Internet and game behaviour at a secondary school and a newly developed health promotion programme: a prospective study

A total of 475 secondary school children completed an extensive questionnaire before and a year after starting the programme. Of these children, 367 were in first, second and third grade; the grades in which the lessons about internet and game behaviour were implemented. Questionnaires contained questions about personal information, Internet and game use (Compulsive Internet Use Scale), and other health behaviours (alcohol use, physical activity, psychosocial wellbeing and body mass index).Heavy Internet use was significantly associated with psychosocial problems, and heavy game use was significantly associated with psychosocial problems and less physical activity. No relationship was found with alcohol use or body mass index. The time spent on Internet (hours/day) and the number of pathological Internet users increased during the study. The number of game users decreased but heavy game use increased.The association between heavy Internet use and psychosocial problems and between game use and psychosocial problems and less physical activity emphasizes the need to target different health behaviours in one health education programme. A case-control study is needed to further assess the programme-induced changes in Internet and game behaviour of school children.The value of schools as a place for health education is recognized worldwide, and a growing number of studies have demonstrated that school health promotion can lead to positive change, improving the potential of students to benefit fully from schooling as a result of having a positive health status [1-7]. The approach to health education at schools has changed in the last 20 years and is continuing to evolve. Twenty years ago, school health promotion was introduced in Europe as a new framework to assist schools in addressing health issues [8]. An integrated school approach with long-term implementation of health promotion programmes seemed to be more effective than short-term classroom-based programmes [7-10].