ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to perform a 12-month follow-up of health parameters after a 17-week lifestyle intervention in overweight airline pilots. A parallel-group (intervention and control) study was conducted amongst 72 overweight airline pilots (body mass index > 25) over a 12-month period following the emergence of COVID-19. The intervention group (n = 35) received a personalized dietary, sleep, and physical activity program over a 17-week period. The control group (n = 37) received no intervention. Measurements for subjective health (physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, fruit and vegetable intake, and self-rated health) via an electronic survey, and objective measures of body mass and blood pressure were taken at baseline and at 12 months. Significant interactions for group × time from baseline to 12-months were found for all outcome measures (p < 0.001). Body mass and mean arterial pressure significantly decreased in the intervention group when compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Outcome measures for subjective health (physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, fruit and vegetable intake, and self-rated health) significantly increased in the intervention group when compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Results provide preliminary evidence that a brief three-component healthy sleep, diet and physical activity intervention can elicit and sustain long-term improvements in body mass and blood pressure management, health behaviors, and perceived subjective health in pilots and may support quality of life during an unprecedented global pandemic.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Exercise , Health Behavior , Life Style , Quality of Life , SARS-CoV-2 , Adult , Australia/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , OverweightABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 17-week, 3-component lifestyle intervention for enhancing health behaviors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: A parallel-group (intervention and control) study was conducted amongst 79 airline pilots over a 17-week period during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention group (nâ¯=â¯38) received a personalized sleep, dietary, and physical activity (PA) program. The control group (nâ¯=â¯41) received no intervention. Outcome measures for sleep, fruit and vegetable intake, PA, and subjective health were measured though an online survey before and after the 17-week period. The changes in outcome measures were used to determine the efficacy of the intervention. RESULTS: Significant main effects for timeâ¯×â¯group were found for International Physical Activity Questionnaire-walk (pâ¯=â¯0.02) and for all other outcome measures (p < 0.01). The intervention group significantly improved in sleep duration (p < 0.01; dâ¯=â¯1.35), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score (p < 0.01; dâ¯=â¯1.14), moderate-to-vigorous PA (p < 0.01; dâ¯=â¯1.44), fruit and vegetable intake (p < 0.01; dâ¯=â¯2.09), Short Form 12v2 physical score (p < 0.01; dâ¯=â¯1.52), and Short Form 12v2 mental score (p < 0.01; dâ¯=â¯2.09). The control group showed significant negative change for sleep duration, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score, and Short Form 12v2 mental score (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Results provide preliminary evidence that a 3-component healthy sleep, eating, and PA intervention elicit improvements in health behaviors and perceived subjective health in pilots and may improve quality of life during an unprecedented global pandemic.