Development and Effect of a Metabolic Syndrome Prevention Program for University Students using Mobile Application

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate the effect of a metabolic syndrome prevention program using mobile application for university students. METHODS: A pretest-posttest design with content analysis as a triangulation method was used. The participants were 49 university students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi2-test, t-test and Fisher's exact test with the SPSS WIN 18.0 program. RESULTS: The application consisted of six main menus as follows 'basic education', 'nutrition education', 'exercise education', 'meal diary', 'exercise checkup', and 'tips'. The experimental group had higher recognition about metabolic syndrome prevention than the control group (F=7.919, p=.007). Understanding of metabolic syndrome among participants was mostly related to chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes in relation to the importance of eating habits and exercising. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that metabolic syndrome prevention education using mobile application is necessary and would be useful for university students.