Schools with health-promoting school (HPS) frameworks are actively committed to enhancing healthy lifestyles. This study explored the contribution of school participation in HPS on students’ health behaviors, namely, physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and dieting. Data from the 2018/2019 Health Behavior in School-aged Children study on Israeli adolescents aged 11–17 years were used. Schools were selected from a sample of HPSs and non-HPSs. Between-group differences and predictions of health behavior were analyzed. No between-group differences were observed in mean number of days/week with at least 60 min of PA (HPS: 3.84 ± 2.19 days/week, 95% confidence interval of the mean = 3.02–3.34; non-HPS: 3.93 ± 2.17 days/week, 95% confidence interval of the mean = 3.13–3.38). Most children engaged in screen time behavior for >2 h/day (HPS: 60.83%; non-HPS: 63.91%). The odds of being on a diet were higher among more active children (odds ratio [OR] = 1.20), higher socio-economic status (OR = 1.23), and female (OR = 2.29). HPS did not predict any health behavior. These findings suggest that HPSs did not contribute to health behaviors more than non-HPSs. Therefore, health-promoting activities in HPSs need to be improved in order to justify their recognition as members of the HPS network and to fulfill their mission.
Background The World Health Organization has defined school systems as the significant framework for health promotion, because it enables accessibility to most of the child population. Objectives To examine the association between health promotion policies of school principals and student-level factors that predict health behaviour patterns: physical activity and proper nutrition. Methods This cross-sectional study is based on data from the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children) survey that included 7,000 students in grades 6, 8, and 10 in secular and religious public schools and in Arab schools, and about 126 principals. Results The findings of the study indicate: at the student level boys perform physical activity more frequently than girls (B = 0.80, p < 0.01); with increasing age students from a high socio-economic background are more physically active (B=-0.34, p < 0.01); and students in religious public schools perform less physical activity compared to students in secular public schools (B=-0.37, p < 0.01). At the multi-level, implementation of a policy that encourages physical activity is a predictor of physical activity habits at the student level (B = 0.09, p < 0.05). Moreover, findings show that school nutrition policies (OR = 0.89, p < 0.05) and principals' commitment to health promotion (OR = 1.13, p < 0.01) predict healthy eating habits among students. Findings also indicate that students in the Arab sector consume less healthy food compared to students in public schools (OR = 0.54, p < 0.05). Conclusions The results of the current study emphasize the importance of implementing health promotion policies in schools among principals to improve students' physical activity and healthy eating habits.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.