Effects Of A Health Education Program For Osteoporosis Prevention Among Adolescents

Background:Since the majority of bone formation occurs during childhood and adolescence,it is important to begin primary prevention at an early age.The risk of developing osteoporosis can be reduced by the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors during late childhood and early adolescence.Evidence demonstrates that increasing dietary calcium(Ca) intake and weight-bearing physical activity(WBPA) increase bone mass in children.A need exists for primary prevention interventions for adolescents based on their current lifestyle habits.Dietary Ca intake in many adolescents is far below the recommended daily allowance.Adolescents also participate less frequently in physical activity.However,health education is the most cost-effective way to prevent osteoporosis.Objective:To assess the effects of an osteoporosis education program based on social cognition theory among adolescent students.Methods:Conveniently selected two primary schools in Beijing Fengtai district and Shijingshan district.Then,randomly selected one class in grade 5 from these two primary schools respectively.Two classes were randomly assigned to intervention group(n=30) or control group(n=32).In the intervention group,students and those who took care of them participated in the osteoporosis education program whereas the control group did not.Data were collected at three points:before the intervention,immediately after the intervention,and one month after the intervention.The outcome measures included: knowledge about osteoporosis,daily dietary Ca intake,and hours of WBPA per day.Results:(1)The knowledge score(12.32±4.75) of these adolescents before intervention was in the medium level.Compared to control group,the knowledge score of intervention group increased significantly after intervention and follow up(P＜0.05).(2) Daily dietary Ca intake of these adolescents before intervention was 597.51±253.52mg, only 9.4%met the recommended daily allowance.Compared to control group,daily dietary Ca intake of adolescents in the intervention group had increased significantly after intervention and follow up(P＜0.05).(3) WBPA levels of these adolescents before intervention was 40.60±25.73(30) minutes.Compared to control group,it increased significantly after intervention(P=0.013).However,no significant group differences were found 1-month after intervention(P=0.587).Conclusions:The findings of this study support that a health education program based on social cognition theory can benefit these adolescents and indicate that it might be worth offering such a health education program to all adolescents in our country.