Impact of an educational intervention using email on diet quality. Issue 5 (19th August 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bombem, Kelly Cristina; Canella, Daniela Silva; Bandoni, Daniel Henrique; Jaime, Patricia Constante
• Editors: Ganji, Vijay
• Is Part Of: Nutrition & food science. Volume 44:Issue 5(2014)
• Publication Date: 2014-08-19
• Subjects: Nutrition -- Periodicals; Food -- Periodicals; 664.005
• DOI: 10.1108/NFS-02-2013-0034
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0034-6659

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of a worksite nutritional intervention on the dietary quality of adult workers from the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: A 6-month controlled community trial was performed involving 236 workers from . The intervention was implemented through interactive software, that send recommendations about diet and physical activity by email. Data was collected for all participants using a 24-hour dietary recall and also for a sub-sample containing 25.4% of the participants. Diet Quality was assessed by the diet quality index adjusted (DQIa) comprising 10 components (1. Grains and tubers; 2. Vegetables; 3. Fruits; 4. Milk and dairy products; 5. Meat and eggs; 6. Beans and legumes; 7. Total fat; 8. Saturated fat; 9. Sodium; and 10. Variety), scored from 0 (inadequate consumption) to 10 (recommended consumption). Intragroup impact of the intervention was assessed according to variation in total DQIa, its components and energy consumption. Impact adjusted between groups was also determined. Findings: The intervention yielded improvements in DQIa and for the components cereals and tubers, vegetables, milk and dairy products and total fat. The workers who had a worst diet quality before the study was more susceptible to the intervention, that improve significantly the diet quality, with an adjusted impact +6.4 points Originality/value: Few behavioral interventions have been performed using technologies, like email, to encourage a healthy lifestyle. This study shows the importance of the counseling to promote a higher quality diet, which can result on control of the obesity.