Evaluation of the Effects of Planned Trainings Given to Obese Adolescent Girls on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Menstrual Symptoms:A Randomise Controlled Trial

Method The research was carried out as a randomized controlled trial to identify menstrual symptoms and healthy lifestyle behaviors of obese adolescent girls and to determine the effects of planned trainings given to them for improving nutrition, physical activity, and menstrual symptoms on the improvement of their healthy lifestyle behaviors and menstrual symptoms.

Research Hypotheses: H1: There is a difference between the mean scores of Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II (HLBS-II) and H2: Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) before and after the trainings given to obese adolescent girls. H3: There is a correlation between the mean scores of HLBS-II and MSQ.

Study population and data collection tools: The study was carried out in three state high schools providing full-time education in a district of Ankara on September 1, 2017-January 21, 2018 and included 128 obese female students who accepted to participate voluntarily. These schools were chosen because the number of students was high and there were students from different socioeconomic levels. The study was approved by Yıldırım Beyazıt University Ethics Committee (decision numbered 12.04.2017/15 and coded 522). We obtained corporate permission from Ankara Provincial Directorate of National Education and informed consents of the students and their parents. Personal Information Form, HLBS-II, MSQ, and Student Follow-up Schedule, which were created by the researcher in accordance with the literature, were used as data collection tools.

Personal Information Form was prepared by examining the literature on the relevant age group to examine the demographic, nutritional, physical activity, and menstrual characteristics of the participants.10,11,14,16-19,22,23 Student Follow-up Schedule was developed for the students to record their menstrual pain and symptoms, weight and body mass index (BMI) measurements during the specified periods.

Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire was developed by Chesney and Tasto to assess menstrual pain and symptoms in 1975, and the usability of the questionnaire on adolescents was assessed by Negriff et al.24 and they updated the questionnaire in 2009. In 2013, Güvenç et al.24 conducted the reliability and validity study. Following the adaptation process, the questionnaire was prepared as 5-point Likert type and to involve 22 items. The MSQ score is calculated by taking the average of the total scores of the items in the scale. The increase in the mean score indicates that the severity of menstrual symptoms increases. The Cronbach's Alpha value of the scale is 0.86. In our study, it was found to be 0.91 and 0.92 before and after the trainings, respectively.