{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T23:33:30Z","timestamp":1787614410464,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,13]],"date-time":"2025-11-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1762992000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ensign Global College","award":["FAC2023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FAC2023"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Obesity is a significant risk factor for several comorbidities, including type II diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Recent studies suggest an increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural residents. Yet interventions to create awareness and promote lifestyle modifications are limited in rural areas.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The aim of this paper is to assess the effect of a nutrition education intervention in enhancing overweight and obesity knowledge and lifestyle modification in a rural area in the Eastern Region of Ghana.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design and implemented a community-based intervention that involved nutrition education sessions, including songs, food demonstrations, and community engagement called the Oklebenor Awareness Program. Baseline and end-line surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted on the socio-demographic characteristics, participants\u2019 knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours regarding overweight and obesity. The quantitative data were analysed using means, frequencies and T-test. The in-depth interviews were analysed using thematic analysis (n\u2009=\u200922).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The average attendance during the lessons was 45 participants. About 50% of the respondents attended 4 lessons. The participants reported the Oklebenor Awareness Program as their main source of knowledge on overweight and obesity (n\u2009=\u200921). The mean score on the Obesity Risk Knowledge Score-10 increased from 5.3 at baseline to 6.6 at endline (mean change\u2009=\u20091.39, p\u2009=\u20090.001). Risk factors of overweight and obesity reported by the participants included unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and intentional weight gain. Lifestyle changes reported by the participants due to the intervention included increased dietary diversity by including legumes, fruits and vegetables in their meals and physical activity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec005\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The nutrition education intervention enhanced participants\u2019 knowledge of overweight and obesity and promoted dietary diversity and physical activity. Incorporating culturally sensitive approaches and involving families and community resources contributed to the success of the intervention. The findings highlight the need for health education programs to address the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity in rural areas.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0333625","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,13]],"date-time":"2025-11-13T18:27:26Z","timestamp":1763058446000},"page":"e0333625","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["An assessment of a health education program addressing overweight, obesity and lifestyle modification in Ghana"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Jane","family":"Barnes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0638-6261","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sandra Boatemaa","family":"Kushitor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Millicent Ofori","family":"Boateng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9304-1706","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Edward Kofi","family":"Sutherland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"James","family":"Avoka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephen","family":"Manortey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,13]]},"reference":[{"issue":"10431","key":"pone.0333625.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1027","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)02750-2","article-title":"Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults","volume":"403","author":"NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0333625.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/obr.13769","article-title":"Adult obesity treatment and prevention: A trans-agency commentary on the research landscape, gaps, and future opportunities","volume":"25","author":"RK Hoffman","year":"2024","journal-title":"Obes Rev"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0333625.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.1093\/heapol\/czz147","article-title":"Health service utilization and direct healthcare costs associated with obesity in older adult population in Ghana","volume":"35","author":"ST Lartey","year":"2020","journal-title":"Health Policy Plan"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0333625.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2045092","DOI":"10.1080\/16549716.2022.2045092","article-title":"Estimating the healthcare cost of overweight and obesity in South Africa","volume":"15","author":"MK Boachie","year":"2022","journal-title":"Glob Health Action"},{"key":"pone.0333625.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1186\/s40608-019-0234-8","article-title":"Prevalence and correlates of overweight and obesity among school children in an urban district in Ghana","volume":"6","author":"T Adom","year":"2019","journal-title":"BMC Obes"},{"key":"pone.0333625.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1186\/s40608-017-0174-0","article-title":"Prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among school-aged children in urban Ghana","volume":"4","author":"R Aryeetey","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMC Obes"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0333625.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.ejcn.1600931","article-title":"Obesity in women from developing countries","volume":"54","author":"R Martorell","year":"2000","journal-title":"Eur J Clin Nutr"},{"key":"pone.0333625.ref008","first-page":"1","article-title":"Obesity in Africa: A Silent Public Health Crisis","volume-title":"Metabolic Syndrome","author":"C Agyemang","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0333625.ref009","author":"Ghana Statistical Service","year":"2015"},{"key":"pone.0333625.ref010","unstructured":"Ghana Statistical Service. 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