Follow-up of a web-based tailored intervention promoting the Mediterranean diet in Scotland

Abstract

Objective: To assess the impact of a 3-month follow-up of a 6-month quasi-experimental study conducted to evaluate a web-based, tailored-feedback intervention promoting four key components of the Mediterranean diet. Methods: Fifty-three (intervention) and nineteen (control) healthy females, 25-55 years, employed at two Universities in Glasgow, Scotland, between 2003 and 2004 participated. Participants received tailored dietary and psychosocial feedback and Internet education, or minimal dietary feedback and general healthy-eating brochures, respectively. Dietary intake using 7d-estimated food diaries and blood lipids were assessed at baseline, 6 (post-test) and 9 months (follow-up). Results: Intention-to-treat analyses for between-group comparisons over time showed that the intervention group had increased their vegetable intake over 9 months and had more favourable levels of HDL-cholesterol and ratio of total:HDL-cholesterol over the 9-month assessment, compared with the control group. Within-group comparisons showed that, except for fruit consumption, the intervention group sustained their dietary improvement at 9 months, compared with baseline. Conclusion: This intervention proved successful at sustaining most of the favourable dietary and blood lipid profile changes achieved over the 6-month intervention at the 3-month follow-up. Practice implications: This intervention can be effective in promoting a Mediterranean-style diet in work settings. © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.