Lifestyle Interventions and Weight Control of Adolescents With Abdominal Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial Based on Health Belief Model

Background: Adolescents are involved in a variety of health risk behaviors like inactivity and unhealthy diet. Furthermore, behaviors learned by adolescents will continue to adulthood. Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the effects of lifestyle intervention on the anthropometric measurements by the health belief model (HBM) among obese adolescents in Iran. Methods: In this parallel randomized controlled educational trial, 90 obese adolescents 12 - 18 years were selected (44 in control and 46 in the test group). The participants in the present study were selected by simple random sampling method among adolescents with obesity referred to the Isfahan cardiovascular research center, Iran. Education based on health belief model was conducted. The main components of the program were on nutrition and physical activity as two major factors in the weight control of people with obesity. Subjects in the control and intervention groups completed questionnaires at baseline (T0), end of three months of intervention (T1) and three months after the end of intervention (T2). Results: The multivariate test results showed significant effects of interaction of time and group for knowledge scores (F = 101.19; P < 0.001), perceived susceptibility (F - 5.01; P - 0.02), self-efficacy (F - 6.18; P - 0.01) and waist circumference (F - 5.643; P - 0.004). Conclusions: Results of this study showed that the 12- week educational intervention program using the HBM was effective to increase knowledge, perceived susceptibility and self- efficacy of the participants.