Several studies have shown health coaching to be effective in improving various aspects of health. One study on Type 2 diabetes concludes that after six months, individuals who were coached showed improvement in medication adherence another showed a reduction in medication. Coaching had a positive effect on patients' knowledge, skill, self-efficacy and behaviour change while a non-coached control group did not show any improvement. Additionally, coached participants with a hemaglobin A1C over 7% showed significant improvement in A1C.
A study on coronary heart disease indicated that patients in a coaching program achieved a significantly greater change in total cholesterol than the non-coached patients, with a considerable reduction in LDL-C. Those involved in the coaching program showed improvements in secondary outcomes such as weight loss, increased exercise, improved quality of life, less anxiety, and improvement in overall health and mood.
Another study shows that coaching is an effective program for assisting individuals with self-efficacy and weight loss. Confidence to lose weight increased from a baseline of 60% to 71% at three months, 76% at 6 months and 79% at 12 months. The average body mass index significantly decreased during this interactive coaching study. Average baseline was 32.1%, and then documented at 3 months (31.4%), 6 months (31.0%), and 12 months (30.6%).