Evaluation of an online healthy eating programme

Abstract

This study examined the effects of an online healthy eating programme on consumption of fruit and vegetables, saturated fat and added sugars. Participants (82 females, 18 males) were randomised to an intervention or control group and asked to log onto a website every week for 24 weeks to complete health-related measures. They also attended laboratory sessions at baseline, 3 months and 6 months to complete additional physiological and diet measures. At the online sessions, intervention participants received dietary feedback and advice and completed tasks targeting motivation (analysing reasons for the importance of health, thinking about health-related desires and concerns), volition (forming implementation intentions) and maintenance (reviewing tasks, weekly ‘tips’). Ninety-one participants completed 12 or more online sessions. Analysis of their data showed a significant interaction for fruit and vegetable consumption, with intervention participants increasing their intake between baseline and 6 months (3.72–4.17 cups) and control participants decreasing their intake (3.59–3.36 cups). Results also showed overall reductions in saturated fat and added sugar between baseline and 6 months (saturated fat = 19.61–14.96 g, sugar = 39.66–28.29 g) but no interaction with group. The results indicate that the programme was effective at helping individuals increase their fruit and vegetable consumption. The results also provide support for the efficacy of simply monitoring behaviours over time. The absence of additional programme benefits beyond monitoring for fat and sugar may be because intervention participants failed to target these behaviours, or because the programme was more effective for approach than avoidance goals.