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Gender differences in effectiveness of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP)
Lillian M Kent1, Darren P Morton1, Paul M Rankin1
1Lifestyle Research Centre, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, NSW, Australia.
Insights
The Complete Health Improvement Program effectively reduced chronic disease risk factors in both men and women. Men experienced greater reductions in several key markers, particularly cholesterol and glucose levels.
Area of Science:
- Lifestyle interventions
- Chronic disease management
- Gender-specific health outcomes
Background:
- The Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) is a lifestyle intervention designed to mitigate chronic disease risk factors.
- Understanding the differential impact of such programs across genders is crucial for optimizing health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the gender-specific effects of the Complete Health Improvement Program on various health markers.
- To identify if men or women experience greater benefits from this chronic disease lifestyle intervention.
Main Methods:
- A 30-day cohort study involving 5,046 participants across 136 North American venues (2006-2009).
- Intervention focused on diet, exercise, and stress management.
- Key outcome measures included body mass index, blood pressure, lipids, and fasting plasma glucose (FPG).
Main Results:
- Both genders showed significant reductions in chronic disease risk factors.
- Men exhibited greater reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, FPG, body mass index, and diastolic blood pressure compared to women.
- Women showed a greater reduction in high-density lipoprotein, while systolic blood pressure reductions were similar.
Conclusions:
- The Complete Health Improvement Program is effective for both men and women in reducing chronic disease risk factors, with notable gender-specific differences in outcomes.
- Greater reductions were observed in individuals with higher baseline risk levels.
- Future interventions should consider gender-specific factors like dietary preferences and support mechanisms to enhance program efficacy.
Objective:
To determine the differential effect of gender on outcomes of the Complete Health Improvement Program, a chronic disease lifestyle intervention program.
Design:
Thirty-day cohort study.
Setting:
One hundred thirty-six venues around North America, 2006 to 2009.
Participants:
A total of 5,046 participants (33.5% men, aged 57.9 ± 13.0 years; 66.5% women, aged 57.0 ± 12.9 years).
Intervention:
Diet, exercise, and stress management.
Main Outcome Measures:
Body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, lipids, and fasting plasma glucose (FPG).
Analysis:
The researchers used t test and McNemar chi-square test of proportions, at P < .05.
Results:
Reductions were significantly greater for women for high-density lipoprotein (9.1% vs 7.6%) but greater for men for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (16.3% vs 11.5%), total cholesterol (TC) (13.2% vs 10.1%), triglycerides (11.4% vs 5.6%), FPG (8.2% vs 5.3%), body mass index (3.5% vs 3%), diastolic blood pressure (5.5% vs 5.1%), and TC/high-density lipoprotein (6.3% vs 1.4%) but not different for systolic blood pressure (6% vs 5%). The greatest reductions were in participants with the highest baseline TC, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and FPG classifications.
Conclusions And Implications:
The Complete Health Improvement Program effectively reduced chronic disease risk factors among both genders, but particularly men, with the largest reductions occurring in individuals at greatest risk. Physiological or behavioral factor explanations, including differences in adiposity and hormones, dietary intake, commitment and social support, are explored. Researchers should consider addressing gender differences in food preferences and eliciting commitment and differential support modes in the development of lifestyle interventions such as the Complete Health Improvement Program.
