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Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a 12-week workplace e-mail intervention designed to promote physical activity and nutrition behavior. Design. A pre- and post-test design was conducted to compare the effects of e-mail messages between intervention and control groups. Setting. Five large workplaces in Alberta, Canada. Subjects. Employees with access to a personal e-mail address (N = 2121) were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1566) or a control group (n = 555). Intervention. Physical activity and nutrition messages were based on social-cognitive theories. The intervention group received one physical activity and one parallel nutrition message per week for 12 weeks. The control group received no weekly messages. Measures. Each participant completed self-report measures of physical activity and nutrition related to knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors 1 week before (time 1) and 1 week after (time 2) the intervention. Results. The intervention group was more efficacious at time 2 on measures of self-efficacy, pros, cons, intentions, and behavior related to physical activity. This group also reported more favorable changes in practicing healthy eating, balancing food intake with activity level, cooking meals with techniques to reduce fat, and avoiding eating high-fat foods. Effect sizes for all significant differences were small. Conclusion. E-mail is a promising mode of delivery for promoting physical activity and nutrition in the workplace. Further theoretically driven studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To evaluate the effects of a 12-week e-mail intervention promoting physical activity and nutrition, and to describe participant use and satisfaction feedback. Design. A longitudinal, randomized trial. Setting. Five large workplaces in Alberta, Canada. Participants. One thousand forty-three participants completed all three assessments, and 1263 participants in the experimental group provided use and satisfaction feedback after receiving the 12-week intervention. Intervention. Paired physical activity and nutrition messages were e-mailed weekly to the experimental group. The control group received all messages in bulk (i.e., within a single e-mail message) at the conclusion of the intervention. Measures. Self-report measures of knowledge, cognitions, and behaviors related to physical activity and nutrition were used. Satisfaction with e-mail messages was assessed at Time 2. Analysis. Planned contrasts compared the experimental group measures at Time 3 with those reported at Time 2 and with control group measures reported at Time 3. Control group measures at Time 3 were also compared with control group measures at Time 2. Results. The small intervention effects previously reported between Time 1 and Time 2 were maintained at Time 3. Providing the e-mail messages in bulk also had a significant positive effect on many of the physical activity and nutrition variables. Conclusions. E-mail offers a promising medium for promoting health-enhancing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Additional research is needed to determine optimal message dose and content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]