research

Internet interventions in physical activity and dietary behavior for adolescents – with or without schools?

Abstract

Purpose of Study: To perform a review on internet interventions for adolescents focusing physical activity and dietary behavior and to understand the effect of schools and teachers involvement in the outcomes. Background: Although the well known benefits of a healthy lifestyle (high physical activity levels and a healthy eating pattern), the adolescents of most industrialized countries fail to meet dietary and physical activity guidelines. Most governments are trying to find effective interventions that may focus in a wide range of individuals, rather than face to face (school based) interventions. The internet has been used recently in a lot of health interventions, its advantages have been mentioned broadly, especially when targeting children and adolescents. Recent reviews on similar topics are not coherent on their conclusions, some are in favour of the computer based interventions, others mention that there is no clear effectiveness of eHealth interventions. However no studies exclusively on adolescents were found. It seems relevant to perform an updated review, focusing studies with adolescents. Methods: Articles were identified for inclusion using key word database literature searches. An initial search using electronic databases: Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, Elsevier and Ebsco was performed, using as key terms: Internet Intervention; Web based intervention or online intervention. The search was completed using the Boolean term “and” with expressions: nutrition; diet; physical activity; exercise or motor activity. The full text review was done according to a matrix developed in a Microsoft windows excel database. It was calculated a quality score, based in nine methodological items. Conclusions and discussion: Most of the papers reviewed had modest results in favour of the intervention group, but failed to show long term effects, when evaluated. Less than 50% of the studies involved teachers, schools, parents or group leaders, and no relation was found between this involvement and the outcomes. This review shows that besides the importance of interventions for adolescents, few studies are published. The improvement in diet and physical activity outcomes seem modest and not long term, either with the involvement of schools or not. Schools should evaluate and improve the health education programmes. The authors suggest that more interventions should be planned including innovative methodologies, as so much is still to be known in how to improve health behaviours in adolescents

    Similar works