Virginia EFNEP homemakers' dietary improvement and relation to selected family factors

Abstract Dietary improvement was assessed using a 24-hour food recall in a sample of 180 homemakers who had completed six to eighteen months of instruction in the Virginia Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), to determine whether or not they had maintained dietary improvement for a six to thirty-six month period after leaving the program. Family factors that were believed to be related to dietary change were explored; these included family composition, family support and family diet control. Average diet scores increased significantly from entry to exit from the program, and from entry to follow-up, with a slight decline from exit to follow-up. Greatest improvements were found in average servings from the milk and fruit-vegetable groups. While family factors were not significantly related to dietary improvement, several relationships emerged that suggested a possible role for family support in influencing dietary outcome.