P30 Transtheoretical Model-Based Nutritional Interventions in Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

Literature has shown a tendency of inadequate eating habits among youth, consequently, nutritional interventions are required. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) classifies individuals based on their readiness to change. This work aimed to describe how the TTM was applied to nutritional interventions for adolescents. This systematic review followed the recommendations of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. We searched seven databases for randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs written in English, Spanish and Portuguese that applied the TTM to nutritional interventions targeting adolescents. The primary question was "How was the TTM applied in the nutritional interventions?" The secondar question was "Were these nutritional interventions effective?" Data extraction occurred through the usage of an adaptation of the table model from Melo et al. 2017. That model follows instructions of the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination for Undertaking Reviews in Healthcare. Quality and risk of bias were assessed through a questionnaire, developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project. The initial search in seven databases yielded 3,779 results, resulting in 10 final included papers. Adolescents were mostly recruited from schools, and the duration of the studies ranged from a month to three years. Eight interventions had positive results regarding improvements in dietary behaviors or TTM's measurements. Nine studies assessed stages of change, seven decisional balance, and five of them measured self-efficacy. The results from assessed studies showed that TTM based nutritional interventions for adolescents are way more effective than those that do not use the model, what is probably because it personalizes the intervention for every participant. This study is useful in the sense that it provides information about the usage of the model for this age group, describing its positive aspects as well as offering alternatives to deal with its weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]