Exergaming and Mediterranean Diet on Body Weight after Total Thyroidectomy

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of exergaming exercises and the Mediterranean diet on body weight in thyroid cancer patients following total thyroidectomy.
Design: Two-group pretest-posttest experimental design.
Setting: Damnhour Oncology Centre (Beheira governorate) and general surgery department, Kafr El-Sheikh University
Participants: Forty participants (18-55 years) with papillary thyroid carcinoma were randomly assigned to experimental group (A) and experimental group (B).
Intervention: Experimental group (A) received exergaming exercise and thyroid hormone replacement therapy, while experimental group (B) received the Mediterranean diet and thyroid hormone replacement therapy. All participants received three sessions per week for 12 weeks.
Main measures: Body weight and body mass index (BMI) were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention.
Results: There were statistically significant differences between exergaming and MedDiet groups post-treatment in body weight, with means equal to 73.8 and 80.15 kg, respectively. Also, in BMI, the means were 25.2 and 29.29 kg/cm², respectively, with more favor to the exergaming group (P < 0.05). At the end of three months of intervention, all the outcome measures were significantly improved in the exergaming and Mediterranean diet groups (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Both exergaming exercises and the Mediterranean diet significantly improved body weight and BMI with more favor to exergaming group A (P< 0.05).
The findings of this study suggested that exergaming exercises might be considered an enjoyable alternative to routine exercises that improve body weight and BMI