Evaluation of an affective-based adult nutrition education program

Abstract

Nutrition educators have had limited success using cognitive approaches to effect behavior change. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an affective-based program in changing the nutrition attitudes and behavior of a group of adults, using pre-, post-, and retention test measures of nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and dietary behavior. The sample consisted of a treatment group (n = 59) and a control group (n = 58). The treatment group participated in a five-week nutrition course offered at a public health unit. At the conclusion of the program the respondents had improved nutrition knowledge, maintained positive attitudes, and improved reported nutrition behavior. Nutrition knowledge scores rose significantly from the pretest to posttest situations for both groups. However, only the treatment group showed a rise in knowledge scores from the pretest to the retention test. No significant changes in scores occurred on the attitude scale, which measured flexibility-rigidity in nutrition attitudes. Pretest scores were very high for both treatment and control groups, suggesting a possible ceiling effect. Nutrition behavior was measured by 24-hour recalls which were scored qualitatively. The mean behavior scores rose significantly from pretest to posttest and pretest to retention test for the treatment group only.