Health Promoting School (HPS) frameworks are actively committed to enhancing healthy lifestyles. This study explored the contribution of school participation in HPS on students’ health behaviors, namely, physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and dieting. Data from the 2018-19 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey of Israeli adolescents aged 11-17 years were used. Schools were selected from a sample of HPSs and non-HPSs. Between-group differences and predictions of health behavior were analyzed. No between-group differences were observed in mean number of days/week with at least 60 minutes of PA (HPS: 3.84+2.19 days/week, 95% confidence interval of the mean = 3.02-3.34; non-HPS: 3.93+2.17 days/week, 95% confidence interval of the mean = 3.13-3.38). Most children engaged in screen time behavior for 2 h/day (HPS: 60.83%; non-HPS: 63.91%). The odds of being on a diet were higher among more active children (odds ratio [OR]=1.20), those in a higher socio-economic status (OR=1.23), and females (OR=2.29). HPS did not predict any health behavior. These findings suggest that HPSs did not contribute to health behaviors more than non-HPSs. Therefore, health promoting activities in HPSs need to be improved in order to justify their recognition as members of the HPS network and to fulfill their mission.
Keywords: health promoting schools; physical activity; dieting behavior; sedentary behavior