Use of health promotion manga to encourage physical activity and healthy eating in Japanese patients with metabolic syndrome: a case study

• Published in: Archives of public health = Archives belges de santé publique Vol. 76; no. 1; p. 26
• Main Authors: Shimazaki, Takashi, Matsushita, Munehiro, Iio, Misa, Takenaka, Koji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 18.06.2018; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Diagnosis; Eating behavior; Exercise; Females; Health aspects; Health care; Health education; Health literacy; Health promotion; Illustrators; Influence; Lifestyles; Manga; Metabolic diseases; Metabolic syndrome; Physical activity; Public health; Publishing; Qualitative research; Questionnaires; Theory; Tropical diseases; Validity; Japan; Physical activity; Metabolic syndrome; Eating behavior; Manga
• ISSN: 0778-7367; 2049-3258; 2049-3258
• DOI: 10.1186/s13690-018-0273-5

The present case study investigated the feasibility of using manga (Japanese-style comic books) to promote physical activity and healthy eating behavior in Japanese patients with metabolic syndrome. A one-arm pre-post intervention was conducted in a Japanese suburban community. Twenty participants with a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome were recruited via health checkups. Health promotion manga were developed by the researcher, a publishing specialist, and a professional illustrator. We measured participants' self-reported physical activity, eating behavior, and psychological readiness to change toward engaging in healthy behavior. At 1 month after the intervention there were no significant differences in physical activity scores, but small positive changes in vigorous (  = 0.02) and moderate (  = 0.01) physical activity scores were observed. Total healthy eating behavior scores were significantly improved (  < 0.05,  = 0.47). In addition, participants reported positive change in psychological readiness, such as increased intention to engage in healthy behavior, enhanced self-efficacy, and benefits of using manga. This study demonstrates that manga interventions have potential to encourage healthy eating in patients with metabolic syndrome.