Randomized trial on the 5 a day, the Rio Grande Way Website, a web-based program to improve fruit and vegetable consumption in rural communities.
The Internet is a new technology for health communication in communities. The 5 a Day, the Rio Grande Way website intended to increase fruits and vegetables (FV) consumption was evaluated in a rural region enrolling 755 adults (65% Hispanic, 9% Native American, 88% female) in a randomized pretest-posttest controlled trial in 2002-2004. A total of 473 (63%) adults completed a 4-month follow-up. The change in daily intake on a food frequency questionnaire (control: mean = - 0.26 servings; intervention: mean = 0.38; estimated difference = 0.64, SD = 0.52, t(df = 416) = 1.22, p = 0.223) and single item (13.9% eating 5 + servings at pretest, 19.8% posttest for intervention; 17.4%, 13.8% for controls; odds ratio (OR) = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.07, 3.17) was in the expected direction but significant only for the single item. Website use was low and variable (logins: M = 3.3, range = 1 to 39.0; total time: M = 22.2 minutes, range = 0 to 322.7), but it was associated positively with fruit and vegetable intake (total time: Spearman r = 0.14, p = 0.004 for food frequency; Spearman r = 0.135, p = 0.004 for single item). A nutrition website may improve FV intake. The comparison on the food frequency measure may have been undermined by its high variability. Websites may be successful in community settings only when they are used enough by adults to influence them.
Buller
David B
DB
Klein Buendel, Inc., Golden, Colorado 80401, USA. dbuller@kleinbuendel.com
Woodall
W Gill
WG
Zimmerman
Donald E
DE
Slater
Michael D
MD
Heimendinger
Jerianne
J
Waters
Emily
E
Hines
Joan M
JM
Starling
Randall
R
Hau
Barbara
B
Burris-Woodall
Patricia
P
Davis
Glenna Sue
GS
Saba
Laura
L
Cutter
Gary R
GR
D000328:Adult; D003120:Colorado; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009516:New Mexico; D012423:Rural Health; D014675:Vegetables