title: Targeted Messages Increase Dairy Consumption in Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dairy consumption amongst North Americans aged 30-50 has been declining. Targeted messages have been identified as a cost-efficient method through which to increase health-enhancing behavior, such as dairy intake.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to assess the utility of targeted, framed, efficacy-enhancing messages on calcium consumption from dairy in adults aged 30-50 in a randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven hundred and thirty-two individuals (463 women, 269 men; Mage= 40.57 years) were randomly assigned to one of five message conditions: (1) gain-framed (GF), (2) loss-framed (LF), (3) self-regulatory efficacy-enhancing (SRE), (4) GF plus SRE (GF + SRE), or (5) LF plus SRE (LF + SRE). Conditions were separate for men and women. Each condition received an emailed message on four consecutive days. Calcium intake from dairy, self-regulatory efficacy, outcome expectations, and outcome value were measured at baseline, 1 and 4 weeks following the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Calcium intake from dairy significantly increased from baseline to week 1 post-intervention in all conditions (p < .001). A significant message condition x time interaction (p = .04) revealed that increases seen in the LF + SRE condition were maintained at week 4. All social cognitive constructs increased following the intervention (ps < .01). Self-regulatory efficacy (β = .28, p < .01) and outcome expectations (β = .19, p < .01) were significant predictors of subsequent calcium intake (week 4) from dairy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, it appears as though ensuring message content is targeted to the specific population's beliefs and motives is of importance when developing behavioral change intervention material.
authors: School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada. mary.jung@ubc.ca.
authors: Mary E
authors: ME
authors: Jung
authors: Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors: Amy E
authors: AE
authors: Latimer-Cheung
authors: School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
authors: Jessica E
authors: JE
authors: Bourne
authors: School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.|McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors: Kathleen A
authors: KA
authors: Martin Ginis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D003611:Dairy Products; D034742:Electronic Mail; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary
keywords: Behavior change; Calcium consumption; Efficacy-enhancing; Framing; Targeting