Can Interventions Modify Dietary Behavior?
Individual behavior changes must be supported at the individual, social network, organizational and community levels. Individual-level interventions include individual (counseling) and group face-to face (group counseling, classes, lectures) interventions.
Johnson and Johnson identified 673 studies of nutrition education programs since 1910 and analyzed 303 programs that had been quantitatively evaluated. All of these program used individual level change strategies, with lectures, written materials and directed small group activities ranking at the top, demonstrating a 50% success rate of these programs.
Other individual based strategies include those that require minimal contact with providers such as self-help kits or electronic media programs.
Individual incentive-based programs such as lotteries or contest have also been shown to have potential in inducing behavior change.
For children and adolescents, nutrition education and dietary change programs include school-based programs which use educational and skill-based strategies to change the dietary habits of young people.
Network level interventions attempt to modify the quantity of food related communications by targeting an individual’s “network” which includes friends, family, or other clubs or groups that an individual belongs to. Family and peer networks are the most common.
The two most studied targets for organization level interventions are the worksites and point of purchase settings such as restaurants and grocery stores. By using these channels for delivery health programs, interventions can be tailored to reach specific targets.