Related Experiment Videos
Using mass media to promote healthy eating: A community-based demonstration project
B Reger1, M G Wootan, S Booth-Butterfield
1Community Health Promotion, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6116, USA.
Preventive Medicine
|November 18, 1999
Summary
Mass media campaigns can effectively promote dietary changes. The "1% Or Less" campaign successfully encouraged switching to low-fat milk, demonstrating sustained behavior change in a community.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Behavioral Science
- Health Communication
Background:
- The efficacy of mass media interventions in driving sustained behavior change is frequently debated.
- This study addresses whether media-exclusive programming can significantly alter public health behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a media-only public health campaign on dietary choices.
- To assess the sustainability of behavior change following the intervention.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental design was employed, comparing an intervention city with a control city.
- The "1% Or Less" campaign utilized paid advertising and public relations to promote low-fat milk consumption.
- Milk sales data and telephone surveys were used to measure campaign effectiveness.
Main Results:
- Low-fat milk sales in the intervention city rose from 29% to 46% post-campaign, a level maintained at 6-month follow-up.
- Telephone surveys indicated 34.1% of high-fat milk drinkers in the intervention community switched to low-fat options, versus 3.6% in the control community (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
- A media-only strategy proved adequate for inducing significant dietary habit modification.
- The findings support the power of targeted mass media campaigns in public health initiatives.