DIETARY INTERVENTION SYSTEM FOR ADOLESCENTS

THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI), AS PART OF ITS YEAR 2000 GOALS, HAS RECOMMENDED THAT AMERICANS REDUCE THEIR INTAKE OF FAT TO LESS THAN THIRTY PERCENT OF TOTAL CALORIES AND INCREASE THEIR DIETARY INTAKE OF FIBER TO AT LEAST TWENTY GRAMS PER DAY. WE WILL MERGE NUTRITION INTERVENTION RESEARCH WITH HYPERMEDIA SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TO FURTHER EXPAND AND TEST HEALTH PROMOTION TECHNOLOGIES. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL BEGIN DEVELOPMENT OF DIETARY INTERVENTION SOFTWARE, TARGETED AT ADOLESCENTS, USING THE NCI'S RECOMMENDATIONS AS A FOUNDATION. A LOW FAT, HIGH FIBER, NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION SOFTWARE PROGRAM, INCORPORATING BEHAVIOR CHANGE PRINCIPLES, NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION AND DIETARY INTERVENTION STRATEGIES, WILL BE DESIGNED. A SOFTWARE PROTOTYPE SUITABLE FOR EVALUATION IN HIGH SCHOOLS WILL BE CREATED. PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THIS HEALTY PROMOTION AND INTERVENTION SYSTEM WILL BE CONDUCTED IN HIGH SCHOOL SETTINGS. INFORMATION FROM THE EVALUATION OF THE PHASE I PROTOTYPE WILL BE USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION SYSTEM IN PHASE II, WHICH WILL THEN BE COMMERCIALIZED IN PHASE III.