The impact of a computer-tailored nutrition intervention

Background. Nutrition education tailored to individual characteristics of people might be more effective than general nutrition education. Nowadays, the use of computers makes individualized feedback available for larger groups. Methods. The impact of tailored nutrition information on changes in fat, vegetable, and fruit consumption was tested in a randomized trial among 347 employees of a major oil company. Respondents in the experimental group received computer-generated feedback letters tailored to their personal dietary behavior, attitudes, perceived social influences, self-efficacy expectations, and awareness levels. Respondents in the control group received general nutrition information. Results. Respondents in the experimental group decreased their fat consumption significantly more than the control group between baseline and posttest. A significant effect of tailoring was also found for changes in attitudes and intentions toward reducing fat intake and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Furthermore, respondents in the experimental group were more satisfied with the nutrition information they received and more often reported changing their diet or intention as a result of the information. Conclusions. It is concluded that computer-tailored nutrition information is a promising means of stimulating people to change their diet toward dietary recommendations. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.