Table 1.

Focus Group Responses Examining Young Men’s (n = 61) Preferences for Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Healthy Lifestyle Intervention Components for All Participants.

	Themes
	To include	To not include
Recruitment strategies	• Advertisement through social media, noticeboards (colleges and university), billboards on public transport, pubs and employers of young people	• Overly masculine or physically fit and toned connotations (images or recruiters), as this would act as a deterrent
	• Promotion of program through potential participants and peers, (not just program organizers) via social media, e.g., share function on Facebook	• Advertised as making radical lifestyle changes
	• Affiliation of a credible source (e.g., University)	• Uncertainties with recruitment via online advertisements (e.g., Facebook advertisements) due to the amount and low quality of advertisements and subsequent suspicion of the motive of advertisers
		• Recruitment via email due to large number of spam emails received
Content	• Education and skill development (e.g., cooking skills)	• Avoidance of intragroup competition.
	• Gradual build-up of fitness and strength	• Unachievable goals and drastic changes to lifestyle
	• Positive reinforcement and encouragement
	• Goals to be realistic, individualized and flexible
	• Regular individualized progress/ feedback is required
Format Delivery mode	• Multiple delivery modes: face-to-face combined with online technologies (e.g., website) and mobile apps	• Over the telephone
	• Face-to-face sessions to include both individual and group based sessions
Program duration & frequency	• At least 6 months of involvement	• Avoid anything too short as program should be of sufficient duration to allow for a given outcome to be achieved, and for new habits to be formed and old habits broken
	• 2–3 sessions per week. This included face-to-face sessions and online or ‘homework’ component.
	• A flexible timetable allowing participants to choose from several options of which session to attend each week
Facilitator	• Facilitators to make the program fun and interesting with lots of variety	• Unrealistic expectations set my facilitator
	• Facilitators to present in positive light	• Avoid focusing on the negative consequences of being unhealthy (e.g., morbidity and or mortality)