Self-Regulating Saturated Fat Intake in Blue-Collar Employees

Background: Blue-collar employees, typically involved in high-stress/low job-control work, are vulnerable to developing chronic illness and less likely to make healthy food choices. Literature suggests that interventions directed at increasing self-regulatory skills including goal selection, self-monitoring, self-rewarding, self-evaluation/goal-revision, may be more effective in initiating and sustaining behavior change by enhancing personal control and self-efficacy. Objective/Method: The current study will examine the role of self-regulation in reducing saturated fat intake and increasing nutrition self-efficacy (outcome measures). Specifically, a randomized controlled 2 x 3 design will compare a Self-regulation + Information intervention with Information Only/Control over a 6-week period, with assessments at three time-points-baseline, week 4 (end of intervention), and week 6 (follow-up). Employees who want to reduce saturated fat intake, not participating in a concurrent health program, and will not likely face a major lifestyle-changing event during the study will be recruited on campus. Both groups will receive information on saturated fat intake reduction at the outset, while intervention group participants will also undergo a 4-week program that involves selecting goals, self-monitoring food intake, identifying barriers/strategies to behavior change, self-administering rewards, evaluating progress and revising goals. Intervention procedure will follow a carefully drafted manual. Both groups will have one face-to-face meeting at the outset, while the intervention group will have regular weekly telephone contact. Data analysis will include repeated-measures, between-conditions ANOVA and ANCOVA (baseline scores). Expected outcome: Intervention group will demonstrate reduced saturated fat intake and enhanced self-efficacy with increased self-regulatory skills at week 4, which will be maintained at follow-up.