The effect of a Transtheoretical model based education on nutritional behaviors of middleaged women

Objective (s): The study aimed to assess the effect of a transtheoretical model based education nutritional behavior of middleaged women in Ahvaz, Iran. This was a semi-interventional study on a 126 middle-aged among 30-59 years old. All women were selected by simple random sampling in two groups (intervention and control),. Data were collected a questionnaire including items on transtherotretical constructs and nutritional behavior. According to primary analyses in two group, first the intervention group divided into 4 groups (based on stages of change). The educational intervention was conducted in three sessions through group discussions and lectures. Nine weeks later, two groups were assessed for post-test. The independent t-test, paired t-test, and one-way analysis of variance and chi-square were used to analyze the data. The mean age of participants in the intervention group was 37.71(6.8) and in the control group it was 38.57 (7.71) years. Before the intervention, the two groups were scrutinized regarding the homogeneity of demographic variables and the structures of the nutrition pattern and behavior. There were no significant differences between the two groups (p > 0.05). After the intervention, the scores [mean score (SD)] for stages of change including the process of change (from 21.34 (6.7) to 34.03 (11.3), decision-making balance (18.44 (4.15) to23.14 (5.11), and self-efficiency (from 22.74 (6.64) to 25.39 (6.18) showed significant changes compared to before the intervention (p<0.05). Moreover, nutrition behavior was increased from 21.34 ±6.7 to 34.03 ±11.31 which indicated a significant difference (p<0.05). The findings suggest that a Transtheoretical model based educational intervention might be effective in improving nutritional behavior among middle-aged women.