Studying the “Choose to Live Healthy” Campaign Messages Under the Theory of Planned Behavior in Chilean Schools

Considering student obesity problem, this study investigated Chilean teachers’ behavioral intentions to include two anti-obesity health messages into their classroom teaching activities, which belonged to the “Choose to Live Healthy” campaign. Using the traditional model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1985), three research questions were answered: (a) Which of the two messages from the “Choose to Live Healthy” Campaign are known by Chilean schools’ teachers? (b) According to the level of knowledge of each message declared by teachers, how do the TPB model and its subcomponents explain teachers’ intentions variability to include an anti-obesity message based on the campaign studied in their teaching activities? and (c) Based on the knowledge declared by teachers of the campaign messages, do the TPB model’s subcomponents explain the variability on teachers’ intentions to include the anti-obesity content of the campaign message in their teaching activities by types of schools? A total of 245 Chilean teachers were surveyed across three different types of schools. Results from regression analysis confirmed that five of the TPB subcomponents made a fundamental contribution to examine the variability of the theoretical framework upon teachers’ behavioral intentions, with the exemption of perceived behavioral control autonomy. This study confirmed the great relevance and effectiveness of the TPB model to contribute to the interpretation of behavioral intentions variability across different types of contexts. Implications for health campaigns are mentioned.