Health Behaviour Change Report

This report examines a 6-week health behavior change initiative aimed at reducing coffee consumption from three large cups to half a cup. It details the action plans, goals, and reflections throughout the process, emphasizing the importance of self-monitoring and support from family and friends. The report highlights the health risks associated with excessive coffee intake and offers alternative beverage suggestions, ultimately demonstrating the effectiveness of structured behavior change strategies.

Running head: HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Health Behaviour Change
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to examine health behavior change within a course of 6 weeks
by employing action plan methods. By implementing short-term goals the withdrawal
symptoms were minimized and coffee consumption was reduced from three large cups to half
a large cup. It highlights the fact that self- monitoring and active effort can really help in
getting rid of any bad habit. It is recommended that people instead of having a large amount
of coffee should look for tea or fruit juice that do not have any detrimental effect on health.

2HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Problem..................................................................................................................................3
Plan, goal and enabler of the 2nd week..................................................................................4
Plan, goal and enabler of the 3rd week..................................................................................4
Plan, goal and enabler of the 4th week..................................................................................5
Plan, goal and enabler of the 5th week..................................................................................5
Plan, goal and enabler of the 6th week..................................................................................5
Reflection...............................................................................................................................6
Rewards..................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References:.................................................................................................................................9

3HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Introduction
Health Behaviour change focuses on bringing about a change in one’s daily routine
that is aimed at improving the status of health of an individual. Health is an important asset
and change in health behavior helps in preventing disease at a later stage of life (Peters, de
Bruin and Crutzen 2015). This report will focus on reducing my intake of coffee from three
large cups per day to one small coffee within a span of 6 weeks by maintaining a health
behavior change diary. It will further elucidate on action plans undertaken, developing short
term goals and reach the goal of having one small cup coffee in a day. The potential barriers
and social support in the path of behavior change will be explained at length in the course of
this report. An account of my experience has been elaborated in detail and its relation with
the transtheoretical model has been provided in this report.
Discussion
Problem
Drinking a large amount of coffee can have a detrimental effect on one’s health. They
may experience a surge in blood pressure and people who suffer from hypertension should
limit their intake of coffee to one cup in a day (Quiñonez et al.2016). It is a cause of
indigestion and headaches. Drinking three large cup of coffee in a day can wreak havoc in the
health of an individual and one should consume 1 small cup of coffee in a day. I will develop
a short term behavior goal which will enable me to reduce my weekly intake from three large
cups to one small cup. With the help of rewards and support from friends and family I will
endeavour to get rid of this bad habit until I am satisfied with one small cup of coffee.

4HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Plan, goal and enabler of the 2nd week
Coffee withdrawal should be in stages otherwise one will suffer from headaches and
nausea. This is the first stage in the transtheoretical model where people acquire knowledge
about the healthy behavior. They start thinking about the positive results that can be attained
after they would change their behavior (Pomm et al.2015). At this stage, people learn more
from those people who adopt a healthy mode of life and they contemplate on what kind of a
person they will grow to be after they have got rid of their bad habit. In this stage, I will add
water to the coffee so that I will get lower quantity of coffee giving my body ample time to
adjust myself to the reduced intake. There are many energy drinks that contain caffeine so I
will look for those drinks as an alternative which I will consume in order to supplement the
intake of coffee. Due to constant efforts, my daily intake has been reduced from three cups to
two and a half cups in a day. Advertisements on tv and social media act as a barrier so staying
away from those advertisements will help me in achieving my target. Support from family
who will change any advertisement on coffee while it is being played out on tv may help me
to overcome the trigger of my urge for coffee.
Plan, goal and enabler of the 3rd week
My daily intake has been reduced to two and a half cup cup after repeated efforts. My
next short term aim will be to further reduce the intake to two cups. At this stage, people are
ready to make the particular healthy behavior an integral part of their life. They inform their
near and dear ones about their resolve to bring a change in their behavior. Sleep disruption
proved to be a hindrance in my 3rd week due to reduction in intake of coffee (Krankl and
Gitlin 2015). Active support from my friends helped me to get over my urge for coffee. There
is an intrinsic relationship between smoking and consumption of coffee and so less amount of
smoking can help in reducing the intake of coffee.

5HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Plan, goal and enabler of the 4th week
My short-term aim in my 4th week will be reduce the consumption of coffee to one
and a half large cup. At this stage, people have to work very hard so that they can go ahead
with their plan. People will learn to bolster their decision to change their behavior and they
have to fight against desires to go back to their unhealthy way of life (Singh, Müller and
Vicknasingam 2014). I will try to replace my intake of coffee to that of tea. Herbal tea
especially green tea have great boons and one can replace coffee by tea which will provide
long term benefits. Trying something new like tea can really help. The coffee withdrawal
effect resulted in headache that created a barrier for me.
Plan, goal and enabler of the 5th week
My aim in this week would be to reduce my intake of coffee to one cup. In this stage,
people become extremely aware of those particular situations that can entice them into going
back to their unhealthy way of life. At this stage, people should have conversation with
people who they can trust. An avid drinker of coffee will experience severe repercussions
when deprived from his daily dosage of coffee (Setiawan et al.2015). It can have a very
debilitating effect on those people who are addicted to it. I will start feeling lethargic and felt
unmotivated. Productivity was brought down to largely owing to lack in energy factor as a
resultant of the reduced intake.
Plan, goal and enabler of the 6th week
My aim in this week would be to reduce my intake to one small cup of coffee or half a
large cup of coffee and achieve my final goal. In this final stage, people face a high risk of

6HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
going back to the old unhealthy mode of life (Grosso et al. 2016). Extensive support from a
physician and a coach may help to motivate the person. In this final stage, I have planned to
switch over to decaffeinated soda to get over my pangs of coffee consumption. I will
supplement it by fruit juice that is healthy and would not have any bad impact on my physical
health. As a barrier, I will experience muscle pain and stiffness. While carrying out my
exercise regimen, I will feel as if my muscles have huge amount of weight attached to them
thus making things difficult for me.
Reflection
In the second week, people gain knowledge about the health behavior that they want
to change. Other drinks that contain caffeine can act as an alternative drink. In the 3rd week,
people need support from near ones so that they are motivated to leave their bad health
behavior. Reducing smoking can help me to get over my health behavior. In the 4th week,
coffee can be replaced by tea especially herbal tea that would help me to get over my bad
habit. With the help of constant efforts, my daily intake of coffee can be reduced to one and a
half cup. Headache may be experienced as a coffee withdrawal symptom. People may feel
extremely lethargic in the 5th week and productivity will be brought down to a great extent.
(Pomm et al.2015). Support from friends can be of great help because people have a tendency
to relapse at this stage. In the 6th stage, one can switch over to fruit juice which is a healthy
habit. Muscle stiffness may be experienced at this stage. With the help of strong
determination and co-operation from near ones, bad health behavior can be curbed to a great
extent.
Rewards
I will enjoy a dinner at my famous restaurant as a reward if I am able to achieve my
goal in the second week. In my third week I can become a member of a comedy club in my
locality and enjoy a good laughing session. I can plan to go to a concert with my friends that I

7HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
have derailed for a long time during my fourth week as a reward. I can opt for a photography
class that will take my mind away from coffee from some time and provide me a change. It
will ease my nerves in my fifth week and help me in getting over my withdrawal symptoms
(Schmit et al. 2016). As a reward, I will pamper myself in a luxury spa that will relieve my
pangs for coffee and divert my mind away from it in my final week. The following table lays
bare the progress, barrier and enabler from the 2nd - 6th week :-
Number of week Current state Progress Barrier Enablers
2nd week 3 2 and a 1/2 Advertisements on
tv
Support from
family
3rd week 2 and a 1/2 2 Sleep Disruption Support from
friends and member
of a comedy club
4th week 2 1 and a 1/2 Headache and urge
of relapse
Replacing by tea
5th week 1 and a 1/2 1 Lack of energy Photography class
6th week 1 ½ a cup Muscle pain and
stiffness
Support from
physician
Conclusion:
Coffee carries with it implications of health hazards and cause an irreparable damage
to our health. It may increase the cholesterol level in an individual and it can also raise the
blood pressure in an individual. People who are addicted to coffee have the dehydration
problem. (Wu et al. 2015). Throughout a course of 6 weeks, my consumption of coffee
reduced from three cups of coffee to half a cup of coffee. The first stage helped me gain
knowledge about the particular health behavior. I learnt about the positive effects that change
in behavior may bring to my life. Coffee advertisements in the television should be rebuffed.
Family should provide extensive help in this stage. In the second week, I will add water to

8HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
coffee to get rid of the obsession for coffee. One experiences tiredness and listening to songs
may help in this regard. In the third week, sleep disruption will act as an hindrance and one
should inform near ones from going back to their previous self. Being a member of a
laughing club may help in this case. In my fourth week, my aim will be to further reduce it
tone and a half- large cup. Coffee should be replaced by tea and having green tea will really
help. Headache may act as a barrier and going outside with friends to a concert may greatly
help. April In the fifth week, the problem of relapse occurs and one can steer clear of this by
talking to people who can be trusted. One feels lethargic and unmotivated and productivity
suffers greatly. In the final week, the intake of coffee will be finally reduced to half a large
cup. Extreme support from the physician and family will be required at this stage to enable
the individual from going back into a relapse. One can opt for fruit juice as an alternative and
muscle pain may act as a barrier in this age.

9HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
References:
Grosso, G., Micek, A., Castellano, S., Pajak, A. and Galvano, F., 2016. Coffee, tea, caffeine
and risk of depression: A systematic review and dose–response meta‐analysis of
observational studies. Molecular nutrition & food research, 60(1), pp.223-234
Grosso, G., Stepaniak, U., Polak, M., Micek, A., Topor-Madry, R., Stefler, D., Szafraniec, K.
and Pajak, A., 2016. Coffee consumption and risk of hypertension in the Polish arm of the
HAPIEE cohort study. European journal of clinical nutrition, 70(1), p.109.
Krankl, J.T. and Gitlin, M., 2015. Caffeine‐induced mania in a patient with caffeine use
disorder: A case report. The American journal on addictions, 24(4), pp.289-291.
Peters, G.J.Y., de Bruin, M. and Crutzen, R., 2015. Everything should be as simple as
possible, but no simpler: towards a protocol for accumulating evidence regarding the active
content of health behaviour change interventions. Health Psychology Review, 9(1), pp.1-14
Pomm, D., Svikis, D., Dillon, P., Dick, D. and Kendler, K., 2015. Caffeine withdrawal in
college students: Differences by gender and beverage type. Drug & Alcohol
Dependence, 146, p.e72
Quiñonez, S.G., de Vries, H., Norman, P., Conner, M. and Teixeira, P., 2016. Testing and
integrating social cognitive models of health behaviour (change). European Health
Psychologist, 18(S), p.388
Schmit, S.L., Rennert, H.S., Rennert, G. and Gruber, S.B., 2016. Coffee consumption and the
risk of colorectal cancer. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers, 25(4), pp.634-
639
Setiawan, V.W., Wilkens, L.R., Lu, S.C., Hernandez, B.Y., Le Marchand, L. and Henderson,
B.E., 2015. Association of coffee intake with reduced incidence of liver cancer and death

10HEALTH BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
from chronic liver disease in the US multiethnic cohort. Gastroenterology, 148(1), pp.118-
125
Singh, D., Müller, C.P. and Vicknasingam, B.K., 2014. Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)
dependence, withdrawal symptoms and craving in regular users. Drug and alcohol
dependence, 139, pp.132-137
Wu, S., Han, J., Song, F., Cho, E., Gao, X., Hunter, D.J. and Qureshi, A.A., 2015. Caffeine
intake, coffee consumption, and risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma. Epidemiology
(Cambridge, Mass.), 26(6), p.898