Body Weight among Japanese Youth

In the last 20 years the average change in BMI among Japanese youth is minimal, but significant changes appear when the categories of overweight/obesity and underweight are investigated within gender. Now intervention programs for Japanese youth on weight management need to be developed. To address the issue, there are a series of steps that could be undertaken utilizing theory of behavior change. Using the Transtheoretical Model-Stages of Change as the health promotion theory an intervention could be developed that would tailor messages to the level of the stage of readiness to weight change that exists among youth. Different aspects of the intervention could be developed and targeted to groups of youth by their needs. To assistwithplanninganddevelopmentof theinterventionprinciples of Intervention Mapping could be used to guide development using data from a needs assessment survey to : a) determine youths’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about body size, b) determineyouth’s barriers to change in body size, c) determine parental knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about body size, d) determine parentalbarriers tochangeinyouthbodysize,e)determinethe prevalence of health problems from lowand high BMIofyoung females and males, f)determinewhich youth are at risk-rural/urban areas, socioeconomic status. J. Med. Invest. 51 :154-162, August, 2004