Patient characteristics in both groups at baseline
| Baseline characteristics | Intervention (n=98) | Control (n=112) | P value |
| Sex: n (%) | 0.48 | ||
| Female | 52 (53.1) | 54 (48.2) | |
| Male | 46 (46.9) | 58 (51.8) | |
| Age groups (years): n (%) | 0.34 | ||
| 18–25 | 2 (2.0) | 1 (0.9) | |
| 26–50 | 40 (40.8) | 56 (50.0) | |
| 51–60 | 31 (31.6) | 36 (32.1) | |
| 61–70 | 25 (25.5) | 19 (17.0) | |
| Level of education: n (%) | 0.14 | ||
| Secondary school | 65 (66.3) | 63 (56.3) | |
| Higher education/university | 33 (33.7) | 49 (43.8) | |
| Proportion of smokers: n (%) | 0.70 | ||
| Smokers | 14 (14.3) | 14 (12.5) | |
| Non-smokers | 84 (85.7) | 98 (87.5) | |
| Mean±SD | |||
| Weight at baseline | 106.8±18.5 | 101.7±17.3 | 0.01 |
| BMI at baseline | 36.0±6.8 | 33.4±4.2 | <0.01 |
| Waist circumference | 118.6±13.3 | 108.7±11.1 | <0.01 |
| Systolic BP | 132.4±16.8 | 130.9±14.8 | 0.50 |
| Diastolic BP | 81.3±11.9 | 80.9±10.1 | 0.81 |
| HbA1c (4–6.1) | 6.2±1.2 | 6.0±1.0 | 0.32 |
| Total cholesterol (3.9–7.8) | 5.1±1.3 | 5.3±1.1 | 0.20 |
| No of days with physical activity per week | 2.9±2.2 | 3.3±2.2 | 0.24 |
BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin A1c.