A Content Analysis of Turkish Newspapers: Prevalence of Articles Containing Health Information Related to Physical Activity

This study was retrospective in design and the purpose was to review health information related to PA (physical activity) in articles of Turkish newspapers. The search covered newspaper articles printed between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2004 in all Turkish newspapers that are accessible via the electronic newspaper database. Four daily Turkish newspapers were identified as having regularly archived documents on Web pages. The search was limited to articles that contained the phrase "physical activity" within them and resulted in 184 published articles being identified. A total of 165 (89.7%) articles presenting health information messages related with PA were selected for content analysis in that study. General health information about PA (35.9%), weight management (21.2%) and cardiovascular (11.9%) effects of the PA were the mostly frequently given as the main content of the articles. The target population in the articles included sedentary population (27.8%), individuals having specific disease (23.9%) and overweight people (16.9%). Twenty-eight of the articles (15.2%) contained information regarding the duration and frequency of the PA for the target population. Thirty articles (16.3%) contained information suggesting general exercises for muscle strength and flexibility. In the articles, the rate of health professions or academicians cited by the journalist was 27.7% in the articles. It was concluded that between 2002 and 2004, the published articles relating to PA in the Turkish newspapers to promote the awareness of public had inadequate suggestions for promoting PA. The experts on PA, such as health professions and academicians, must be augmented and encouraged to educate and change health behaviors of the community through newspapers. (Contains 3 tables.)