Abstract
BackgroundComputer tailoring may be a promising technique for prevention of overweight in adolescents. However, very few well-developed, evidence-based computer-tailored interventions are available for this target group. We developed and evaluated a computer-tailored intervention for adolescents targeting energy balance-related behaviours: i.e. consumption of snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit, vegetables, and fibre, physical activity, and sedentary behaviours. This paper describes the planned development of a school-based computer-tailored intervention aimed at improving energy balance-related behaviours in order to prevent excessive weight gain in adolescents, and the protocol for evaluating this intervention.Methods/designIntervention development: Informed by the Precaution Adoption Process Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the computer-tailored intervention provided feedback on personal behaviour and suggestions on how to modify it. The intervention (VETisnietVET translated as 'FATaintPHAT') has been developed for use in the first year of secondary school during eight lessons.Evaluation design: The intervention will be evaluated in a cluster-randomised trial including 20 schools with a 4-months and a 2-years follow-up. Outcome measures are BMI, waist circumference, energy balance-related behaviours, and potential determinants of these behaviours. Process measures are appreciation of and satisfaction with the program, exposure to the program's content, and implementation facilitators and barriers measured among students and teachers.DiscussionThis project resulted in a theory and evidence-based intervention that can be implemented in a school setting. A large-scale randomised controlled trial with a short and long-term follow-up will provide sound statements about the effectiveness of this computer-tailored intervention in adolescents.Trial RegistrationISRCTN15743786
Highlights
Computer tailoring may be a promising technique for prevention of overweight in adolescents
We developed a webbased computer-tailored intervention (CTI) named VETisnietVET, which was used during first-year lessons at secondary schools and aimed at prevention of excessive weight gain
In this paper we outlined the steps in the planned development of the FATaintPHAT intervention and the protocol for the effectiveness and process evaluation
Summary
Computer tailoring may be a promising technique for prevention of overweight in adolescents. Very few well-developed, evidence-based computer-tailored interventions are available for this target group. We developed and evaluated a computer-tailored intervention for adolescents targeting energy balance-related behaviours: i.e. consumption of snacks, sugarsweetened beverages, fruit, vegetables, and fibre, physical activity, and sedentary behaviours. This paper describes the planned development of a school-based computer-tailored intervention aimed at improving energy balance-related behaviours in order to prevent excessive weight gain in adolescents, and the protocol for evaluating this intervention. Increasing numbers of adolescents worldwide are overweight and obese [1]. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer), and some of these may already become manifest at an early age. To prevent adolescents from becoming overweight or obese, there is an urgent need for interventions aimed at preventing excessive weight gain in adolescents
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