A randomized trial of a tailored, self-help dietary intervention: The Puget Sound Eating Patterns study

Background This study evaluated a tailored, multiple-component self-help in tervention designed to promote lower fat and higher fruit and vegetable con sumption, Methods. Participants were 1,459 adults selected at random, stratified by s ex and age (18-34, 35-54, 55-69), from enrollees of a large health maintena nce organization, After completing a baseline telephone survey, participant s were randomized to receive the intervention (consisting of a computer-gen erated personalized letter, a motivational phone call, a self-help manual, a package of supplementary materials, computer-generated behavioral feedbac k based on a self-administered food frequency questionnaire, and newsletter s) or to receive no materials. Evaluation was based on 1,205 (86.5%) partic ipants who completed both a 3- and a 12-month follow up survey. Results. The intervention effect +/- SE for fat, based on a diet habits que stionnaire, was -0.10 +/- 0.02 (P < 0.001), corresponding to a reduction of approximately 0.8 percentage points of percentage energy from fat. For fru its and vegetables, the intervention effect was 0.47 +/- 0.10 servings/day (P < 0.001). Intervention effects were similar across age and sex groups. Conclusions, Tailored, self-help interventions can effectively promote diet ary change among both men and women and among younger as well as older adul ts. (C) 2000 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.