Key result
Early post-MI cardiac rehabilitation linked to ~1-point reduction in body fat alongside improved diet adherence.
Why the study?
Although dietary counselling is routinely implemented during early post-MI cardiac rehabilitation, data describing concurrent changes in diet quality and body composition remain limited.
Does a 3-month cardiac rehabilitation programme including dietary counselling improve body composition and dietary habits in early post-myocardial infarction patients?
Cohort (n=50)
Does a 3-month cardiac rehabilitation programme including dietary counselling improve body composition and dietary habits in early post-myocardial infarction patients?
Early post-MI cardiac rehabilitation incorporating dietary counselling is associated with significant improvements in diet quality, Mediterranean diet adherence, and body composition over 3 months.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Cardiac rehabilitation was associated with modest BMI reduction post-MI; leaves open whether nutritional knowledge drives diet adherence gains in larger trials.
Background Early post–myocardial infarction (MI) cardiac rehabilitation (CR) represents a critical window for secondary prevention. Dietary counselling is routinely implemented, however, data describing concurrent changes in diet quality and body composition during early post-MI CR remain limited. Purpose To evaluate changes in body composition and dietary habits during early post-MI CR, and to explore associations between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits after MI. Methods 50 post-MI patients, undergoing a 3 month CR programme including dietary counselling, were enrolled in this prospective study. Baseline and final assessments included body composition (BMI, fat mass, fat-free mass proportions) and dietary information including Mediterranean diet adherence, overall diet quality and nutritional knowledge assessed with validated questionaries. Results In patients undergoing CR BMI decreased from 27.17 [25.46; 29.41] to 26.81 [24.77; 28.73] (p<0.001), body fat percentage decreased from 38.23 [33.09; 41.18] to 36.90 [32.81; 38.75] % (p<0.001), and fat free mass percentage increased from 61.77 [58.82; 66.91] to 63.10 [61.25; 67.19] % (p<0.001). Dietary habits improved, with Mediterranean diet adherence increasing from 5.00 [4.00; 7.00] to 7.00 [6.00; 8.00] points (p<0.001) and overall diet quality index increasing from 5.87 [−0.04; 17.39] to 15.21 [5.61; 23.70] points (p=0.005). The nutritional knowledge score did not change significantly (13.50 [11.00; 16.00] vs 15.00 [12.00; 18.00] points; p=0.110). At follow-up, nutritional knowledge correlated with Mediterranean diet adherence (R=0.441; p=0.001) and overall diet quality (R=0.286; p=0.044). Conclusion During early post-MI CR with dietary counselling, patients demonstrated significant improvements in dietary habits alongside favourable body composition changes. Despite not significant changes in nutritional knowledge itself, the final knowledge score was associated with better dietary adherence and quality, supporting the clinical relevance of educational components within CR programmes.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
J Popiolek-Kalisz (2026) conducted a cohort in Post-myocardial infarction (n=50). Cardiac rehabilitation programme including dietary counselling vs. Baseline (pre-rehabilitation) was evaluated on Changes in body composition (BMI, body fat percentage, fat-free mass percentage) and dietary habits (Mediterranean diet adherence, overall diet quality) (p=<0.001). Early post-MI cardiac rehabilitation with dietary counselling reduced body fat from 38.23% to 36.90% and improved Mediterranean diet adherence from 5.00 to 7.00 points.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: