4±4.0 kg/m2. Subjects were classified into 3 groups by their mobility activity: group I (Independent), n=6; group D (Device), n=14; group W (wheelchair), n=11. Weight loss and BMI reduction were significant for group D and group W across all the follow-ups (p<0.05). Mixed effect model revealed month effect was significant on weight and BMI; group effect was significant on percentage of body fat (p<0.05).
Conclusion: A 3-month health promotion program effectively reduced body weight of overweight polio survivors