FINAL RESULTS OF THE MARYLAND WIC 5-A-DAY PROMOTION PROGRAM

Objectives. This National Cancer Institute-funded study sought to incr ease fruit and vegetable consumption among women served by the WIC pro gram in Maryland. Methods. Over a 2-year period, a multifaceted interv ention program using a randomized crossover design sought to increase fruit and vegetable consumption at 16 WIC program sites in Baltimore C ity and 6 Maryland counties. Participants were surveyed at baseline, 2 months postintervention, and 1 year later. Results. Two months postin tervention, mean daily consumption had increased by 0.56 +/- 0.11 serv ings in intervention participants and 0.13 +/- 0.07 servings in contro l participants (P = .002). Intervention participants also showed great er changes in stages of change, knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficac y. Changes in consumption were closely related to number of nutrition sessions attended, baseline stage of change, race, and education. One year later, mean consumption had increased by an additional 0.27 servi ngs in both intervention and control participants. Conclusions. Dietar y changes to prevent cancer can be achieved and sustained in this hard -to-reach, low-income population. However, many obstacles must be over come to achieve such changes.