Randomized trial of a brief dietary intervention to decrease consumption of fat and increase consumption of fruits and vegetables.

PURPOSE

This study tested the efficacy of a computer-assisted counseling intervention to reduce diet-related cancer risk.

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial.

SUBJECTS

Healthy women HMO members (n = 616) aged 40 to 70.

INTERVENTION

Participants were randomly assigned to nutrition intervention or an attention-control intervention unrelated to diet. Intervention consisted of two 45-minute counseling sessions plus two 5- to 10-minute follow-up telephone contacts. Counseling sessions included a 20-minute, interactive, computer-based intervention using a touchscreen format. Intervention goals were reducing dietary fat and increasing consumption of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.

MEASURES

Twenty-four hour diet recalls and the Fat and Fiber Behavior Questionnaire (FFB).

RESULTS

Four-month follow-up data were collected from 94% of the intervention participants and 91% of the controls. Testing with a multivariate general linear models analysis showed improvements on all dietary outcome variables. Compared to the control, intervention participants reported significantly less fat consumption (2.35 percentage points less for percentage of energy from fat), significantly greater consumption of fruit and vegetables combined (1.04 servings per day), and a significant reduction in a behavioral measure of fat consumption (.24 point change in the FFB).

CONCLUSIONS

These 4-month results are comparable to several other moderate-intensity studies showing that, in the appropriate circumstances, moderate-intensity dietary interventions can be efficacious. Study limitations include the short follow-up period and the use of self-reported outcome measures.