Use of a Web-Based Component of a Nutrition and Physical Activity Behavioral Intervention with Girl Scouts

doi:10.1016/j.jada.2005.06.027

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Volume 105, Issue 9, September 2005, Pages 1447-1450

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2005.06.027 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study describes the development and usage of a Web-based component of a nutrition and physical activity behavioral intervention to promote bone health among preadolescent girls. Thirty Girl Scout troops were randomized to either an intervention or control group for a 2-year period. Girls in the intervention troops (aged 10 to 12 years, N=194) were exposed to grade-specific Web sites that were developed to reinforce the content of the broader, face-to-face intervention. In 5th grade, 82% of the girls logged on once and 48% logged on more than once, compared to 56% and 23% of 6th graders, respectively. Results suggest that although Web-site usage decreased over time, a Web-site program may be useful as a component of a face-to-face, multicomponent intervention. More research is needed to determine ways to enhance and maintain Web-site use over time among youth in health-behavior intervention programs.

Section snippets

Study Overview and Subjects

Data were from a group randomized trial to increase bone mineral density in 5th- and 6th-grade girls through increases in dietary calcium and weight-bearing physical activity. The study was conducted in collaboration with two Girl Scout councils in Minnesota. Thirty troops (median=10.5 girls per troop, range=7 to 19) were recruited in two cohorts (starting in years 2000 and 2001) and randomized to either an intervention or control group for a 2-year period. The study was approved by the

Demographics and Baseline Computer Use

Of the 194 girls in the intervention condition, 188 girls (96.9%) attended their baseline clinic visit. Over 90% of the girls were white. Median annual household income was $80,000 to $90,000.

At baseline, 94% of girls had a computer available in their home. Although 89% had used the Internet to visit Web sites or use e-mail, only 46% had used the Internet at least once in the past week.

Web-Site Training

Twenty-six of the 30 Web-site training sessions (one in 5th grade and one in 6th grade for each of the 15

Discussion

Although our findings show that the Internet can be used to reach preadolescent girls as a supplementary component to a face-to-face behavioral change intervention, use of the study Web sites was modest. Our findings were similar to other studies that have found that use of Web sites decreases over time (15, 16, 18, 19, 20). While incentives for completing activities did seem to increase the mean number of quizzes completed, they did not increase the percentage of girls who visited the site on

Conclusions

Dietetics professionals can:

•
assist in the development of Web sites for information and skills related to dietary behavior change among youth; and
•
ensure that nutrition information included in Web sites that target dietary behavior change is accurate and presented in a user-friendly, age-appropriate manner.

S. A. Rydell is a data collections coordinator, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

References (25)

D.B. Reed et al.
Clueless in the mallA web site on calcium for teens
J Am Diet Assoc.
(2002)
L. DiSogra et al.
The 5 a day virtual classroomAn on-line strategy to promote healthful eating
J Am Diet Assoc
(2000)
R.L. Hornung et al.
Interactive computer technology for skin cancer prevention targeting children
Am J Prev Med
(2000)
S.I. Woodruff et al.
Pilot test of an Internet virtual chat room for rural teen smokers
J Adolesc Health
(2001)
Wired for Health and Well-Beingthe Emergence of Interactive Health Communication
(1999)
D.M. Hoelscher et al.
Designing effective nutrition interventions for adolescents
J Am Diet Assoc
(2002)
A Nation OnlineEntering the Broadband Age
(2004)
A Nation OnlineHow Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet
(2002)
A. Lenhart et al.
Teenage Life OnlineThe Rise of the Instant-Message Generation and the Internet’s Impact on Friendships and Family Relationships
(2001)
D.L.G. Borzekowski et al.
Adolescent cybersurfing for health information, a new resource that crosses barriers
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med
(2001)

National Bone Health Campaign. Powerful Bones, Powerful Girls Web site. June 2003 Update. Available at:...

L.S. Stern et al.

Development of a human growth and osteoporosis prevention curriculum and computer program

Drug Info J

(1997)

Cited by (29)

