The Stages of Change for Dietary Fat and Fruit and Vegetable Intake of Patients at the Outset of a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Abstract

Patients were in different stages of change for two nutritional behaviors linked to the same disease. Results support the need to assess patients for food behaviors and apply different educational interventions for each food behavior.

Patients' readiness for dietary change at the beginning of counselling: a transtheoretical model‐based assessment

“…These results are in line with those of Sporny & Contento (1995), Povey et al . (1999) and Frame et al . (2001) who found that the complex nature of dietary behaviour requires assigning patients to different stages of change.…”

“…Sporny & Contento, 1995; Povey et al ., 1999). During maintenance, the patient has overcome barriers (Sporny & Contento, 1995) and integrated a new dietary behaviour into his or her everyday life and attempts not to relapse into his or her earlier behaviour (Frame et al ., 2001).…”

“…The purpose of the transtheoretical model of change is to explain how patients change their behaviour and describe their experiences during the processes of change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983;Prochaska et al, 1994). The model has been applied to dietary behaviour (Van Duyn et al, 1998;Povey et al, 1999;Frame et al, 2001) although, for instance, Povey et al (1999) and Whitelaw et al (2000) have criticized that the model's stages of change are difficult to apply to varied dietary behaviour. Human behaviour is not linear action and, consequently, undergoing stages of change implies iteration and cyclical pattern.…”

“…Prochaska & Diclemente, 1983; Rollnick & Heather, 1992). In motivational counselling, during the preparation stage patients are encouraged to think in a future‐orientated way and to actively give up thoughts of failure (Saarmann et al ., 2000) and are facilitated to make and adopt a realistic action plan that takes their potential for and barriers to change into account (Berg‐Smith et al ., 1999; Frame et al ., 2001; Savoca & Miller, 2001; Shultz et al ., 2001). During the action stage, contingency management and reinforcement by improving skills and reflective discussion are emphasized in motivational counselling (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983; Rollnick & Heather, 1992).…”

Are Current Health Behavioral Change Models Helpful in Guiding Prevention of Weight Gain Efforts?

“…The percentages of women in each stage, the age of the participants, and the education of participants tended to increase as stages advanced (107). The levels of fruit, juice, and vegetable consumption were highest in the action and maintenance stages (107,108); the level of dietary fat consumption was lowest in the maintenance stage and was more so among women than among men (108).…”