Telephone intervention promoting weight-related health behaviors

Abstract

Objective Recent national surveys have documented that the majority of adults in the United States do not meet the recommended levels of healthy lifestyle-related behaviors. The Nutrition and Physical Activity (NuPA) study was designed to promote fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and weight management for a working population. Method Data were collected nationwide, USA, from 2005 to 2007 and analyzed in 2008. A total of 2470 employed participants were randomized into the self-help (SH: n = 1191) or self-help plus telephone counseling (SH + C: n = 1279) group. The SH + C group received nine structured telephone counseling sessions in addition to the print materials. Results A series of hierarchical regression analyses for each of the health behavior outcomes in the present-at-follow-up subsample ( n = 1098–1148) revealed that the SH + C was effective in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Among the overweight and obese participants, weight loss was significant in both the SH and SH + C groups. Conclusion Using a theory-based behavioral change counseling technique and targeting multiple health behaviors among employed individuals, our findings demonstrate that the addition of telephone counseling to mailed self-help materials is effective in promoting healthy diet and weight management.