Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11(6), 5866-5888; doi:10.3390/ijerph110605866
What Works in Community-Based Interventions Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Eating? A Review of Reviews
Tilman Brand 1,*
, Claudia R. Pischke 1, Berit Steenbock 1, Johanna Schoenbach 1, Saskia Poettgen 1, Florence Samkange-Zeeb 1 and Hajo Zeeb 1,2
, Claudia R. Pischke 1, Berit Steenbock 1, Johanna Schoenbach 1, Saskia Poettgen 1, Florence Samkange-Zeeb 1 and Hajo Zeeb 1,21
Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology—BIPS, Achterstrasse 30, 28359 Bremen, Germany
2
Research Focus Health Sciences Bremen, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 28 February 2014 / Revised: 14 May 2014 / Accepted: 20 May 2014 / Published: 30 May 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lifestyle Intervention for Chronic Diseases Prevention)
Abstract
Chronic diseases, such as type II diabetes, are on the rise worldwide. There is consistent evidence that physical activity and healthy eating are important lifestyle factors which affect the risk for chronic diseases. Community-based interventions are of particular public health interest as they reach target groups in their natural living environment and may thus achieve high population-level impacts. We conducted a systematic literature search to assess the effectiveness of community-based interventions to promote physical activity and healthy eating. Specifically, we searched for promising intervention strategies in this setting. We narratively summarized the results of 18 systematic reviews. Among children and adolescents, we found moderate evidence for effects on weight change in primary school-aged children for interventions containing a school component. The evidence for interventions aimed at general adult populations was inconclusive. Self-monitoring, group-based components, and motivational signs to encourage stair use were identified as promising strategies to increase physical activity. Among adults at risk for type II diabetes, evidence was found for beneficial effects on weight change and diabetes incidence. However, interventions for this group were not integrated in more comprehensive community-based approaches. View Full-TextKeywords:
prevention; chronic diseases; health promotion; physical activity; healthy eating; community
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
Scifeed alert for new publications
Never miss any articles matching your research from any publisher- Get alerts for new papers matching your research
- Find out the new papers from selected authors
- Updated daily for 49'000+ journals and 6000+ publishers
- Define your Scifeed now
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Brand, T.; Pischke, C.R.; Steenbock, B.; Schoenbach, J.; Poettgen, S.; Samkange-Zeeb, F.; Zeeb, H. What Works in Community-Based Interventions Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Eating? A Review of Reviews. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11, 5866-5888.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
EISSN 1660-4601
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert