An intervention study to promote self-improvement of lifestyle in a Japanese community: a new health support program

Objective To assess the effectiveness of two health support programs developed to improve the lifestyle of community residents through exercise, nutrition-based health education, and group dynamics. Methods A total of 171 subjects were selected from community residents showing an abnormal result in at least one metabolic syndrome-related laboratory test. The subjects were divided into two groups: a group participating only in the 5-month initiation program (i.e., the initial program; n = 83), and a group participating both the initiation program and the subsequent 6-month enhancing program (i.e., the total program; n = 88). Each group was followed up for 1 year after completing the intervention program. The effectiveness of the intervention was determined based on data from the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II and laboratory tests, which were collected four times during the 2-year follow-up. Thirty-nine individuals were selected as the control group, based on the same criteria, to confirm the effectiveness of completing the intervention program. Results The results demonstrate that completion of the initiation programe was an effective intervention in terms of individual improvements in lifestyle and laboratory test results. The improvements achieved by the end of the initiation program had been sustained at the end of the total program, and were similar in both groups. One year after the end of the total program, both groups showed similar findings, confirming the effectiveness of the intervention. Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of two health support programs for improving the lifestyle of community residents. It is worth noting that, at the end of the 2-year follow-up, the improvements in lifestyle due to the initiation program were similar to those of the total program.