News Release

Teens can help design school obesity programs

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Center for Advancing Health

The recommendations of teens may help in the design of effective school-based obesity prevention programs, suggest the results of a study of teen focus groups.

The need for such preventive programs is clear. U.S. adolescent obesity rose from 5.7 percent during the years 1976-1980, to 12 percent during the years 1988-1994, according to data cited in the study.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, led by Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, RD, analyzed recommendations from 25 focus groups consisting of 203 adolescents, all attending school in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Focus group participants expressed a preference for program activities in which participants "don't just sit around and talk," including nontraditional activities such as strength training, in-line skating, yoga, and hiking.

"Clearly, adolescents wanted fun and interactive activities within a supportive environment," said Neumark-Sztainer.

The teens also thought programs should promote healthy lifestyles rather than weight control. Some of the teenagers thought programs should be open to all students, since overweight students might be stigmatized if they participated in programs geared only to them. The researchers report their findings in the March/April issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

However, other adolescents pointed out that overweight students might be embarrassed if, for example, they weren't as athletic as others in a mixed group. Overweight students interviewed for another study segment supported this perspective. "These adolescents emphasized the need for support from other overweight students and from a group leader with personal experience with weight issues," said Neumark-Sztainer.

One limitation of focus group data is that it tends to reflect predominantly the opinions of participants who are most talkative. In mixed groups, overweight adolescents may have been hesitant to express interest in programs geared toward overweight teens, according to the researchers.

"Although focus group discussions provide an excellent environment for idea generation for program development, precautions need to be taken in interpreting data collected via focus groups," said Neumark-Sztainer.

In addition to initiating healthy lifestyle promotion programs that are open to all students, schools should also create support groups specifically for overweight youth, according to the researchers. The scientists noted the perfect suitability of schools to serve as program providers.

"Schools teach youth from all socioeconomic backgrounds, provide a natural learning environment, offer physical education classes, have food service facilities, and provide social-support services. Additionally, school programs, in contrast to clinical programs, can be delivered at little or no cost to families," said Neumark-Sztainer.

###

The American Journal of Health Promotion is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the field of health promotion. For information about the journal call (248) 682-0707 or visit the journal's website at www.healthpromotionjournal.com .

Posted by the Center for the Advancement of Health < http://www.cfah.org >. For information about the Center, call Petrina Chong, < pchong@cfah.org > (202) 387-2829.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.