Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Optimization of the Hockey Fans in Training (Hockey FIT) weight loss and healthy lifestyle program for male hockey fans

Authors: Wendy Blunt, Dawn P. Gill, Shannon L. Sibbald, Brendan Riggin, Roseanne W. Pulford, Ryan Scott, Karen Danylchuk, Cindy M. Gray, Sally Wyke, Christopher Bunn, Robert J. Petrella

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The health outcomes of men continue to be poorer than women globally. Challenges in addressing this problem include difficulties engaging men in weight loss programs as they tend to view these programs as contrary to the masculine narrative of independence and self-reliance. Researchers have been turning towards sports fans to engage men in health promotion programs as sports fans are typically male, and tend to have poor health habits.

Methods

Developed from the highly successful gender-sensitized Football Fans in Training program, Hockey Fans in Training (Hockey FIT) recruited 80 male hockey fans of the London Knights and Sarnia Sting who were overweight or obese into a weekly, 90-minute classroom education and group exercise program held over 12 weeks; a 40-week minimally-supported phase followed. A process evaluation of the Hockey FIT program was completed alongside a pragmatic randomized controlled trial and outcome evaluation in order to fully explore the acceptability of the Hockey FIT program from the perspectives of coaches delivering and participants engaged in the program. Data sources included attendance records, participant focus groups, coach interviews, assessment of fidelity (program observations and post-session coach reflections), and 12-month participant interviews.

Results

Coaches enjoyed delivering the program and found it simple to deliver. Men valued being among others of similar body shape and similar weight loss goals, and found the knowledge they gained through the program helped them to make and maintain health behaviour changes. Suggested improvements include having more hockey-related information and activities, greater flexibility with timing of program delivery, and greater promotion of technology support tools.

Conclusions

We confirmed Hockey FIT was an acceptable “gender-sensitized” health promotion program for male hockey fans who were overweight or obese. Minor changes were required for optimization, which will be evaluated in a future definitive trial.

