Effects of Educational Obesity Prevention Program on Lifestyle Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Among Adults

Abstract

Lack of knowledge, poor attitude, and negative practices are the barriers to preventing overweight and its co-morbidities. There is a need to increase the knowledge, attitude, and practice(KAP) of obese individuals to ensure effective weight reduction. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effects of educational obesity prevention programs on KAP among adults. A pre-experimental research design was conducted with 31 adult outpatients in Penang, Malaysia, using a pre-and post-one group intervention study, which consisted of two parts: (a) group-based class; (b) educational materials via text messaging. The results showed significant improvement in knowledge (p = 0.015), attitude (p = 0.021) and practice (p < .001). There was no significant difference in KAP when considering the moderating variables of age and educational level, except gender in terms of knowledge and BMI in terms of attitude. The study concluded that the educational obesity prevention program had a positive effect on KAPs.