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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1260916
This article is part of the Research Topic Challenges and Advances in Global School Health Promotion View all 23 articles

Classroom Intervention to Improve Behavioral Intention towards Regular Physical Activity among Adolescents

Provisionally accepted
Sweety S. Jha Sweety S. Jha 1Madhumita Dobe Madhumita Dobe 2Chandrashekhar Taklikar Chandrashekhar Taklikar 2Arista Lahiri Arista Lahiri 1*
  • 1 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, India
  • 2 All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: During adolescence, a critical phase in human life, the groundwork for a healthful future is established. Physical inactivity poses a significant risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and related mortality worldwide. To assess adolescents' behavioral intentions regarding regular physical activity, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) examines 'Attitude,' 'Subjective norm,' and 'Perceived behavioral control.' Utilizing TPB, this study focuses on evaluating the impact of a school-based health promotion intervention on behavioral intentions toward physical activity among urban adolescents in West Bengal, India. Methods: A school-based nonrandomized controlled interventional study with parallel group design was conducted among adolescents aged between 12 to 16 years. Behavioral intention towards performing regular physical activity was determined with the measurements of the constructs from the TPB. Cluster analysis was conducted using measurements from both the intervention and control groups. Participants with higher mean scores in the constructs were classified as intenders, while the rest were considered non-intenders. The intervention's impact was evaluated by calculating the Relative Risk (RR) through a generalized linear model with robust standard error estimates, to ascertain the probability of belonging to the higher intention cluster. Result: Following the intervention, construct-wise scores improved significantly, particularly the perceived behavioral control mean score in the intervention group. The Relative Risk (RR) of becoming an intender for regular physical activity in the intervention group was 1.24 (95% CI: 1.04 – 1.48) when compared to the control group. Conclusion: Health Promoting Schools has been recognized as a strategic and cost-effective vehicle to promote positive development and healthful living, and the current evidence suggests they can effectively reduce the emergence of significant NCD risk factor like physical inactivity. Schools must establish strong partnerships with diverse stakeholders to address barriers beyond the school environment and enhance their control over critical issues.

    Keywords: adolescents, Behavioral Intention, intervention, Noncommunicable disease, physical activity

    Received: 18 Jul 2023; Accepted: 21 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jha, Dobe, Taklikar and Lahiri. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Arista Lahiri, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, West Bengal, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.