Discussion
The Liverpool Hospital TEAM challenge was successful in increasing
participants’ physical activity and healthy eating habits. The median
minutes walked over the previous week and the median minutes
doing vigorous physical activity increased. All physical activity
measures improved in initially inactive participants, whereas initially
active participants only improved on three out of four physical
activity measures. The proportion of participants reaching the
recommended fruit and vegetable intake increased and there was
an increased number of participants consuming breakfast on seven
days a week and drinking one or more litres of water per day.
The only negative effect observed was an increase in the number of
people consuming one or more cups of soft drink (including cordial……………….
and sports drinks). A possible explanation may be that the increased
physical activity led to an increase in sports drink consumption.
Future studies should differentiate between soft drink and sports
drink consumption, as well as include appropriate health information
about sports drinks…