Changing food knowledge, food choice, and dietary fiber consumption by using tailored messages

Abstract

The aim of this research was to compare the effects of tailored or general nutrition messages on individuals' food knowledge, food consumption, and fiber intake. Past research in the area of food choice has applied the Theory of Reasoned Action or the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify the determinants of choice. Neither theory, however, is structured to allow the researcher to examine a person's attitudes toward a wide range of foods and then to specify which food(s) from among the set of foods to include in a nutrition message. In contrast, the Behavioral Alternatives Model (BAM) allows the researcher to examine attitudes toward behavioral alternatives (i.e. foods) and to identify which foods are most likely to be selected from among a set of foods. We used the BAM to specify the foods to include in a tailored nutrition message. The results indicated that respondents who received a tailored message derived from the BAM had more food-related knowledge and dietary changes in the recommended direction than the respondents who received a general message.