"About Eating" (AE) is a 4‐lesson web‐based module (adapted from Project WebHealth, a program for college students) addressing constructs of the Satter Eating Competence Model. Following cognitive interviews with 25 low‐income men and women for the 4 modules, revisions were made in wording, graphics, lesson length and layout. Finalized lessons were assessed online by 19 reviewers with links to evaluation tools (ie., food security screener, Satter Eating Competence Inventory for Low Income (ecSI/LI). Reviewers were mostly female, white, non‐college educated, overweight or obese, food stamp participants, with marginal to very low food security and not eating competent (mean ecSI/LI 26.2 ± 10.6; possible range 0 ‐ 48). Each lesson was assessed independently for usability, navigation, design, reading level, and interest. All 4 lessons were reviewed favorably. More than 75% of reviewers denoted lessons as useful; 84% or more identified lessons as interesting. Navigation issues were identified by 7% of the reviewers for 2 of the lessons and at least 6% felt the lessons were difficult to read. Length and design were reviewed positively for all 4 lessons. Findings informed additional revisions prior to use with a larger low‐income audience. Availability of tested web‐based lessons on eating competence facilitates education about eating competence and impact testing in low‐income audiences. Funded by USDA CSREES NRI, USDA FNS SNAP‐Ed and Penn State University.

The objective of this study was to determine if a fruit and vegetable (FV) intervention, previously demonstrated to increase amount of FV per day, also increased the variety consumed. Variety in FV intake was assessed using a 26-item FV (12 fruit and 14 vegetable) food frequency questionnaire on 1255 low-income adults, with ages from 18 to 24 years (control = 684 vs experimental = 571), after completion of a stage-tailored intervention to increase FV intakes. The food frequency questionnaire was administered at 12 months to assess how often and how much participants ate of each item over the previous year. Variety was defined as the number of different types of fruits and vegetables consumed. At completion, the experimental group vs the control group had significantly greater variety in number of fruit items (9.5 +/- 0.1 vs 9.1 +/- 0.1, P < or = .001) and vegetable items (11.5 +/- 0.1 vs 11.2 +/- 0.1, P < .01) as well as greater total intake of fruits (2.73 +/- 0.09 vs 2.33 +/- 0.11 cups, P < .01) and vegetables (1.87 +/- 0.10 vs 1.62 +/- 0.01 cups, P < or = .001) and a greater consumption of the categories of seasonal fruits (P < .05), juices (P < .01), and high-beta-carotene vegetables (P < or = .001). This is one of the first studies to document an increase in FV variety as a result of an educational intervention for low-income young adults.

The ecSatter Inventory (ecSI), a validated survey with 4 subscales, assessed change in eating competence (EC) following university student (N=133, mean age 19.6 ± 1.2 y) participation in a 10‐lesson web‐based curriculum that utilized a non‐dieting approach to weight management. 4 of the 10 lessons focused on EC constructs related to eating enjoyment, food acceptance (FA), internal regulation (IR) and food contextual skills (CS). EC responses were gender‐specific. For males (N=45), a decrease in eating enjoyment was the only significant change (P=.04). Females (N=88) significantly increased total ecSI score (P=.04) and FA (P=.001); CS tended to increase (P=.07). At baseline, females scored significantly lower than males for total score (29.3 ± 7 vs 34.6 ± 7.1; P<.001), eating enjoyment (10.0±3.4 vs 12.5±2.5; P<.001), FA (4.9 ±2.5 vs 6.0 ±2.5; P=.025), and IR (6.3±1.8 vs 7.4±1.6; P=.001). Following intervention, only eating enjoyment remained significantly lower for females compared to males (10.1±3.6 vs 11.6±2.9; P=.018). EC changes following the intervention were compared between males and females; male EC deteriorated with trends toward or significant decreases in total ecSI score (−.95 vs +1.5; P=.058) and eating enjoyment (−.84 vs +.24; P=.049). Body mass index remained unchanged and unrelated to ecSI scores or gender. Further research is needed to ensure that gender is not masking impact as a result of intervention‐driven cogitation affecting perceived competence upon transitioning from a pre‐contemplative stage in EC. Supported by NRI, USDA CSREES, grant #2005‐ 35215‐15412, PSU Dept Nutritional Sciences