Short-Term Results of a Community-Based Program on Promoting Healthy Lifestyle for Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases in a Developing Country Setting

Abstract

The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of a comprehensive community trial on behavioral modification after 2 years of intervention. The interventions of this 6-year, comprehensive community-based study target the whole population, of nearly 2 180 000, living in 2 cities in Iran and are compared with another Iranian city considered as reference. Educational, environmental, and legislative interventions are being conducted at the population level. From the baseline to the second year of evaluation of this study, the consumption of hydrogenated fat decreased significantly in the intervention community, but it remained nearly constant in the reference area. Meanwhile, the consumption of liquid oil increased in the intervention community, whereas it decreased in the reference area. The prevalence of current smoking and attempt to smoke decreased, respectively, in men and youths living in the intervention area but increased or remained constant in the reference area; however, no favorable change was seen for smoking among women. Leisure time physical activity increased in women and declined in men of both communities; the slopes of these changes were greater in the intervention area. Although the consumption of salty/fat snacks slightly decreased in the school students of the intervention area, it had a sharp increase in the reference area. This program succeeded in improving some aspects of lifestyle in its different target groups. The authors suggest that the synergy of activities intensified the dose of interventions and led to this improvement.

Variation in the operationalisation of dose in implementation of health promotion interventions: insights and recommendations from a scoping review

“…Of these, most used the term dose when interpreting their results but did not refer to the measurement or operationalisation of dose within their methods or findings. For example, Kelishadi and colleagues [57] state that ‘the overall lower increase of junk food consumption … showed that the dose or intensity of our community-based and school-based interventions, although not sufficient, was necessary to act against other forces in the community’ [57] but did not refer to the measurement of dose elsewhere within the main body of the paper. The effect was that it was not clear what was actually considered the dose of the intervention (i.e.…”

Relation between usual daily walking time and metabolic syndrome

“…Regular physical activity is an important protective factor against several diseases, such as obesity, hypertension, type II diabetes318 and MS 19. In a cross-sectional school-based study on 417 adolescents (243 girls) aged 15-18 years from the Azorean Islands, Portugal, daily step counts and physical activity levels were negatively associated with having one or more metabolic risk factors 22.…”

“…The data were collected using validated questionnaires 61516181920. Physical activity was assessed by Baecke questionnaire.…”

“…The programme began in 2000-2001 and its third phase was done in 2007 1819. It is a quasi-experimental trial that includes a reference area and several levels of evaluation including process, impact and outcome evaluations.…”

The Relationship Between Healthy Lifestyle and Hospital Utilization Among Adults With Diabetes

“…7 Of these healthy lifestyle behaviors, getting regular leisure time physical activity (LTPA), a healthy diet (DIET), and not smoking (NSMK) have been suggested as 3 major HLHs that play important roles in the primary prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes. 8-11 It has also been reported that these 3 HLHs can influence health outcomes among individuals with diabetes either directly by affecting diabetes control or indirectly through their effects on comorbidities and psychosocial factors. 12 One previous study of a nationally representative sample of US adults with diabetes 18 years and older further demonstrated that accumulation of these 3 HLHs is significantly associated with better health-related quality of life.…”