The effectiveness of an interactive multimedia program to influence eating habits

An interactive multimedia program to encourage individuals to decrease their dietary fat consumption and to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables was developed and evaluated at two worksites. The program presented content tailored to the user by gender, content interests, race, and age group. It was tested using a randomized treatment and wait list control design (n = 517). Repeated-measures ANOVAs indicated significant intervention effects after 30 days for self-reported consumption of fat and of fruits and vegetables, for stage of change to adopt a low-fat diet, for intention and self-efficacy to reduce dietary fat, and for attitude toward the importance of diet. In addition, 60-day follow-up of the treatment subjects found that program effects were maintained on all measures. Within- subject analyses showed that program effects were replicated with the wait list group at 30 days. These results demonstrate the potential for short-exposure interactive programs to positively impact eating habits of employee populations.