IMPROVING DIETARY BEHAVIOR - THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TAILORED MESSAGES IN PRIMARY-CARE SETTINGS

Objectives. To achieve the Health People 2000 objectives, public healt h professionals must develop effective dietary interventions that addr ess psychosocial and behavioral components of change. This study teste d the effect of individually computer-tailored messages designed to de crease fat intake and increase fruit and vegetable intake. Methods. Ad ult patients from four North Carolina family practices were surveyed a t baseline and then randomly assigned to one of two interventions or t o a control group. The first intervention consisted of individually co mputer-tailored nutrition messages; the second consisted of nontailore d nutrition information based on the 1990 Dietary Guidelines for Ameri cans. Patients were resurveyed 4 months postintervention. Results. The tailored intervention produced significant decreases in total fat and saturated fat scores compared with those of the control group (P <.05 ). Total fat was decreased in the tailored group by 23%, in the nontai lored group by 9%, and in the control group by 3%. Fruit and vegetable consumption did not increase in any study group. Seventy-three percen t of the tailored intervention group recalled receiving a message, com pared with 33% of the nontailored intervention group. Conclusions. Tai lored nutrition messages are effective in promoting dietary fat reduct ion for disease prevention.