Impact of a Behavioral Intervention on Diet, Eating Patterns, Self-Efficacy, and Social Support

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of a structured multimodal behavioral intervention to change dietary behaviors, as well as self-efficacy and social support for engaging in healthier diets. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to assign sites into intervention and comparison groups. Data were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The intervention group participated in Texercise Select, a 12-week lifestyle enhancement program. Multiple mixed-effects models were used to examine nutrition-related changes over time. Results: For the intervention group, significant improvements were observed for fast food consumption (P =.011), fruit/vegetable consumption (P =.008), water consumption (P =.009), and social support (P <.001) from baseline to 3 months. The magnitude of these improvements was significantly greater than changes in the comparison group. Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest the intervention's ability to improve diet-related outcomes among older adults; however, additional efforts are needed to maintain changes over longer periods.