None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Singapore has a rapidly aging population, where the majority of older women aged 50 years and above, are physically inactive and have unhealthy dietary habits, placing them at ‘high risk’ of non-communicable diseases. This 6-month community-based cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) will involve the implementation and evaluation of a physical activity and nutrition program for community dwelling Singaporean women, who currently attend recreational centres (RCs are public government facilities open to the general community to promote social leisure activities) in their local neighbourhood. The intervention will include dietary education and counselling sessions, physical activity classes, and telephone contact by program ambassadors. Social Cognitive Theory with Motivational Interviewing will inform the development of strategies to support health behaviour change. Sixty recreational centres located in Singapore will be randomly selected from five major geographical districts and randomly allocated to the intervention (n=30) or control (n=30) cluster. A sample of 600 (intervention n=300; control n=300) women aged 50 years and above will then be recruited from these RCs. It is hypothesised that by the end of the intervention, the intervention group participants (n = 300) compared to the control group (n = 300), will show significant improvements in the following variables: lipid profile, body mass index, physical activity and dietary behaviour, and mental and physical health. Data will be collected over two time points and analysed with mixed regression. This study will evaluate the impact of a community based intervention in RCs on improvements in physical activity and nutrition behaviours, mental and physical health, anthropometry, and lipid profiles of Singaporean women.
Interventions
This 6-month community-based cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) will involve the implementation and evaluation of a physical activity (PA) and nutrition program for community dwelling Singaporean women, who currently attend recreational centres (RCs are public government facilities open to the general community to promote social leisure activities) in their local neighbourhood. The intervention will include dietary education and counselling sessions, physical activity classes, and telepho
This 6-month community-based cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) will involve the implementation and evaluation of a physical activity (PA) and nutrition program for community dwelling Singaporean women, who currently attend recreational centres (RCs are public government facilities open to the general community to promote social leisure activities) in their local neighbourhood. The intervention will include dietary education and counselling sessions, physical activity classes, and telephone contact by nutritionists and fitness instructors. Social Cognitive Theory with Motivational Interviewing (MI) will inform the development of strategies to support health behaviour change. This 6-month community based intervention program will be conducted at the RCs and will comprise: a) nutrition education and dietary counselling sessions; b) group PA sessions; c) educational resources; d) follow-up phone contact and e) healthy text messages. Fitness instructors and nutritionists will undergo comprehensive training and provided with structured lesson plans. Those delivering the program (nutritionists and fitness instructors) will attend training session on MI techniques and implementation of the program content. a. Group nutrition education (3 X 1 hour session), 1 session every 2 months and paired dietary counselling sessions (3 X 30-50 minutes session), 1 session every 2 months These sessions will be implemented by qualified nutritionists trained in MI strategies, and incorporate a ‘buddy’ system whereby peers can pair up, share information, and support one another throughout the intervention. Program ambassadors will be responsible for recording participants’ attendance, contact details, and any feedback provided. b. Group PA sessions A variety of weekly PA session (12 X 1 hour session), 2 sessions per month over a period of 6 months such as resistance, strength training, and balancing exercises etc. led by program ambassadors trained in MI will help motivate participants to increase their PA levels. Participants will be encouraged to try and walk 30 minutes per day and reminded to monitor their progress and physical activity goals. These reminders will be emphasized during their monthly PA sessions, nutrition education sessions, paired dietary counselling, follow-up calls and healthy text messages. c. Educational resources -Calendar: Participants will receive easy, healthy recipes in a ‘health calendar’ to support healthy cooking practices. The calendar will also contain health tips acting as reminders to stay active and eat healthy. -Booklets: Take home resources will provide information on PA and diet. The program ambassadors will introduce the 6-month intervention and distribute the resources at the 1st session prior to commencement of the intervention. A) An ‘Active for Life’ booklet will be provided prior to the first PA session. The nutritionists will explain the content, referring participants to information on the benefits of PA; guidelines for frequency, intensity, time and type of PA; safety issues; and ask them to read and use the booklet as a guide before they embark on a series of PA sessions i.e. walking, strength training and balance sessions. B) Five health booklets will be explained by the nutritionists during the group nutrition education sessions and distributed: 1) ‘Recipes for healthy aging’: Nutrition guide booklet (during session 1): my healthy plate model, dietary guidelines for older adults and servings sizes for various food groups. 2) ‘Recipes for healthy aging’: Recipe booklet (during session 1), tasty and nutritious recipes as well as healthy eating tips. 3) ‘Lowering BP’ booklet (during session 4): healthy BP range; problems of high BP levels; dietary sources of sodium; ways to control BP levels; and learn ways to manage BP levels. 4) ‘Keeping Cholesterol in Check’ booklet (during session 5): various dietary sources of fat and cholesterol; preferred ways to reduce dietary cholesterol; and education on recipe modification for better heart health. 5) ‘Tips to Better Health- Keeping my blood sugar level healthy’ booklet (during session 6): What is pre – diabetes and diabetes; why worry about it; and how do I keep a healthy lifestyle. d. Telephone contact The nutritionist and program ambassadors will conduct monthly follow-up calls with participants (6 sessions of 15 minutes per month), once every month that aim to support the adoption of healthy PA and dietary intake and to monitor progress towards health goals. e. Healthy text messages One different healthy physical activity and nutrition messages will be sent to all intervention participants every month for a period of 6 months by the nutritionists and fitness instructors to remind them to practice healthy lifestyle habits.
Sponsors
Curtin University of Technology
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
50 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Participants will be required to be: a) aged 50 years and above; b) achieve less than 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (PA) per week; c) not have any medical condition that prohibit involvement in PA program; and d) not participating in any nutrition and PA research.
Exclusion criteria
The following exclusion criteria will apply; 1. After the pre-screening results, program ambassadors and nutritionists need to be aware to exclude participants with significantly elevated lipids and blood glucose levels. These relates to high TC (6.2 mmol/L), high LDL cholesterol (4.1- 4.8 mmol/L), low HDL (less than 1 mmol/L), high TG (2..3-4.4 mmol/L) and fasting plasma glucose greater than or equal to 7.0mmol/L or greater than 126mg/dL). They are to refer such cases to their medical practitioner for immediate action. 2. Participants who has taken part in any physical activity and nutrition program within the past year, or/and 3. is an individual who is residing in the same household as another participant that has already been recruited for the study (to avoid contamination).
Outcome results
None listed