Journal
PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION
Volume 17, Issue 6, Pages 1195-1204Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980013000189
Keywords
Healthy lifestyle; Overweight; Obesity; School; Children; Prevention
Funding
- International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Research Foundation
- Healthy Lifestyles, Healthy People (HLHP) Project
- Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (National Research Board), Brazil
- Research Assistance Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)
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Objective: To assess the efficacy of two school-based programmes to promote students' willingness to engage in lifestyle changes related to eating habits and physical activity behaviours. Design: Elementary school-based health promotion intervention, designed as a multicomponent experimental study, based on a behavioural epidemiological model. Setting: Nine intervention and eight comparative public and private elementary schools. Subjects: The goal was to determine the impact on the longitudinally assessed outcomes of two programmes that addressed healthy nutrition and active living in a cohort of 2038 children. The evaluations used pre-intervention and follow-up student surveys that were based on the Transtheoretical Model of the stages of behaviour change. Results: In the intervention group, there were significant (P < 001) differences between the pre-and post-intervention times in the stages of change, with a reduction in the percentage of children at the pre-contemplation and contemplation stages and increased percentages at the preparation, action and maintenance stages, leading to healthier behaviours in fatty food consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity and time spent in sedentary activities. The determinants of the behaviour stage were the intervention programme, the type of school and the presence of motivated teachers. The comparison group did not show significant differences between the pre-and post-intervention times for any of the stages of behaviour. Conclusions: The intervention programme encouraged the students to make healthy lifestyle choices related to eating habits and physical activity behaviours.
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