Abstract
Objective
To ascertain inactive teens’ insights regarding the types of physical activities (PAs)
they would be willing to do, and to inform a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education PA social marketing campaign targeting this audience.
Design
Formative, qualitative research via focus groups.
Setting
Low-income, urban New Jersey areas between September, 2013 and April, 2014.
Participants
Low-income, urban, ethnically diverse, inactive teens.
Phenomenon of Interest
Teens’ favored PAs and insights into how to develop a successful marketing campaign.
Analysis
Edited audio-transcriptions were coded and a constant comparative analysis was employed
to identify emergent themes.
Results
Data from 5 focus groups’ teens (n = 31), 58% of whom were Hispanic, 23% of whom were
African American, and 19% of whom were of mixed race, revealed 3 themes. To be appealing,
PAs (1) must be fun (eg, dancing, with friends and families) and (2) need to be comfortable
(indoors, not sweaty, not physically competitive or embarrassing), and (3) they must
be promoted by “cool” and relatable people (eg, teens like themselves or young comedians).
Conclusions and Implications
Nutrition and health educators and social marketers may be well advised to consider
the unique preferences of inactive teens to improve their PA levels. Additional research
in varied geographic regions is advisable.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 22, 2019
Accepted:
February 6,
2019
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior.
