Optimizing lifestyles for men regarded as ‘hard-to-reach’ through top-flight football/soccer clubs

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of a 12-week behavioural intervention delivered in and by English Premier League football/soccer clubs, and its influence on lifestyle behaviours, in men typically regarded as hard-to-reach. One hundred and thirty men aged 18 years or older engaging in the programme self-reported data on optimal lifestyle behaviours (OLBs) (physical activity, diet, smoking and alcohol consumption) at pre- and post-intervention. Logistic regression models were used to predict the likelihood of OLBs post-intervention. Healthy behaviours were uncommon at baseline, yet at 12 weeks, 19% (n = 24) of men displayed positive change in one behaviour and 67% (n = 87) had changed ≥2. A combination of improving diet (odds ratio [OR] = 2.76; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.65–4.63) and being employed (OR = 4.90, CI = 1.46–16.5) significantly increased the likelihood of reporting ≥150 min of physical activity per week. Increased physical activity significantly increased the likelihood of self-reporting a healthy diet (OR = 2.32, CI = 1.36–3.95). This study shows that a 12-week behavioural intervention can reach and engage a proportion of at risk men. Further, among such men, the intervention helped to stabilize and improve several of the most important lifestyle behaviours that impact mortality and morbidity.