Nutritional knowledge in patients with severe obesity during a residential rehabilitation: the relationships with socio-demographic variables

Background: This study was aimed at evaluating the enhancement of nutritional knowledge in severely obese patients participating in a residential rehabilitation program, by means of the Moynihan Questionnaire (M.Q.). It further explored the association between learning outcomes and socio-demographic variables. Method: A cohort of 2888 obese patients (mean Body Mass Index, BMI: 44 ± 7 kg/m^2, mean age 59 yrs.), admitted to Auxologico Piancavallo for metabolic rehabilitation was investigated. Patients underwent an educational course on nutrition and completed the M.Q. upon both admission and discharge. A subgroup of 230 patients, admitted twice, provided additional insights into the sustained impact of the intervention. The analysis utilized a linear regression model (ANCOVA) to identify determinants of score changes during the initial hospitalization and an ANOVA for repeated measurements to assess differences in score changes between the first and second hospitalizations. Multivariate techniques were employed to examine the influence of potential variables on nutritional knowledge outcomes. Results: The rehabilitation program led to a significant improvement in M.Q. at discharge, corroborating the effectiveness of the educational intervention in enhancing nutritional knowledge. While a similar improvement was observed during second admissions, the magnitude of this improvement was notably less than that recorded during initial admissions. Interestingly, score improvements were more pronounced in women, younger patients, those with higher educational levels, married individuals, and participants with higher initial scores. No significant correlation was found between BMI and learning outcomes. Conclusion: The M.Q. documented improvements in nutritional knowledge among severely obese patients undergoing educational interventions in a residential setting. Our findings emphasize the influence of socio-demographic variables on the efficacy of nutritional education, highlighting the need for tailored approaches in dietary rehabilitation programs to optimize patient outcomes.