Web-based nutrition education for college students: Is it feasible?

Abstract

College students have poor nutrition habits and often exhibit at-risk weight control behaviors; yet, health promotion efforts on campuses often target other risk behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use. The goal of this study was to determine program content and examine the feasibility of a webbased nutrition education program for college students using innovative applications of tailoring, targeting and personalization of information. Comprehensive program planning entailed three phases: focus groups and use of concept mapping methodology, prototype web program development, and feasibility testing of the prototype. Results of concept mapping suggested that students and experts agreed on the relative importance of the major content areas unique to the college audience. A prototype web program, informed by health promotion theories, was developed and evaluated. Students and college health professionals participated in the feasibility evaluation, which included acceptance and usability testing of the prototype. Mean scores were computed for the acceptance ratings that indicated that the prototype web program was not only feasible, but also compelling and relevant for the college audience. In conclusion, a tailored, webbased interactive nutrition program could potentially be used to provide individualized nutrition information to encourage college students to adopt healthy eating behaviors. KeywordsCollege students; Nutrition education; Website; Internet; Concept mapping; Tailoring BackgroundNutrition education is now an established and urgent health promotion priority for all age groups (Anderson, Shapiro, & Lundgren, 2003). In college settings, however, other health issues such as alcohol, drug, and tobacco use have often taken precedence in campus policy due to acute consequences for these specific risk behaviors. But despite the obvious importance of adopting healthful eating practices, college students tend to engage in a number of problematic eating behaviors, including unhealthy dieting, skipping meals, high *Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 617 332 6028; fax: +1 617 332 1820. E-mail address: tcousineau@inflexxion.com (T.M. Cousineau). NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript intake of fast foods, low intake of fruits and vegetables, and minimal consumption of dairy products (Cotunga & Vickery, 1994;Douglas & Collins, 1997;Huang, Harris, Lee, Nazir, Born and Kaur, 2003;Matvienko, Lewis, & Schafer, 2001). In addition, the percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight has doubled in the last 30 years (CDC, 2002) and the prevalence of obesity and related mortality rates continue to rise in adults Mokdad et al., 2005). Notably, although unwanted weight gain can occur at any age, it most commonly occurs between 18 and 34 years of age (Williamson, Kahn, Remington, & Anda, 1990). In fact, the largest increase in obesity between 1990 and 2000 occurred in 18-29 year olds (Freedman, Khan, Serdula, Galuska, & Dietz, 2002; suggesting that health p...

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