Effects of A Health Risk Information Strategy on Risk Perceptions of Diseases Related to Physical Inactivity in Adolescent

PURPOSE The current study identified effects of the health risk information strategy on risk perception to dis-eases related to physical inactivity, and test the relationships between changes in risk perception and changes in physical activity. METHODS A total of 37 adolescents voluntarily participated in the 12-week health risk information strategy. In the initial stage of this study, adolescents were randomly classified into the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group was instructed the health risk information twice a week, while the control group lived a routine life. Health vulnerability, objective risk factors related to physical inactivity, and physical activity were measured to the study variables and 2× 2 repeated measure analysis of variance and hierarchical regres-sion analysis were conducted. RESULTS Results indicated that the adolescents at health risks related to physical inactivity showed significant increase in risk perception on waist size and BMI after the health risk information strategy. In addition, changes in risk perception on obesity and diabetes significantly influenced on changes in physical activity. CONCLUSIONSThis study implies that it needs to actively promote not only health risks due to physical inactivi-ty, but health benefits of physical activity in order to reduce diseases associated with physical inactivity in health promotion and preventive medicine.