Evaluation of the red apple program: a healthy lifestyle program for disadvantaged families and young people piloted in the Wide Bay Burnett Queensland, 2011-2012

Evaluation of the red apple program: a healthy lifestyle program for disadvantaged families and young people piloted in the Wide Bay Burnett Queensland, 2011-2012

The central focus of the Red Apple Healthy Lifestyles Pilot Program was the delivery of practical activities around the topics of healthy eating, shopping, cooking, physical activities, promoting sustainable changes in health and shopping behaviours among low socio economic families and young people in regional/rural communities by community service providers. The aims of the evaluation project were to answer the questions; how do the activities offered by the Red Apple program in the Wide Bay- Burnett (Fraser Coast & North Burnett) regions lead to;
a) increased knowledge and skills of participants to better adopt healthy eating behaviours,
b) increased participants' ability to better adopt healthy Physical Activity (PA) behaviours, and ;
c) increased parents' ability to establish healthy eating and PA behaviours in their children?

The study also aimed to identify any barriers to healthy choices adoption by participants in relation to food choices or physical activity.
Convenience sampling was utilised to access a cross sectional sample of approximately 200 participants and finally a total of 176 people participated in the program.

The self-reported benefits of participants involved in the program are summarized as follows:
a) improved knowledge and lifestyle skills
b) the adoption of healthy eating behaviours
c) improved ability to adopt healthy physical activity behaviour
d) increased parent ability to establish healthy eating and physical activity patterns among children early in life
e) increased self-reliance in relation to aspects of health food choices.

That is the people are now more aware of healthy food choices for themselves and their children to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The participants understand the benefits of, as well as the importance of selecting healthy fresh food, eating breakfast and cooking meals at home rather than eating fast food. They are now confident in planning and shopping for healthy meals, finding ways to buy healthier food, cooking healthy meals, and knowing about the suitable food and physical activity for them.

© 2013 Yuginovich, T., Hossain, D., Lambden, J., Gibson, M., & Allen, R.
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