Effect of adding noninvasive auricular Vagal nerve stimulation to exercise program on emotional eating and stress responsiveness in patient with metabolic syndrome.

Abstract

To evaluate the effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on selected health-related outcomes in MetS. Seventy men with metabolic syndrome (MetS) aged between 45 and 55, with a body mass index (BMI) ranging from 30 to 35 kg/m², were randomly divided into study group that received a vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and circuit weight training (CWT) and control group which underwent a CWT. An Emotional Eating Scale (EES) and a Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (SAPS) were used to evaluate emotional eating and patient satisfaction with their therapy, respectively. Salivary cortisol levels were measured between 8 and 9 am, and body weight was detected after 8 h of fasting. The clinical trial ID was NCT05785117. There was a significant change in EES and SAPS scale scores in both groups post-intervention; however, the study group showed higher scores than the control group. Furthermore, the change percentage of weight and salivary cortisol in the study group was 8.9% and 44.5%, respectively, which were higher than in the control group (2.9% and 40.6%, respectively). VNS and CWT were considered promising, simple, and cost-effective interventions for improving emotional eating, patient satisfaction, salivary cortisol, and body weight in individuals with MetS.