2.2. Intervention
The six month intervention used four primary approaches
to reach the population of interest (mothers of
young children based in playgroups-playgroups are nonprofit
organisations, that are locally based, providing a
place for children aged 0 - 4 years and their mothers’ to
meet, play and socialise): 1) A comprehensive program
booklet was produced based on the Australian Dietary
Guidelines [25] and Physical Activity Guidelines [26].
This contained information about sample menus, understanding
food labels, healthy eating tips and how to increase
physical activity, along with behaviour change
and goal setting information. 2) Six 30 minute workshops
were delivered by trained program staff (one per month)
in the playgroup setting. Detailed information about staff
training and workshop content has been previously published
[20]. 3) Six Newsletters containing chatty health
information were posted or emailed over the six month
intervention period. Eighteen Short Message Service
(SMS) about nutrition and physical activity were sent to
participants along with 12 messages reminding them to
attend the face-to-face workshops. 4) Additional HomeBased
Resources were provided to all participants to
support behaviour change at home and to assist participants
when they were unable to attend the workshops.
These resources included: a pedometer to record their
number of steps on a daily basis; a menu planner chart
containing information about the Australian dietary and
physical activity guidelines [25-27] for the entire family;
a shopping list with tips designed to help participants to
understand food labels, containing information about
sugar, fat and fibre in packaged foods; a strength and
flexibility exercise chart; a physical activity diary; and a
recipe booklet.