Fruit and vegetable consumption and prevention of cancer: the Black Churches United for Better Health project.
OBJECTIVE
This study assessed the effects of the Black Churches United for Better Health project on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among rural African American church members in North Carolina.


METHODS
Ten counties comprising 50 churches were pair matched and randomly assigned to either intervention or delayed intervention (no program until after the follow-up survey) conditions. A multicomponent intervention was conducted over approximately 20 months. A total of 2519 adults (77.3% response rate) completed both the baseline and 2-year follow-up interviews.


RESULTS
The 2 study groups consumed similar amounts of fruits and vegetables at baseline. AT the 2-year follow-up, the intervention group consumed 0.85 (SE = 0.12) servings more than the delayed intervention group (P < .0001). The largest increases were observed among people 66 years or older (1 serving), those with education beyond high school (0.92 servings), those widowed or divorced (0.96 servings), and those attending church frequently (1.3 servings). The last improvement occurred among those aged 18 to 37 years and those who were single.


CONCLUSIONS
The project was a successful model for achieving dietary change among rural African Americans.
Campbell
M K
MK
School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599, USA. marci_campbell@unc.edu
Demark-Wahnefried
W
W
Symons
M
M
Kalsbeek
W D
WD
Dodds
J
J
Cowan
A
A
Jackson
B
B
Motsinger
B
B
Hoben
K
K
Lashley
J
J
Demissie
S
S
McClelland
J W
JW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002977:Clergy; D004522:Educational Status; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005638:Fruit; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009657:North Carolina; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012067:Religion; D012423:Rural Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables