Results of a community-based low-literacy nutrition education program

A nutrition intervention focused on low-fat eating pattern changes was conducted among low-literacy participants in a Twin Cities Metropolitan area Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). A total of 134 EFNEP participants who participated in the intervention were compared to 70 comparison participants who received EFNEP nutrition education materials. Associations between changes in outcome variables specific to the intervention were evaluated using mixed-model regression analyses. The principal effects seen for this program were related to changes in eating pattern scales. More modest effects were seen in scales related to attitudes of low-fat eating, and although changes in dietary fat intake as measured by 24-hour dietary interviews suggested a positive intervention effect, this did not approach statistical significance.