Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Health Promotion Perspectives 2228-6497 4 2 2014 12 30 Long-Term Effect of Motivational Interviewing on Dietary Intake and Weight Loss in Iranian Obese/Overweight Women 206 213 10.5681/hpp.2014.027 EN Mohsen Saffari Amir H Pakpour Isa Mohammadi-Zeidi Mohammad Samadi Hui Chen Journal Article 10.5681/hpp.2014.027 2014 05 25 Background: This study aimed to determine whether motivational interviewing (MI) could change dietary habit and body mass index (BMI) in obese/overweight women. Methods: A cluster-randomized controlled study was performed in four health centers in Qazvin, central Iran. In total, 327 obese/overweight women were se­lected by a multi-stage sampling method and randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. Food frequency (using questionnaire; FFQ), BMI, and metabolic markers including blood pressure, total serum choles­terol and fasting blood glucose levels were measured in all participants. Data were collected twice (before and one year after the MI interventions). Data were analyzed using student t-test, and Stepwise Linear Regression. Results: There was a significant increase in daily consumption of dietary fiber, whole grain products, fruits and vegetables in the MI group (P<0.05). The con­sumption of meat product, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate and total energy intake were also significantly reduced after MI intervention (P<0.05). As a result, body weight and BMI were significantly reduced in the intervention group com­pared to the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: MI is suggested to be an effective strategy to change life style and reduce BMI in overweight/obese women in the long term. This effect needs to be further investigated in different gender and age popula­tions.