Community nutrition intervention strategies for cancer risk reduction.

As the accumulated evidence continues to indicate a need for Americans to modify current eating patterns and other lifestyle factors to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, the demand for community nutrition interventions will accelerate. All interventions require certain basic elements, such as measurable objectives and robust evaluation designs. However, there are other overarching strategies whose application will contribute to the research knowledge base for community interventions. This article focuses on three such strategies: use of the national health objectives, use of community channels, and development of interventions based on theories of health behavior. The application of these strategies to the National 5 A Day for Better Health Program is illustrated.