How do online communities matter? Comparison between active and non-active participants in an online behavioral weight loss program
2016, Computers in Human Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
More research is needed to clarify the specific role of social media (Hurling et al., 2007). Furthermore, low participation rates have been a major limitation in studies of interventions related to social media, restricting the interpretation of the results of previous studies (Morgan et al., 2011; Pullen, Hageman, Boeckner, Walker, & Oberdofer, 2008; Rydell et al., 2005; Tate et al., 2006; Webber, Tate, Ward, & Bowling, 2010; Williams et al., 2014; Womble et al., 2004). In some interventions, the lack of significant differences between the control group and the group that had access to the social media platform may be a result of low utilization of the provided channels (Cavallo et al., 2012), which prevented participants from achieving the expected benefits.
This paper contributes to the discussion on the potential of different social media platforms in health behavior change programs. More specifically, it compares the outcomes of participation in different online community platforms in an online behavioral weight loss program. Results show that active participants on online community platforms perceive their service experience more positively, follow instructions more precisely, have a more positive perception of achieving their goals, and also feel that they receive more social support than do those who do not actively participate in online community channels, although no differences were found related to weight loss itself. Furthermore, interesting differences were found in the perceptions of participants on different types of social media platforms. For example, those who actively participated in a Facebook-based online community reported receiving more emotional support than did those who participated in a discussion forum-based online community. The results shed light on what types of outcomes active participation in different kinds of online communities might have for individuals. A description is provided of possible strategies for service providers in terms of facilitating the service experience that they provide.
Validation of a Milk Consumption Stage of Change Algorithm among Adolescent Survivors of Childhood Cancer
2012, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
Bone health knowledge was assessed as a proxy for consciousness raising, the process of change that is critical to move individuals from Precontemplation to Contemplation by providing new information supporting behavior change.11 Using 6 multiple choice items adapted from the National Bone Health Campaign for children16 and prior research,17,18 knowledge was operationalized as a continuous variable indicating the number of items correctly answered (range 0-6). Self-efficacy is an individual's confidence to engage in a behavior and is central to TTM.11
To assess the construct validity of a milk consumption Stages of Change (SOC) algorithm among adolescent survivors of childhood cancer ages 11 to 21 years (n = 75).
Baseline data from a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate a health behavior intervention were analyzed. Assessments included a milk consumption SOC algorithm and hypothesized theoretical and behavioral predictors of SOC.
Compared with survivors who expressed no readiness to change, those expressing readiness to change behavior for both 2 and 4 daily servings of milk reported more frequent milk consumption (P < .001), greater dietary calcium intake (P = .006), and were more likely to meet age-specific recommendations for daily calcium intake (P = .01).
Results provide support for the construct validity of the milk consumption SOC algorithm relative to behavioral criteria. Research is needed to further examine algorithm validity with respect to theoretical predictors of SOC.
The efficacy of the web-based childhood obesity prevention program in Chinese American adolescents (Web ABC study)
2011, Journal of Adolescent Health
To examine the feasibility and efficacy of a theory-driven and family-based program delivered online to promote healthy lifestyles and weights in Chinese American adolescents.
A randomized controlled study of a Web-based intervention was developed and conducted in 54 Chinese American adolescents (ages, 12–15 years) and their families. Data on anthropometry, blood pressure, dietary intake, physical activity, and knowledge and self-efficacy regarding physical activity and nutrition were collected at baseline and 2, 6, and 8 months after the baseline assessment. Data were analyzed using linear mixed modeling.
The intervention resulted in significant decreases in waist-to-hip ratio and diastolic blood pressure and increases in vegetable and fruit intake, level of physical activity, and knowledge about physical activity and nutrition.
This Web-based behavior program for Chinese American adolescents and their families seems feasible and effective in the short-term. Long-term effects remain to be determined. This type of program can be adapted for other minority ethnic groups who are at high-risk for overweight and obesity and have limited access to programs that promote healthy lifestyles.
Effective osteoporosis education in the outpatient orthopaedic setting
2007, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
The orthopaedic surgeon may be the first medical specialist to interact with a patient with clinically important osteoporosis, providing an opportunity to educate that patient about this disease. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether patients could be effectively educated with regard to osteoporosis and lifestyle modification during their outpatient visits to an orthopaedic surgeon's office.
Eighty female patients ranging from fifteen to seventy-three years of age completed an eleven-question quiz that included items regarding their knowledge of osteoporosis, calcium intake, menopausal status, exercise, smoking, and whether or not they had had a bone mineral density scan. The quiz was completed during a visit to an outpatient sports medicine/general orthopaedic clinic. After the quiz, an educational intervention was performed by providing the patients with an informational handout. The patients were followed at an average interval of six months and were reassessed either in the office or over the telephone with use of the same quiz to evaluate increases in knowledge and modification of lifestyle.
Fifty-four premenopausal and twenty-six postmenopausal patients were available for follow-up. The premenopausal and postmenopausal groups differed at the beginning of the study, with premenopausal patients having a higher daily calcium intake (p = 0.008) and a better ability to define osteoporosis (p = 0.004) and postmenopausal patients having a higher rate of having had a prior bone mineral density scan (p < 0.001). In response to the educational intervention, significant improvements were seen in terms of the patients' ability to define osteoporosis (p = 0.004), the ability to identify being female as a major risk factor (p < 0.001), and the understanding that females should begin adequate calcium intake at a young age (p < 0.001). Significant increases in daily calcium intake (p < 0.001) and exercise level also occurred (p < 0.003). The postmenopausal group demonstrated a less robust response to the educational intervention.
The outpatient orthopaedic sports medicine office setting represents a prime opportunity for education regarding osteoporosis prevention and lifestyle modification that can be performed in an inexpensive fashion and that can be easily replicated in most offices both in the community and in academic settings.
Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Physical activity capability, opportunity, motivation and behavior in youth settings: theoretical framework to guide physical activity leader interventions
2023, International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Empowering youth for social change through the Shujaaz multimedia platform in Kenya
2019, International Journal of Adolescence and Youth

View all citing articles on Scopus

S. A. Rydell is a data collections coordinator, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

S.A. French is a professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

D. Neumark-Sztainer is a professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

A. Faricy Gerlach is a nutrition intervention coordinator, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

M. Story is a professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

J. A. Fulkerson is an associate professor at the School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; at the time of the study, she was a senior research associate in the Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

K. K. Christopherson is a clinical trial leader at a medical device company; at the time of the study, she was a research assistant in the Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

View full text

ResearchResearch and Professional BriefUse of a Web-Based Component of a Nutrition and Physical Activity Behavioral Intervention with Girl Scouts

Abstract

Section snippets

Study Overview and Subjects

Demographics and Baseline Computer Use

Web-Site Training

Discussion

Conclusions

J Am Diet Assoc.

J Am Diet Assoc

Am J Prev Med

J Adolesc Health

Wired for Health and Well-Beingthe Emergence of Interactive Health Communication

Designing effective nutrition interventions for adolescents

J Am Diet Assoc

A Nation OnlineEntering the Broadband Age

A Nation OnlineHow Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet

Teenage Life OnlineThe Rise of the Instant-Message Generation and the Internet’s Impact on Friendships and Family Relationships

Adolescent cybersurfing for health information, a new resource that crosses barriers

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

Development of a human growth and osteoporosis prevention curriculum and computer program

Drug Info J

Research
Research and Professional Brief
Use of a Web-Based Component of a Nutrition and Physical Activity Behavioral Intervention with Girl Scouts