healthy living presentation, october 2013
TRANSCRIPT
The Media Branding Healthy Lifestyle as “Cool”
Rachel Wilf-Miron, MD, MPH
Director, Healthy Living
26% of Israeli children are categorized as either overweight or obese
Israel is ranked last amongst 41 Western countries in the proportion of 15-year olds who are regularly physically active
Israeli youth are less likely to eat breakfast before school and more likely to drink sweetened drinks at least once a day
Children from less affluent communities demonstrate higher rates of obesity and lower rates of physical activity.
Motivation for Action: Local Facts
Recruiting the Media to Tackle Obesity
Tackling childhood obesity requires a normative culturalchange, in which the media is a major player.
The media is often accused of contributing to obesity bypromoting unhealthy food commercials and a sedentarylifestyle
A Paradigm Shift : A media company has decided to recruit itsplatforms to lead this change on a national level
Ananey Communication runs 15 TV channels & internetplatforms, develops interactive media and owns productionfirms.
children women teens and young adults men
Healthy Living
A national initiative, led by the media, to encourage
1) Physical activity
2) Water drinking
3) Healthy nutrition
Healthy Living – Core Values
Branding health behaviors as “cool” and therefore easy to adopt, especially among the younger generation
360° massive media exposure, by recruiting TV channels, VOD, internet, social media and smartphone applications, on a long term basis, 365 days a year.
Field outreach: fun activities led by "TV talents" are filmed to create televised clips, fillers and documentaries.
Focus, Focus, Focus
The 3 sides of the triangle
represent the following
selected health–related
behaviors:
1. Physical Activity
2. Drinking Water
3. Healthy Eating
The Media as the Messenger
Through youth-targeted clips, commercials and segments, the Media can effectively relay both direct and indirect health-related messages, for example:
Direct message: Eating breakfast is the way to start the day before going to school (easy to present on TV and Facebook)
Indirect message: Healthy ingredients such as whole wheat bread are great ingredients to use for breakfast
Evaluation of a School-based Pilot Program
Healthy Living at ORT
ORT is the largest educational network in Israel
The model for media-led, school-based intervention was developed as a joint venture with Ananey and ORT
The pilot program was launched in January 2013, in two junior high schools, in cooperation with the R&D and Training Administration in ORT.
The Objectives of The Pilot
1) To evaluate the feasibility of a newly designed initiative, led by the Media, to promote healthy lifestyle among students and
2) To increase knowledge, shape attitudes and change students' behaviors regarding the 4 major themes on which "Healthy Living" focuses:
Drinking Water;
Eating Breakfast
Eating Family Meals
Regular Physical Activity
The Intervention
Introducing the program to school administrations and tailoring it to fit local needs;
Recruitment of “Young Leaders," 65 eighth grade students, as agents of change among their peers.
Young Leaders were provided with workshops, lectures and educational materials. A production expert guided them in the planning and execution of health-promoting activities.
Young leaders and the program coordinator, showcasing a healthy lifestyle in the
schoolyard
Decorating school walls withhealthy messages
The Intervention (cont’d)
Six special days or "peaks" of activity were organized for 280 junior high students (7-8th grade).
The six days included activities such as aerobic fitness, kickboxing, learning how to prepare fresh family meals and make a healthy sandwich for school, and culminated with a closing MTV dance party.
Fit ball aerobic exercise involving students and teachers
Young leaders prepare a healthy breakfast for their peers
A well-known chef and student cooking experience, to encourage family meals
Methods
Effectiveness was evaluated by examining the change in knowledge, attitudes and reported behavior among 3 groups: young leaders, peers (7-8th grades) and a control group (9th grade students who were not exposed to the intervention).
Students completed questionnaires “before and after.”
An external evaluation was conducted.
Results (1)
At the launch of the program all 3 groups were similar in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.
Following the program, the groups differed significantly in PA (knowledge and % of those regularly active), breakfast eating related behavior and water drinking/sugary drinks consumption
Young leaders demonstrated the best scores.
Results (2)
Separate comparisons of each group (pre-post) revealed that the young leadership group demonstrated statistically significant changes in most study parameters
The peer group demonstrated significant changes with respect to knowledge of proper eating habits and perception of the importance of family meals, but failed to demonstrate behavioral change.
The control group did not demonstrate any significant change.
Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior – Before (n=58) and After the Initiative (n=57): Young Leadership Group.
P ValueAfterBefore
Physical Activity (PA)
Knowledge
Physically active on a regular basis
High frequency of PA**(≥5/weekX30 min+)
Moderate frequency of PA (3-4/week)
Low frequency of PA (0-2/week)
Short duration of PA** (accumulated activity
of ≤1.5 hours per week)
Moderate duration of PA (1.5-5 hr/week)
High duration of PA (more than 5 hr/wk)
P ValueAfterBefore
Eating Behavior
Moderate - High frequency of eating breakfast (2x/wk to
daily)
Moderate - High frequency of eating family meals (2-3x/week
to daily)
Average score for the importance of eating family meals
(1=low, 5=high)
Water Drinking
Knowledge*
Moderate =High frequency of drinking sugary drinks (1-
3x/week –daily)
Moderate –High quantity of drinking sugary drinks (between
3 cups per week to 3-5 cups/d)
Drinking water exclusively
Bringing a water bottle to school regularly
Media Campaign
A Healthy Living campaign directed towards families (mothers) and children began airing in August 2013.
Youth campaign, including a Beyoncé style clip for the MTV channel is currently in production
Future directions: Edutainment - Incorporating healthy messages in wildly successful youth TV series
Young Stars Spread theHealthy Living Message
Kickboxing Training: A MTV Clip
Closing MTV Dance Party: A MTV Clip
Conclusions
The pilot program created, in a short period of time, considerable improvement of heath-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among the young leaders.
Incorporating the media into the program helped reinforce health promotion messages and created a "buzz".
The model of students as agents of change seems effective
Modest effect on peers may be explained by sub-optimal exposure.
What’s Next
The ORT pilot will be continued and expanded (2 new schools will be joining this year)
A Healthy Living campaign directed towards families (mothers) and children began airing in August 2013.
Youth campaign, including a Beyoncé style clip for the MTV channel is currently in production
Healthcare & The Media
“Loui, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”…