Evaluation of project promoting health in adolescents

Abstract

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.