The Lifestyle & Behavior workshop curriculum drew its roots from the Surgeon General's Report, Healthy People, and Healthy People 2000 that established a set of National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for the nation. Both reports served as the basis for the development of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Healthy People 2010 plan. Similar to these plans, curriculum for the Lifestyle & Behavioral lesson plan was developed and built based on scientific lifestyle and behavioral epidemiology and was designed to change lifestyle and behavioral patterns over time.  See the press release from DHHS.

The workshop's overarching goal is the development and implementation of a Lifestyle Action Plan that will aim to increase the quality of life of high risk kids and adolescent teens through investigating and understanding factors that influences their behaviors. Its objectives are organized in five focus areas, each representing an important area of health.

Focus areas

1. Social Health
2. Personal Health
3. Family Health
4. Environmental Health
5. Occupational Health

What are its objectives?

The objectives of the livestyle and behavior lesson plan are multifaceted.  Participants will investigate their behavioral patterns and factors that influence the incidence, proliferation and control of unhealthy behaviors.  In its entirety the curriculum will aim to increase adolescent understanding of how lifestyle relates to health.  Additionally they will:

1. Investigate the patterns and factors that influence the incidence, proliferation and control of unhealthy behaviors.
2. Increase their understanding of how lifestyle directly impacts their health outcome.
3. Investigate implications of their behavior and lifestyle patterns relative to stress, work, nutrition, activities and daily living, family and their environment.
4. Develop techniques to alter habitual behaviors that are detrimental to their health.
5. Increase their personal power through a greater sense of well-being.

Lesson plans (in chronological order)

1. Lesson 1 - Assessing social and physial environment and their effects on behavior.
2. Lesson 2 - Assessing epidemiological factors, causes and distribution of lifestyle and behavioral challenges.
3. Lesson 3 - Identifying the predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors that can affect the behaviors, attitudes and environmental factors.
4. Lesson 4 - Identifying the administrative and policy factors that influences what changes can be implemented.
5. Lesson 5 - Navigating the behavior change process.
6. Lesson 6 - Design, development and implementation of a lifestyle action plan.

Worksheets, handouts and resources

1. Initial Assessment Questionnaire (PDF)
2. Readiness to Change Questionnaire (PDF)
3. Lifestyle and Behavioral Workshop Presentation (Powerpoint Slides)
4. Lifestyle and Behavioral Workshop Flyer (PDF)
5. Lifestyle and Behavioral Workshop Outline (PDF)
6. Lifestyle and Behavioral Worksheet Outline (PDF)
7. Lifestyle Action Plan Worksheet (PDF)
8. Lifestyle and Behavioral Workshop Evaluation (PDF)
9. Attitude Change Self Assessment (PDF)
10. Follow Workshop Discussion Points (PDF)

Follow up workshops

Immediately following the completion of lesson plan 6 participants will be asked to complete a Lifestyle Action Plan and an attitude change self assessment. Follow up workshops will be conducted at three months, six months and one year intervals to assess sustainability. These workshops will follow up on the participants progress, change status and maintenance.

Who will benefit from this workshop

This workshop is geared towards individuals who are at a high risk for developing health problems due to overweight, obesity and physical inactivity inactivity.  It can also be used to help any adolescent teen to develop a lifestyle action plan for change. All individuals will be encouraged to actively participate and integrate what they've learned from the LiveWisely 2020 Lifestyle and Behavior workshop into their daily lives.  From this workshop they will develop a baseline from their current health status, set goals for improvement and guided to take actions for improvement upon that baseline.  By creating a longterm plan of action from a list of written objectives, these individuals will build a personal health agenda that will be monitored over time.