Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Nutrition and Exercise for Wellness and Recovery (NEW-R) intervention for improving competency and behaviors related to diet, physical activity, and weight management.
Methods: Participants with psychiatric disabilities were recruited from four community mental health agencies and a hospital-based psychiatric outpatient clinic and randomly assigned to the NEW-R intervention (N=55) or control condition (N=58). Outcome measures included the Perceived Competence Scale, Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), and weight change; random-effects regression models were used. A follow-up analysis examined the interactions of group, time, and site.
Results: Fifty of the 55 intervention participants and 57 of the 58 control participants completed the study. The two groups did not differ significantly on any measured baseline characteristic. The intervention group had statistically significant improvements, compared with the control group, in perceived competence for exercise and healthy eating, total HPLP score, and scores on two HPLP subscales (nutrition and spiritual growth). No significant difference between groups was found for weight loss. A study condition × time × site effect was observed: at the three sites where mean weight loss occurred, NEW-R participants lost significantly more weight than did control participants.
Conclusions: NEW-R offers promise as an intervention that can initiate the change to healthy lifestyle behaviors and boost perceived competence in a healthy lifestyle. It may also be effective for weight loss when administered in supportive settings.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05128045.
Keywords: Co-occurring disorders; Health promotion; Medical morbidity and mortality in psychiatric patients; Schizophrenia; Serious mental illness; Weight management.