Changing the tide: an Internet/video exercise and low-fat diet intervention with middle-school students

The rising tide of obesity erodes the health of youths and many times results in adult obesity. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effectiveness of an eight-session health promotion/transtheoretical model Internet/video-delivered intervention to increase physical activity and reduce dietary fat among low-income, culturally diverse, seventh-grade students. Those who completed more than half the sessions increased exercise, t(103) = -1.99, p = .05, and decreased the percentage of dietary fat, t(87) = 2.73, p = .008. Responses to the intervention by stage of change, race, and income are examined.