Urban Forest Health Intervention Program to promote physical activity, healthy eating, self-efficacy and life satisfaction: impact on Israeli at-risk youth

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate an urban forest intervention program effect on physical activity, healthy eating habits, self-efficacy and life satisfaction (LS) among Israeli at-risk youth. The quasi-experimental study ran from September 2016 to June 2017; participants were randomly selected. There were 76 total study participants: 53 in the intervention and 23 in the control group. Participants ranged in age from 15 to 18 years. Questionnaires were administered to intervention and control groups before and after the intervention. Univariate and multivariable analyses evaluated the intervention effect. Repeated measures analyses of covariance were calculated to assess change in group differences. An increase was found in measures of physical activity in the intervention group (p < 0.001), while no change was noted in the control group. Healthy eating increased in both groups (p = 0.007), with no significant difference between them (p = 0.165). Unhealthy eating decreased significantly in the intervention group (p = 0.002) and increased in the control group (p = 0.007). Self-efficacy increased in the intervention group (p < 0.001), while no change was noted in the control group (p = 0.353). Likewise, LS increased in the intervention group (p < 0.001), while no change was found in the control group (p = 0.657). Findings indicate that the intervention was efficacious in increasing physical activity, healthy eating habits, self-efficacy, and LS. The effectiveness of this intervention among larger samples is warranted in future prospective studies.

Keywords: at-risk youth; healthy eating habits; life satisfaction; physical activity; self-efficacy; urban forest.