Optimizing lifestyles for men regarded as 'hard-to-reach' through top-flight football/soccer clubs

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of a 12-week behavioural intervention delivered in and by English Premier League football/soccer clubs, and its influence on lifestyle behaviours, in men typically regarded as hard-to-reach. One hundred and thirty men aged 18 years or older engaging in the programme self-reported data on optimal lifestyle behaviours (OLBs) (physical activity, diet, smoking and alcohol consumption) at pre- and post-intervention. Logistic regression models were used to predict the likelihood of OLBs post-intervention. Healthy behaviours were uncommon at baseline, yet at 12 weeks, 19% (n = 24) of men displayed positive change in one behaviour and 67% (n = 87) had changed ≥2. A combination of improving diet (odds ratio [OR] = 2.76; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.65-4.63) and being employed (OR = 4.90, CI = 1.46-16.5) significantly increased the likelihood of reporting ≥150 min of physical activity per week. Increased physical activity significantly increased the likelihood of self-reporting a healthy diet (OR = 2.32, CI = 1.36-3.95). This study shows that a 12-week behavioural intervention can reach and engage a proportion of at risk men. Further, among such men, the intervention helped to stabilize and improve several of the most important lifestyle behaviours that impact mortality and morbidity.

Long-term weight loss following a randomised controlled trial of a weight management programme for men delivered through professional football clubs: the Football Fans in Training follow-up study

“…However, the potential of professional sporting organisations to attract men to health promotion activities is now widely recognised. [36][37][38][39][40][41] A National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme-funded randomised controlled trial (RCT) (09/3010/06) 42 provided evidence of the success of professional football clubs in engaging men in a weight loss and healthy living programme [Football Fans in Training (FFIT)] and supporting them to lose weight [42][43][44] and to make other positive changes to their health and behaviours up to 12 months after baseline measurement. The present study reports on the follow-up study (to 3.5 years post baseline measurement) of participants in the RCT of the FFIT programme at 13 of the top professional football clubs in Scotland (ISRCTN32677491).…”

“…46 Figure 1 provides an overview of the design of the FFIT RCT conducted in 2011/12; further details are provided elsewhere. 43,44 This was a pragmatic trial, with weight loss at 12 months as the primary outcome, in which 747 men (aged 35-65 years with an average BMI of ≥ 28 kg/m 2 ) were randomly allocated either to the FFIT RCT intervention group (n = 374) or to a waiting list comparison group (n = 373) following baseline measurements at the 13 participating football clubs. The baseline measurements demonstrated that the programme successfully engaged men from across the socioeconomic spectrum 43 whose excess body weight put them at a high risk of ill health.…”

“…43,44 This was a pragmatic trial, with weight loss at 12 months as the primary outcome, in which 747 men (aged 35-65 years with an average BMI of ≥ 28 kg/m 2 ) were randomly allocated either to the FFIT RCT intervention group (n = 374) or to a waiting list comparison group (n = 373) following baseline measurements at the 13 participating football clubs. The baseline measurements demonstrated that the programme successfully engaged men from across the socioeconomic spectrum 43 whose excess body weight put them at a high risk of ill health. 47 At the baseline measurements, all men were given an information book on weight loss and feedback on their weight using a BMI wheel as a visual aid.…”

“…43 Observations of a sample (n = 26) of sessions across all football clubs suggested that the fidelity of delivery was good: coaches delivered 81 out of 93 (86%) key tasks. 43 At 12 months, the mean between-group weight loss difference was 4.94 kg [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.95 to 5.94 kg; p < 0.0001; adjusted for baseline weight and football club] in favour of the intervention group, and 39.0% of men in the intervention group (130/333), compared with 11.3% of men in the comparison group (40/355), had achieved a weight reduction from baseline of ≥ 5%.…”

“…43 At 12 months, the mean between-group weight loss difference was 4.94 kg [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.95 to 5.94 kg; p < 0.0001; adjusted for baseline weight and football club] in favour of the intervention group, and 39.0% of men in the intervention group (130/333), compared with 11.3% of men in the comparison group (40/355), had achieved a weight reduction from baseline of ≥ 5%. Significant betweengroup differences were also observed at 12 months in secondary outcomes including waist circumference, 43 The RCT demonstrated that the FFIT programme was cost-effective, with an incremental cost of £13,387 per QALY gained 43 over the 12-month within-trial period. For a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20,000 per QALY, the probability that the FFIT programme was cost-effective, compared with no active intervention, was 0.72.…”