title: Impact of an online healthful eating and physical activity program for college students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify impact of an online nutrition and physical activity program for college students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, controlled trial using online questionnaires and on-site physical and fitness assessments with measurement intervals of 0 (baseline), 3 (postintervention), and 15 months (follow-up).
  
  
  METHODS
  Online intervention delivered to college students; a centralized Web site was used for recruitment, data collection, data management, and intervention delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  College students (18-24 years old, n = 1689), from eight universities (Michigan State University, South Dakota State University, Syracuse University, The Pennsylvania State University, Tuskegee University, University of Rhode Island, University of Maine, and University of Wisconsin).
  
  
  METHODS
  A 10-lesson curriculum focusing on healthful eating and physical activity, stressing nondieting principles such as size acceptance and eating competence (software developer: Rainstorm, Inc, Orono, Maine).
  
  
  METHODS
  Measurements included anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory fitness, fruit/vegetable (FV) intake, eating competence, physical activity, and psychosocial stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Repeated measures analysis of variance for outcome variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most subjects were white, undergraduate females (63%), with 25% either overweight or obese. Treatment group completion rate for the curriculum was 84%. Over 15 months, the treatment group had significantly higher FV intake (+.5 cups/d) and physical activity participation (+270 metabolic equivalent minutes per week) than controls. For both groups, anthropometric values and stress increased, and fitness levels decreased. Gender differences were present for most variables. First-year males and females gained more weight than participants in other school years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A 10-week online nutrition and physical activity intervention to encourage competence in making healthful food and eating decisions had a positive, lasting effect on FV intake and maintained baseline levels of physical activity in a population that otherwise experiences significant declines in these healthful behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, 02881, USA. gwg@uri.edu
authors.forename: Geoffrey W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: Adrienne A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Sharon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hoerr
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lohse
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schembre
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Riebe
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Kendra K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Kattelmann
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shoff
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horacek
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Blissmer
authors.forename: Beatrice W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003479:Curriculum; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010414:Pennsylvania; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult