Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention Program

The study’s purpose was to measure the impact of an individually designed lifestyle intervention program on the readers of a regional newspaper. A newspaper with 180,000 daily readers covered a story about three untrained and overweight adults who participated in an individually designed lifestyle i...

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Main Authors: Sindre M. Dyrstad, Leif I. Tjelta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Journal of Obesity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/516767
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author Sindre M. Dyrstad
Leif I. Tjelta
author_facet Sindre M. Dyrstad
Leif I. Tjelta
author_sort Sindre M. Dyrstad
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description The study’s purpose was to measure the impact of an individually designed lifestyle intervention program on the readers of a regional newspaper. A newspaper with 180,000 daily readers covered a story about three untrained and overweight adults who participated in an individually designed lifestyle intervention program. Their goals were to become physically fit and run a half marathon (21.1 km) after 14 weeks of training. The newspaper published on average three weekly articles throughout the project period, including the weekly training program and a record of the physical improvements made by the participants. The number of hits on the project’s web site was recorded. Spin-off effects on the responses of readers were mapped. The project's web site had 25,000 unique weekly hits. Significant spin-off effects included the establishment of training groups which were still active after two years and the launch of a similar project by another regional newspaper. This individually designed lifestyle intervention program was successfully scaled up and reached a large number of the newspaper’s readers. The collaboration between a newspaper and exercise researchers could also be adapted to other press media and represents a novel approach to improve participation in physical activities.
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spelling doaj-art-82bec1fce7f44abfa0a538c7b6fb22832025-02-03T01:10:42ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162013-01-01201310.1155/2013/516767516767Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention ProgramSindre M. Dyrstad0Leif I. Tjelta1Department of Education and Sport Science, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, NorwayDepartment of Education and Sport Science, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, NorwayThe study’s purpose was to measure the impact of an individually designed lifestyle intervention program on the readers of a regional newspaper. A newspaper with 180,000 daily readers covered a story about three untrained and overweight adults who participated in an individually designed lifestyle intervention program. Their goals were to become physically fit and run a half marathon (21.1 km) after 14 weeks of training. The newspaper published on average three weekly articles throughout the project period, including the weekly training program and a record of the physical improvements made by the participants. The number of hits on the project’s web site was recorded. Spin-off effects on the responses of readers were mapped. The project's web site had 25,000 unique weekly hits. Significant spin-off effects included the establishment of training groups which were still active after two years and the launch of a similar project by another regional newspaper. This individually designed lifestyle intervention program was successfully scaled up and reached a large number of the newspaper’s readers. The collaboration between a newspaper and exercise researchers could also be adapted to other press media and represents a novel approach to improve participation in physical activities.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/516767
spellingShingle Sindre M. Dyrstad
Leif I. Tjelta
Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention Program
Journal of Obesity
title Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention Program
title_full Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention Program
title_fullStr Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention Program
title_full_unstemmed Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention Program
title_short Newspaper Coverage Effects on the Promotion of a Lifestyle Intervention Program
title_sort newspaper coverage effects on the promotion of a lifestyle intervention program
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/516767
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