Short-Term Results of a Community-Based Program on Promoting Healthy Lifestyle for Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases in a Developing Country Setting

The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of a comprehensive community trial on behavioral modification after 2 years of intervention. The interventions of this 6-year, comprehensive community-based study target the whole population, of nearly 2 180 000, living in 2 cities in Iran and are compared with another Iranian city considered as reference. Educational, environmental, and legislative interventions are being conducted at the population level. From the baseline to the second year of evaluation of this study, the consumption of hydrogenated fat decreased significantly in the intervention community, but it remained nearly constant in the reference area. Meanwhile, the consumption of liquid oil increased in the intervention community, whereas it decreased in the reference area. The prevalence of current smoking and attempt to smoke decreased, respectively, in men and youths living in the intervention area but increased or remained constant in the reference area; however, no favorable change was seen for smoking among women. Leisure time physical activity increased in women and declined in men of both communities; the slopes of these changes were greater in the intervention area. Although the consumption of salty/fat snacks slightly decreased in the school students of the intervention area, it had a sharp increase in the reference area. This program succeeded in improving some aspects of lifestyle in its different target groups. The authors suggest that the synergy of activities intensified the dose of interventions and led to this improvement.