Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Metabolic Syndrome Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective Verify the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) in metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention In the Multimodal Intervention Program for Patients with Metabolic Syndrome clinical trial, 79 MetS patients completed the intervention. Of those, 48 belonged to the experimental group and 31 to the control group. The intervention received by the experimental group was CBT; the control group followed usual care and attended a workshop on healthy lifestyle. Main Outcome Measure(s) and Analysis Anthropometric, biochemical, psychological, and lifestyle measures were taken before and after the intervention at 3 and 6 months. Analyses included paired t tests, ANOVA, and ANCOVA. Results The ANOVA results showed a statistically significant interaction between the 2 groups in waist circumference (P = .009), triglycerides (P = .015), and adherence to the MedDiet (P = .026). The ANCOVA results indicated between-group difference in waist circumference (P = .026 and .062 at 3 and 6months, respectively), in triglycerides (P = .009 and .860 at 3 and 6 months, respectively), and in MedDiet (P = .024 and .273 at 3 and 6 months, respectively). Conclusions and Implications In interventions in which CBT was applied, significant improvements were observed in MetS patients, especially in adherence to the MedDiet.