Abstract
Background: Obesity is considered a significant public health problem in Thailand. This study was conducted to compare the impact of mobile health education messages verses face-to-face consultation on weight reduction among overweight female university students. Methods: This Quasi-experimental study comprised three groups: a control group, a group receiving mobile health education, and a group receiving face-to-face consultation. Each group contained 26 participants taking part over a period of 12 weeks, with a 12-week follow-up thereafter. The data analysis used two-way repeated measures ANOVA with least significant difference testing. The study was ethically approved at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Results: The results revealed that the intervention found significant results in weight reduction among the respondents (p < 0.05). In addition, both intervention groups significantly improved their health belief, social support, and health behavior scores in comparison to the control group (p < 0.001). The results show that the average scores for social support for eating and exercise at baseline were significantly lower than at post-intervention or follow-up (p < 0.001). In addition, the results of both aspects of social support showed that the average social support score at post-intervention was significantly higher than at follow-up. Furthermore, the health behavior score measured post-intervention was higher than at follow-up. There was a statistically significant difference in average metabolism during physical activity (p < 0.001) but no statistical difference in average eating behavior score. Conclusion: The study found that the use of mobile health education to deliver health programs facilitates communication between the healthcare provider and individual, and can empower adolescent females in their pursuit of weight loss by improving their attitudes and knowledge, leading to better health behavior. Keywords Electronic health education, Facebook, health education, health belief model, social support, obesity, Thailand, health behaviors
Funder
the 100th Anniversary Chulalongkorn University Fund for Doctoral Scholarship
Subject
General Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics,General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine
Reference33 articles.
1. The economic burden of obesity worldwide: a systematic review of the direct costs of obesity.;D Withrow;Obes Rev.,2011
2. Intensive lifestyle modification program on weight loss and metabolic syndrome risk reduction among obese women in rural areas of Thailand.;C Thiabpho;J. Health Res.,2018
3. Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.;M Ng;Lancet.,2014
4. Effects of a weight reduction program with application of self-regulations and social support among village health volunteers.;P Suksanan;Southern College Network J Nurs Public Health.,2015
5. The role of self-regulatory skills and automaticity on the effectiveness of a brief weight loss habit-based intervention: secondary analysis of the 10 top tips randomised trial.;N Kliemann;Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act.,2017 Dec 1