3. Results
REGRESSION, RECRUITMENT
G*Power (version 3.0.10, Germany) was used to calculate the sample size. With two independent groups, a sample size of 34 patients was considered sufficient based on F tests (MANOVA: effects and interactions) with Type I error = 0.05, power (1-error probability) = 0.80, and effect size = 0.50. To account for the possibility of dropout, 40 patients were recruited (assuming a 15% dropout rate). The progress of participants from recruitment to follow-up is illustrated in The data analysis revealed no significant differences in patients’ demographic and anthropometric characteristics between the two groups prior to intervention (Repeated measures MANOVA revealed a significant main effect of time (Wilks’ Λ = 0.01, F(13, 26) = 186.68, Following the intervention, the two groups had substantial reductions in BMI, WC, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, AST, ALT, SFT, VAT, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR, as well as an increase in HDL cholesterol (Between-group analyses revealed a significant difference between the two groups, with the CAST-CR group exhibiting the most significant alterations, where the mean differences at a 95% confidence interval were (−3.15, −1.80) for BMI, (−9.13, −5.96) for WC, (−31.28, −25.65) for total cholesterol, (15.32, 8.45) for HDL cholesterol, (−27.58, −18.69) for LDL cholesterol, (−41.62, −36.72) for triglycerides, (−16.50, −12.80) for AST, (−9.65, −7.29) for ALT, (−1.67, −1.07) for SFT, (−2092.59, −1316.25) for VAT, (−0.79, −0.46) for fasting glucose, (−6.43, −5.47) for fasting insulin, and (−1.24, −1.07) for HOMA-IR (Multiple regression analyses revealed that the change in HOMA-IR after treatment was best predicted by BMI (β-coefficient = 0.40, The subjects’ diet adherence in the CAST-CR and AT-CR groups was 90% and 85%, respectively. Diet adherence had no significant relationship with groups (