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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Mary Margaret Driskell, M P H, Leanne M. Mauriello, PhD, and Karen Sherman, BA. Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 755, West Kingston, RI 02892, 401-709-2333, mmdriskell@prochange.com

Rates of obesity continue to rise among children and adolescents, while participation in healthy energy balance behaviors declines. In an effort to inform obesity prevention interventions, readiness to meet national recommendations for physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and television viewing were examined across three samples. Elementary school students (n=2485, mean age=10.11, 63.8% Caucasian, 48.1% female, 16.7% overweight), middle school students (n=1037, mean age=12.3, 65.6% Caucasian, 52.7% female, 13.1% overweight), and high school students (n=1116, mean age=15.8, 74.8% Caucasian, 55.8% female, 12.1% overweight) completed paper and pencil surveys. Across the age groups for almost all behaviors, the majority of students were in pre-action stages (i.e., Precontemplation, Contemplation, or Preparation). Stage of readiness distributions for each of the target behaviors will be presented for all three samples. Demographic comparisons by stage for the target behaviors revealed significant differences by race for elementary school students; by race and grade for middle school students; and by race, grade, and gender for high school students. Logistic regression analyses concluded that meeting the national recommendation for one target behavior increased the likelihood of meeting the criteria for another target behavior. Specific results for each age group will be presented. These findings, particularly that the majority of students are not participating in healthy lifestyle behaviors, highlight the importance of obesity prevention efforts for children and adolescents. Understanding the relationships among the behaviors and the differences in students' readiness to engage in them offer valuable information for obesity prevention efforts.

Learning Objectives:

(
• Describe elementary, middle, and high school students’ stage of change for three behaviors related to obesity prevention and their associations with certain demographic variables; (
• Articulate the relationships among the target behaviors across three age groups; (
• Recognize the importance of matching obesity prevention interventions to readiness to change.

Keywords: Obesity, Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? Yes

Organization	Clinical/Research Area	Type of Relationship
Pro-Change Behavior Systems	obesity prevention	Employment (includes retainer) and Stock Ownership

Any company-sponsored training?	No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?	Yes
Have you received salary support, retainer, or other monies to support your position as part of the research/clinical trials?	Yes
Have you served as the Principal Investigator) for the research/clinical trials?	No
Have the results of your research/clinical trials been published?	Yes

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Recorded presentation