Trial registration

NCT02396524 (Clinicaltrials.gov). Date of registration: Feb 26, 2015.
Literature
1.
2.
Evans J, Frank B, Oliffe JL, Gregory D. Health, illness, men and masculinities (HIMM): a theoretical framework for understanding men and their health. J Men's Health. 2011;8(9):7–15.CrossRef
3.
Yu E, Ley SH, Manson JE, Willett WC, Stjija A, Hu FB, Stokes A. Weight history and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in three prospective cohort studies. Ann Intern Med. 2017;166(9):613–20.CrossRefPubMed
4.
5.
Kreuger H, Turner D, Kreuger J, Ready AE. The economic benefits of risk factor reduction in Canada. Tobacco smoking, excess weight and physical inactivity. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2014;105(1):e69–78.CrossRef
6.
Jeffries M, Grogan S. ‘Oh, I’m just, you know, a little bit weak because I’m going to the doctor's’: young men's talk of self-referral to primary healthcare services. Psychol Health. 2012;27(8):898–915.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Bottorff JL, Seaton CL, Johnson ST, Caperchione CM, Oliffe JL, More K, Jaffer-Hirji H, Tillotson SM. An updated review of interventions that include promotion of physical activity for adult men. Sports Med. 2015;45(6):775–800.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Gough B. “Real men don’t diet”: an analysis of contemporary newspaper representations of men, food and health. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64:326–37.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Courtenay WH. Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being: a theory of gender and health. Soc Sci Med. 2000;50:1385–401.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Hunt K, Gray CM, Maclean A, Smillie S, Bunn C, Wyke S. Do weight management programmes delivered at professional football clubs attract and engage high risk men? A mixed-methods study. BMC Public Health. 2014;14(50):1–11.
11.
Robertson C, Avenell A, Boachie C, Stewart F, Archibald D, Douglas F, Hoddinott P, van Teijlingen E, Boyers D. Should weight loss and maintenance programmes be designed differently for men? A systematic review of long-term randomised controlled trials presenting data for men and women: the ROMEO project. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2016;10(1):70–84.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Hunt K, Wyke S, Gray CM, Anderson AS, Brady A, Bunn C, Donnan PT, Fenwick E, Grieve E, Leishman J, et al. A gender-sensitised weight loss and healthy living programme for overweight and obese men delivered by Scottish premier league football clubs (FFIT): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2014;383(9924):1211–21.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
13.
Sealey RM, Twomey J, Pringle FA, Cheffins T, Gupta S. A 12-week lifestyle intervention for middle-aged, overweight men who are supporters of local sporting clubs. Aging Male. 2013;16(3):118–22.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Bunn C, Wyke S, Gray CM, Maclean A, Hunt K. ‘Coz football is what we all have’: masculinities, practice, performance and effervescence in a gender-sensitised weight-loss and healthy living programme for men. Sociology of health & illness. 2016;38(5):812–28.CrossRef
15.
Sweeney DR, Quimby DG. Exploring the physical health behavior differences between high and low identified sports fans. The Sport Journal. 2012:1–12.
16.
Inoue Y, Berg BK, Chelladurai P. Spectator sport and population health: a scoping study. Journal of Sport Management. 2015;29(6):705–25.CrossRef
17.
18.
Gray CM, Hunt K, Mutrie N, Anderson AS, Leishman J, Dalgarno L, Wyke S. Football fans in training: the development and optimization of an intervention delivered through professional sports clubs to help men lose weight, become more active and adopt healthier eating habits. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:1–17.CrossRef
19.
Gill DP, Blunt W, Bartol C, Pulford RW, De Cruz A, Simmavong PK, Gavarkovs A, Newhouse I, Pearson E, Ostenfeldt B, et al. HealtheSteps™ study protocol: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial promoting active living and healthy lifestyles in at-risk Canadian adults delivered in primary care and community-based clinics. BMC Public Health. 2017;17(1):173.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Gill DP, Blunt W, De Cruz A, Riggin B, Hunt K, Zou G, Sibbald S, Danylchuk K, Zwarenstein M, Gray CM, et al. Hockey fans in training (hockey FIT) pilot study protocol: a gender-sensitized weight loss and healthy lifestyle program for overweight and obese male hockey fans. BMC Public Health. 2016;16(1):1096.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
21.
Petrella RJ, Gill DP, Zou G, De Cruz A, Riggin B, Bartol C, Danylchuk K, Hunt K, Wyke S, Gray CM, et al. Hockey fans in training: a pilot pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017;49(12):2506–16.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Gale NK, Heath G, Cameron E, Rashid S, Redwood S. Using the framework method for the analysis of qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2013;13(1):117.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
Morse JM. Critical analysis of strategies for determining rigor in qualitative inquiry. Qual Health Res. 2015;25(9):1212–22.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Muise S, Gill DP, De Cruz A, Riggin B, Pulford R, Sibbald S, Petrella RJ. Men's experiences with the hockey fans in training weight loss and healthy lifestyle program. Int J Med Stud. 2016;4(3):91–5.
25.
Wyke S, Hunt K, Gray CM, Fenwick E, Bunn C, Donnan PT, et al. Football fans in training (FFIT): a randomised controlled trial of a gender-sensitised weight loss and healthy living programme for men – end of study report. Public Health Res. 2015;3:2.CrossRef
26.
Metadata
Title
Optimization of the Hockey Fans in Training (Hockey FIT) weight loss and healthy lifestyle program for male hockey fans
Authors
Wendy Blunt
Dawn P. Gill
Shannon L. Sibbald
Brendan Riggin
Roseanne W. Pulford
Ryan Scott
Karen Danylchuk
Cindy M. Gray
Sally Wyke
Christopher Bunn
Robert J. Petrella
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4926-z

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

BMC Public Health 1/2017 Go to the issue

Study protocol

A PROgramme of Lifestyle Intervention in Families for Cardiovascular risk reduction (PROLIFIC Study): design and rationale of a family based randomized controlled trial in individuals with family history of premature coronary heart disease

Research article

Cancer and the healthy immigrant effect: a statistical analysis of cancer diagnosis using a linked Census-cancer registry administrative database

Research article

Occupational safety and health aspects of corporate social responsibility reporting in Japan from 2004 to 2012

Research article

Caught between a rock and a hard place: mental health of migrant live-in caregivers in Canada

Research article

Contextual variations in costs for a community health strategy implemented in rural, peri-urban and nomadic sites in Kenya

Research article

Predictors of dieting and non-dieting approaches among adults living in Australia