Effects of Customized Nutritional Education 'Change 10 Habits' Program According to Stage of Behavior Change in Mildly Obese Adults

ABSTRACT The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and has become a serious epidemic health problem. We developed the ‘Change 10 Habits’ educational program based on obesity treatment and dietary guidelines and examined its effects on customized nutrition education in mildly obese adults. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board. Study subjects were excluded if they had several major diseases, if had consumed an anti-obesity drug, or if they practiced an obesity-related program within 30 days. The subjects (n=87, 25≤BMI＜30) were each exposed to the customized nutrition education program with four lessons according to the stage of the transtheoretical model (TTM). The stage-matched program was administered for 12 weeks and was run by a clinical dietitian. Overall, subjects who were in the precontemplation/contemplation stage at baseline made progress in the preparation and action/maintenance stage after 12 weeks (P＜0.05). For ‘Alcohol is consumed, up to 2 drinks per day’, the proportion of subjects who belonged in the action/main-tenance stage increased from 34.5% to 49.4% at 12 weeks. In addition, scores of all items significantly in-creased after the program (P＜0.05). ‘Chew more than 10 times and eat slowly’ score significantly increased from 3.9±2.4 to 5.8±2.3 (P＜0.05). In conclusion, behavioral stage-matched nutrition education using the ‘Change 10 Habits’ program was effective in improving eating behaviors and enhancing healthy lifestyles in mildly obese adults.