Emergence of tablet computers has led to interest in their use to impact health-related behaviors of users. However, little is known regarding which devices are most effective for changing these behaviors, and whether...Emergence of tablet computers has led to interest in their use to impact health-related behaviors of users. However, little is known regarding which devices are most effective for changing these behaviors, and whether or not these devices or accompanying applications (apps) are feasible or desired vehicles for behavior change. Four focus groups were conducted with students from a Western university who were given iPads to download diet-related apps. Participants were asked questions about preferences regarding iPad functionality, app functionality, and the likelihood of using apps and iPads for facilitating diet-related behavior change in the future. Two key themes emerged from focus group discussions on diet-related apps for iPads and their usefulness to facilitate behavior change. The first theme, lack of iPad practicality, contained three subthemes: inconvenient mid-way technology, internet access barriers, and smart-phone preference. The second theme that emerged was attitudes towards apps in general. Three subthemes were identified under the second theme: too intensive;positive functions not specific to iPads;and lack of reliable/trustworthy information. This paper is the first, to this author’s knowledge, to report the use of qualitative methods to study the practicality of using apps and iPads in changing dietrelated behaviors. Early generations of iPads may not be effective devices for facilitating behavior change among college students;and diet-related apps seem to have poor functionality that lead to cessation of use.展开更多
Diet-related chronic diseases constitute public health and developmental challenges in Ghana. The Ghana Health Service in 2007 reported a national prevalence of diabetes of 11.6%, 27.8% for hypertension and 25% of wom...Diet-related chronic diseases constitute public health and developmental challenges in Ghana. The Ghana Health Service in 2007 reported a national prevalence of diabetes of 11.6%, 27.8% for hypertension and 25% of women were reported to be overweight. Adolescents usually adopt lifestyles that negatively affect their nutritional and health status and increase their risk for development of diet-related chronic diseases later in life. The study was therefore carried out to investigate adolescents’ knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and its influence on their dietary practices. The study design was a cross-sectional survey involving 313 adolescents aged 14 18 years from public and private senior high schools. Structured interviews and diet assessment methods were used to collect information on respondents’ knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and dietary practices. The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS program version 16. The Chi-square test and ANOVA were used to determine the relationships between respondents’ knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and dietary practices. The results revealed that knowledge of diabetes, hypertension and obesity were low among the respondents with most of them (89.2%) having fair to poor knowledge of the diseases. Eighty-eight percent of the adolescents ate three or more times in a day. Meals mostly skipped were breakfast and lunch. Dietary diversity of the respondents was generally poor. There was a significant relationship between knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and the dietary practices of the adolescents. As knowledge of the diseases increased, dietary diversity also improved.展开更多
The main purpose of this article was to find out more about eating habits along with other habits, attitudes and activities of elementary school pupils. Another aim was to determine possible differences among pupils, ...The main purpose of this article was to find out more about eating habits along with other habits, attitudes and activities of elementary school pupils. Another aim was to determine possible differences among pupils, depending on their sex, age and environment. Furthermore, based on the anthropometric data （body mass and height） and age, this article was to determine the nutritional status of pupils. The research was conducted via questionnaire constructed for the needs of this specific research. Six hundred and fifty-one pupils took part in this questionnaire in a ratio of 41：59 urban/rural and 51：49 girls/boys. Most of the interviewed pupils （73.88%） have normal body mass according to their age. The share of underweight and overweight pupils is bigger among the boys. Nutritional habits differ among pupils from the urban and rural areas, but they do not differ as much among boys and girls. In addition, their nutritional habits become worse as they grow up.展开更多
文摘Emergence of tablet computers has led to interest in their use to impact health-related behaviors of users. However, little is known regarding which devices are most effective for changing these behaviors, and whether or not these devices or accompanying applications (apps) are feasible or desired vehicles for behavior change. Four focus groups were conducted with students from a Western university who were given iPads to download diet-related apps. Participants were asked questions about preferences regarding iPad functionality, app functionality, and the likelihood of using apps and iPads for facilitating diet-related behavior change in the future. Two key themes emerged from focus group discussions on diet-related apps for iPads and their usefulness to facilitate behavior change. The first theme, lack of iPad practicality, contained three subthemes: inconvenient mid-way technology, internet access barriers, and smart-phone preference. The second theme that emerged was attitudes towards apps in general. Three subthemes were identified under the second theme: too intensive;positive functions not specific to iPads;and lack of reliable/trustworthy information. This paper is the first, to this author’s knowledge, to report the use of qualitative methods to study the practicality of using apps and iPads in changing dietrelated behaviors. Early generations of iPads may not be effective devices for facilitating behavior change among college students;and diet-related apps seem to have poor functionality that lead to cessation of use.
文摘Diet-related chronic diseases constitute public health and developmental challenges in Ghana. The Ghana Health Service in 2007 reported a national prevalence of diabetes of 11.6%, 27.8% for hypertension and 25% of women were reported to be overweight. Adolescents usually adopt lifestyles that negatively affect their nutritional and health status and increase their risk for development of diet-related chronic diseases later in life. The study was therefore carried out to investigate adolescents’ knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and its influence on their dietary practices. The study design was a cross-sectional survey involving 313 adolescents aged 14 18 years from public and private senior high schools. Structured interviews and diet assessment methods were used to collect information on respondents’ knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and dietary practices. The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS program version 16. The Chi-square test and ANOVA were used to determine the relationships between respondents’ knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and dietary practices. The results revealed that knowledge of diabetes, hypertension and obesity were low among the respondents with most of them (89.2%) having fair to poor knowledge of the diseases. Eighty-eight percent of the adolescents ate three or more times in a day. Meals mostly skipped were breakfast and lunch. Dietary diversity of the respondents was generally poor. There was a significant relationship between knowledge of diet-related chronic diseases and the dietary practices of the adolescents. As knowledge of the diseases increased, dietary diversity also improved.
文摘The main purpose of this article was to find out more about eating habits along with other habits, attitudes and activities of elementary school pupils. Another aim was to determine possible differences among pupils, depending on their sex, age and environment. Furthermore, based on the anthropometric data （body mass and height） and age, this article was to determine the nutritional status of pupils. The research was conducted via questionnaire constructed for the needs of this specific research. Six hundred and fifty-one pupils took part in this questionnaire in a ratio of 41：59 urban/rural and 51：49 girls/boys. Most of the interviewed pupils （73.88%） have normal body mass according to their age. The share of underweight and overweight pupils is bigger among the boys. Nutritional habits differ among pupils from the urban and rural areas, but they do not differ as much among boys and girls. In addition, their nutritional habits become worse as they grow up.
