Ohtsuki Makoto, Komada Ai, Okada Hiromi, Furuta Kanako, Aikawa Yuki, Umehara Yoriko
Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Health Science, Suzuka University of Medical Science, Suzuka, Mie, Japan.
Department of Food and Nutrition, Tsu City College, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
Digit Health. 2024 Nov 22;10:20552076241300740. doi: 10.1177/20552076241300740. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.
This study aimed to investigate the potential of LINE, a major messaging app and social media platform in Japan, as an effective tool to enhance the health and dietary behaviors of young Japanese women who face health and dietary challenges.
A 6-week randomized controlled trial employing an intention-to-treat analysis was conducted on first-year female students (age range, 18-23 years) from one university and two junior colleges in Mie Prefecture. The participants were allocated to either an intervention group (n = 54) or a control (n = 55) group. The intervention group received health information focusing on proper intake and intake methods to maintain an appropriate weight and dietary balance via LINE 18 times over 6 weeks (3 times per week), whereas the control group continued their usual lifestyle without any additional intervention.
The results revealed a significant increase in the percentage of participants in the intervention group who rated their health as "unhealthy" (from 25.9% to 40.3%). This may be attributed to increased health awareness among the participants, which led to more critical self-assessments-a phenomenon often referred to as the "health awareness paradox." Despite this increase in perceived unhealthiness, the intervention group showed a significant increase in the intakes of iron, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and potassium, indicating improved nutritional behavior.
The provision of health information through LINE over a 6-week period demonstrated potential as a tool for health education among young Japanese women. However, the observed increase in "unhealthy" self-rated health underscores the complexity of such interventions, suggesting that while nutritional behavior may improve, increased health awareness can paradoxically lead to more negative self-assessments. Further research is needed to explore the optimal duration and content of health information delivered via social media apps to maximize their effectiveness for health interventions.
本研究旨在调查日本主要的即时通讯应用程序和社交媒体平台LINE作为一种有效工具，提升面临健康和饮食挑战的日本年轻女性的健康和饮食行为的潜力。
对三重县一所大学和两所专科学校的一年级女学生（年龄范围18 - 23岁）进行了一项为期6周的随机对照试验，并采用意向性分析。参与者被分配到干预组（n = 54）或对照组（n = 55）。干预组在6周内通过LINE接收18次（每周3次）关于保持适当体重和饮食平衡的合理摄入量及摄入方法的健康信息，而对照组维持其正常生活方式，未进行任何额外干预。
结果显示，干预组中认为自己“不健康”的参与者比例显著增加（从25.9%增至40.3%）。这可能归因于参与者健康意识的提高，从而导致更严格的自我评估——这一现象常被称为“健康意识悖论”。尽管感觉不健康的情况有所增加，但干预组铁、维生素C、膳食纤维和钾的摄入量显著增加，表明营养行为有所改善。
在6周时间内通过LINE提供健康信息显示出作为日本年轻女性健康教育工具的潜力。然而，观察到的自我评定为“不健康”的情况增加凸显了此类干预的复杂性，这表明虽然营养行为可能改善，但健康意识的提高可能反常地导致更多负面的自我评估。需要进一步研究以探索通过社交媒体应用程序提供健康信息的最佳时长和内容，以最大限度地提高其对健康干预的有效性。
