Summary: In a randomised trial in type 2 diabetes, an eight-session lifestyle-based health promotion programme improved health-promoting behaviours and eating patterns and reduced irrational health beliefs compared with no intervention, on self-reported measures.
PICO Summary
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Population | 90 patients with type 2 diabetes; convenience sample, Iran. |
| Intervention | Eight 90-minute lifestyle-based health promotion sessions (n=45), with pre-test, post-test, and 3-month follow-up. |
| Comparison | No treatment (n=45). |
| Outcome | The intervention group improved health-promoting behaviours and reduced irrational health beliefs and maladaptive eating behaviour versus control (all p<0.01). Outcomes were self-reported; no clinical endpoints (HbA1c, weight) were assessed. |
Expert Commentary
This is a reasonable behavioural trial whose premise I endorse: the gap in diabetes self-management is rarely knowledge but the beliefs and habits that stop people acting on it, so an intervention that targets fatalistic thinking and emotional eating, rather than simply handing out dietary advice, is conceptually sound. Improving health behaviours and eating patterns while reducing irrational health beliefs is a coherent and welcome set of changes. The limitations, though, are central to how much weight it can bear. Every outcome here is a self-reported questionnaire score, with no objective behaviour and, crucially, no clinical endpoint, no HbA1c, weight, or lipid data, so we cannot tell whether the psychological gains translated into better glycaemic control. The sample was a convenience one with only three-month follow-up, leaving durability unknown. Can I use this with my patients? Yes, in principle and emphasis. It reinforces that effective lifestyle support should address the psychology of behaviour change, exploring what a patient believes they can influence and why they eat as they do, rather than information alone, while I stay honest that this study shows attitudinal improvement, not proven metabolic benefit.
References
Kolahdouzan MS, Abed M. The effect of lifestyle-based health promotion intervention on health behaviour, irrational health beliefs, and eating behaviour of patients with type 2 diabetes. Health Educ Res. 2025;40(5):cyaf035. doi:10.1093/her/cyaf035