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Heikkilä L, Korpelainen R, Aira T, Alanko L, Heinonen OJ, Kokko S, Parkkari J, Savonen K, Toivo K, Valtonen M, Vasankari T, Villberg J, Vanhala M. Is health promotion in sports clubs associated with adolescent participants' fruit and vegetable consumption? Eur J Public Health 2023; 33:1102-1108. [PMID: 37665763 PMCID: PMC10710333 DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckad158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although sports clubs' potential for health promotion is acknowledged, research on whether they promote healthy eating is limited. We aimed to evaluate Finnish youth sports clubs' health promotion orientation, as well as associations between sports clubs' health promotion orientation, coaches' nutritional discussions and sports club participants' (SPs') fruit and/or vegetable consumption. METHODS The cross-sectional study included 554 SPs aged 14-16 years, 275 club officials and 311 coaches. Participants replied to questionnaires about sports clubs' health promotion and their own health behaviours, including dietary habits. Health promotion orientation was estimated using a Health Promoting Sports Club (HPSC) index (range 0-22) and nutritional discussions and fruit and/or vegetable consumption as frequencies. A mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression was used to analyse the associations. RESULTS Most sports clubs (69%) had a high health promotion orientation, but the variation between the clubs was wide (HPSC index range 5-21). SPs' daily fruit and/or vegetable consumption was associated with female gender [odds ratio (OR) 3.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.23-5.42, P < 0.001], better self-rated health (OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.13-9.41, P = 0.03), higher average school grades (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.04-2.67, P = 0.03), and SPs' responses that their coach had often discussed nutrition (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.41-3.14, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Although sports clubs' orientation towards health promotion was mostly high, it seems not to be enough to promote healthy eating among adolescent participants. Instead, coaches' nutritional discussions were associated with adolescents' fruit and/or vegetable consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Heikkilä
- Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Oulu Deaconess Institute Foundation sr, Oulu, Finland
- Research Unit of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Raija Korpelainen
- Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Oulu Deaconess Institute Foundation sr, Oulu, Finland
- Research Unit of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Tuula Aira
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Lauri Alanko
- Sports Medicine Clinic, Foundation for Sports and Exercise Clinic, Helsinki, Finland
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Clinic, Central Finland Hospital Nova, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Olli J Heinonen
- Paavo Nurmi Centre & Unit for Physical Activity and Health, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Sami Kokko
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jari Parkkari
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, Tampere, Finland
| | - Kai Savonen
- Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine, Kuopio, Finland
- Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Science Service Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Kerttu Toivo
- Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, Tampere, Finland
- UKK Institute of Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland
| | - Maarit Valtonen
- Finnish Institute of High Performance Sports KIHU, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Tommi Vasankari
- UKK Institute of Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Jari Villberg
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Marja Vanhala
- Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Oulu Deaconess Institute Foundation sr, Oulu, Finland
- Research Unit of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
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