Evaluation of project promoting health in adolescents
Jovino Oliveira Ferreira1, Paulo César Brandão Veiga Jardim, Maria do Rosário Gondim Peixoto
1Secretaria Municipal de Saúde, Diretoria de Atenção à Saúde, Divisão de Atenção às Doenças Crônicas Não Transmissíveis, GoiâniaGO, Brazil.
Objective:
Evaluate a program promoting exercise and healthy eating among adolescents.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study of 911 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old in public schools in Goiania, Midwestern Brazil, 2010. The participants were divided into two groups: intervention (schools taking part in the Healthy Living, project) and control. The following were deemed to be exercise: displacement, physical education classes in school, physical activity outside school, and leisure-time physical activity. Pupils who totaled 300 or more minutes per week were defined as active. Consuming protective foods five or more days a week was classified as adequate intake. Statistical analyses made using the Chi-square test.
Results:
Most adolescents were identified as inactive or insufficiently active, 65.7% in the Intervention Group and 65.2% Control Group, showing no significant differences between groups, and with higher prevalence among girls. Slightly more than half of adolescents consumed health protective foods 5 or more days a week, 56.6% in the Intervention Group and 50.4% in the Control Group (p = 0.373).
Conclusions:
There were no differences between schools in the Intervention Group and Control Group with regard to food choices and physical activity. This indicates that the Healthy Living project needs to be reevaluated to improve the effectiveness in achieving its objectives.
Related Concept Videos
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...

