OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of narrative group counseling combined with diet modification and exercise plans on weight loss in Iranian women with obesity. DESIGN: Parallel 2-arm clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-six Iranian women with obesity (aged 18-50 years). INTERVENTION: The intervention group included weekly diet, exercise, and narrative-focused group counseling, whereas the comparison group included dietary modification and exercise sessions for 8 months (32 sessions). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Anthropometric and body composition parameters, blood biochemical parameters (high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, fasting blood sugar, ghrelin, obestatin), physical activities, and appetite scores. ANALYSIS: McNemar test was used for the variables that were not normally distributed and for scaling. Furthermore, t tests were used to compare quantitative variables with normal distributions. The original P (0.05) was adjusted to P = 0.0031 using the Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: Weight, body mass index, body fat proportion, and hip circumference decreased significantly in the intervention vs comparison group. Serum low-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, total cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, appetite score, and ghrelin decreased, whereas obestatin increased significantly in the intervention vs comparison group. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Narrative-focused group counseling combined with traditional strategies was effective in achieving significant changes in weight, body mass index, and appetite. Future studies with a more diverse audience and a longer follow-up are warranted.

Biochemistry Payam Noor University Tehran Iran

Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Food and Drug Administration Isfahan University of Medical Sciences Isfahan Iran

Department of Food and Nutrition Policy and Planning Research National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran

Department of Nutrition Research National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute School of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran

ENT and Head and Neck Research Center and Department The Five Senses Health Institute School of Medicine Iran; Radiation Oncology Department Iran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran

Faculty of Science and Engineering Waseda University Tokyo Japan

Institute of Nutrition Sciences Kagawa Nutrition University Saitama Japan

Institute of Nutrition Sciences Kagawa Nutrition University Saitama Japan; Faculty of Science and Engineering Waseda University Tokyo Japan

National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute and Social Determinants of Health Research Center Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran

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