Efficacy of the transtheoretical model in improving exercise and dietary habits in enlisted Air Force personnel

As a means of maintaining a fit and ready force, the United States military establishment has always incorporated fitness and weight standards for its personnel. According to data obtained by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Surgeon General's Office, most personnel pass their fitness tests. However, one particular segment, men between 30 to 44 years of age, have lower scores and appear to have more difficulty passing. Although the USAF has existing nutrition and exercise programs to improve these health habits, they may only be suited for individuals motivated to change these behaviors. According to previous behavior change studies, a better approach is to use stage-matched interventions based on the Transtheoretical model (TTM). In short, devise programs that correctly identify an individual's motivation for engaging in a health behavior (stage of readiness to improve) and then match the appropriate intervention for the individual.; Using male enlisted Air Force personnel between the ages of 30–44 as the target population, focus groups were used to obtain qualitative information on diet and exercise habits to improve fitness scores. These data were then used to develop an intervention program based on the TTM and disseminated via the worldwide web. Use of computers and the Internet are strongly advocated by health promotion professionals as an effective means of reaching large numbers of at risk populations with specifically-tailored information.; There was no evidence that treatment group exposure to the web site program was effective in increasing fitness scores. The data suggest that the physical activity tailored information content was not effective in encouraging greater exercise intensity to positively impact fitness levels. However, the dietary-tailored information appears to have encouraged the adoption of more positive nutritional practices, as manifested by the beneficial effects seen in certain secondary outcomes. Stage progression was evident as more treatment subjects than controls advanced to higher stages of positive dietary and exercise behaviors. More treatment group subjects reported improved dietary behaviors than reported increases in exercise behaviors. Treatment subjects did not report any relapse in physical activity as opposed to control subjects who reported a high level of regression towards sedentary physical behaviors.