The effectiveness of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) in Australasia for reducing selected chronic disease risk factors : a feasibility study

Aim To examine the effectiveness within the Australasian context of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) lifestyle intervention, which has been shown to produce meaningful reductions in selected chronic disease risk factors in the United States. Methods Changes in body weight, blood pressure, blood lipid profile and fasting plasma glucose were assessed in 836 self-selected participants (age=55.9±12.7 yrs, 35% male/65% female) from 18 sites throughout New Zealand (N=731) and Australia (N=105). Results In the 30 days of the program, significant overall reductions (p<0.001) were recorded in the participants' body mass (-3.8%; 87.1±22.4 versus 83.9±21.5 kg), systolic blood pressure (-5.6%; 135±19 versus 127±17 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (-4.6%; 80±12 versus 76±12 mmHg), total cholesterol (-14.7%; 5.17±1.08 versus 4.41±0.96 mmol/L), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-17.9%; 3.17±0.95 versus 2.60±0.83 mmol/L), triglycerides (-12.5%; 1.51±0.98 versus 1.32±0.71 mmol/L) and fasting plasma glucose (-5.6%; 5.55±1.49 versus 5.24±1.11 mmol/L). Participants at program entry with the highest classifications of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides and fasting plasma glucose experienced over 20% reductions in these measures in 30 days. Conclusions Significant reductions in selected chronic disease risk factors were observed in 30 days using the CHIP intervention and the improvements were comparable to that observed in cohorts from the United States. The results of this feasibility study indicate that lifestyle interventions like CHIP may be useful for combating the burgeoning epidemic of chronic disease and further research is warranted.