Improving Men’S Health Through A Tailored Healthy Lifestyle Program Powered By Sport Fandom

Innovative approaches are needed to engage men in lifestyle behaviour change programs. Hockey Fans in Training (Hockey FIT) is a gender-sensitized lifestyle program for men and designed to appeal to hockey fans through support from their local team. PURPOSE: To examine the effectiveness of Hockey FIT on objectively-measured health indicators in men with overweight or obesity. METHODS: A pragmatic cluster randomized trial was conducted whereby 42 sites in Canada and the United States were randomly assigned to either intervention (Hockey FIT) or control (wait-list for 12 months). Sites were selected based on partnerships with local major junior/professional hockey teams and implementation partners. Participants were men, aged 35-65 years, with a body mass index (BMI) 27 kg/m2, and deemed safe to exercise. Hockey FIT included a 3-month active phase led by certified coaches (12 weekly, 90-minute sessions incorporating both education and exercise) and a 9-month minimally-supported phase. In-person measurements were done at baseline (T0), 3 months (T1), and 12 months (T2); outcomes measured included: weight [percentage (%) change from T0], systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and predicted maximal oxygen uptake (pVO2max). Analyses were conducted using linear mixed effects models for cluster design and repeated measures. RESULTS: Participants (n = 997) were men [mean age: 48.6 years (± 8.3 SD); mean BMI: 35.3 kg/m2 (± 6.1)]. By T1, Hockey FIT achieved greater % change in weight, decreased systolic BP, decreased HbA1c, and increased pVO2max (vs control); these changes were maintained to T2 for all outcomes except HbA1c. For diastolic BP, there were no differences at T1; however, by T2, a greater decrease in diastolic BP was observed in Hockey FIT (vs. control) [see Table 1]. CONCLUSION: The power of sport fandom was effective in engaging men and Hockey FIT led to significant improvements in health outcomes.Table 1 - Difference (Intervention – Control) Outcome Cluster (N) Mean (95% CI) p value Change in weight, % At 3 months 42(734) -2·43 (-2·90, -1·97) <0.0001 At 12 months 41(598) -1·09 (-1·95, -0·24) 0.01 Change in systolic BP, mm Hg At 3 months 42 (732) -3·48 (-5·82, -1·13) 0.005 At 12 months 41(597) -3·17 (-5·60, -0·74) 0.01 Change in diastolic BP, mm Hg At 3 months 42 (731) -1·13 (-2·86, 0·60) 0.20 At 12 months 41 (597) -1·93 (-3·74, -0·13) 0.036 Change in HbA1c, % At 3 months 42 (729) -0·17 (-0·25, -0·10) <0·0001 At 12 months 41 (596) 0·06 (-0·05, 0·17) 0.3 Change in pVO2max, mL/kg/min At 3 months 42 (713) 3·90 (2·73, 5·08) <0.0001 At 12 months 41 (578) 3·54 (2·28, 4·80) <0.0001