Evaluation of a Computer-Tailored Physical Activity Intervention in Adolescents in Six European Countries: The Activ-O-Meter in the HELENA Intervention Study

De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Maes, Lea; De Henauw, Stefaan; De Vriendt, Tineke; Moreno, Luis A.; Kersting, Mathilde; Sarri, Katerina; Manios, Yannis; Widhalm, Kurt; Sjöstrom, Michael; Ruiz, Jonatan R.; Haerens, Leen; HELENA Study Group,

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.10.006

« Previous Next »Journal of Adolescent Health
Volume 46, Issue 5 , Pages 458-466, May 2010

Evaluation of a Computer-Tailored Physical Activity Intervention in Adolescents in Six European Countries: The Activ-O-Meter in the HELENA Intervention Study

Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Ph.D.
- Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Address correspondence to: Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Ph.D., Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Lea Maes, Ph.D.
- Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Stefaan De Henauw, Ph.D.
- Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Tineke De Vriendt, M.Sc.
- Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Luis A. Moreno, Ph.D.
- “Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development” (GENUD) Research Group, E.U. Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
Mathilde Kersting, Ph.D.
- Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Dortmund, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany
Katerina Sarri, Ph.D.
- Department of Social Medicine, University of Crete, Crete, Greece
Yannis Manios, Ph.D.
- Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Kallithea, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
Kurt Widhalm, Ph.D.
- Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Nutrition and Prevention, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Michael Sjöstrom, Ph.D.
- Unit for Preventive Nutrition, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at NOVUM, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
Jonatan R. Ruiz, Ph.D.
- Unit for Preventive Nutrition, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at NOVUM, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
Leen Haerens, Ph.D.
- Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
HELENA Study Group
- Available at: http://www.helenastudy.com/list.php.
- The writing group takes sole responsibility for the content of this article.

Received 11 December 2008; accepted 16 October 2009. published online 13 January 2010.

Abstract

Purpose

The present study investigates the effect of the Activ-O-Meter, an internet-based computer-tailored physical activity intervention in adolescents in six European centers involved in the HELENA study.

Methods

Adolescents (12–17 years old) from Vienna, Ghent, Heraklion, Dortmund, Athens, and Stockholm were randomized into intervention and control schools. Participants in the intervention condition received the computer-tailored advice at baseline and after 1 month. Participants in the control condition received a generic standard advice. Effects were evaluated after 1 (n = 675) and 3 months (n = 494) using multi-level modeling. Physical activity levels were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire for adolescents (IPAQ-A).

Results

After 1 month, the intervention group reported higher levels of moderate (β = −32.8, 95% CI (confidence interval): −64.2 to −1.4) and vigorous (β = −28.0, 95% CI: −50.7 to −5.3) physical activity in leisure time, as well as higher levels of cycling for transport (β = −19.1, 95% CI: −34.4 to −7.6) compared to the control group. After 3 months, when the intervention group had received the tailored feedback twice, intervention effects were even stronger. Favorable changes in physical activity levels of all intensities and in different contexts were found in the tailored group compared to the control group. Among adolescents not reaching the physical activity recommendations at baseline similar effects as in the total sample were found.

Conclusions

The data indicated that the computer-tailored physical activity intervention had positive effects on physical activity levels among the adolescents. However, the implementation of the computer-tailored intervention in the schools was not feasible in all countries.

Keywords: Computer-tailoring, Intervention, Europe, Adolescent, Physical activity