Home Environment-Focused Intervention Improves Dietary Quality: A Secondary Analysis From the Healthy Homes/Healthy Families Randomized Trial

Objective: Estimate Healthy Homes/Healthy Families (HHHF) intervention efficacy for improving dietary quality.

Methods: Low-income overweight and obese women (n = 349) recruited from rural community health centers were randomized to receive HHHF, a 16-week home environment-focused coaching intervention or health education materials by mail. Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores were calculated from 2 24-hour dietary recalls collected at baseline and 6- and 12-month follow-up.

Results: HHHF participants reported greater improvements in Healthy Eating Index-2010 total scores at 6-month follow-up (+3.41 ± 13.43 intervention vs +2.02 ± 12.26 control; P =.009). Subcomponent analysis indicated greater consumption of total vegetables (P = .02) and greens and beans (P = .001), whole grains (P = .02) and reduced consumption of empty calories (P = .03). Standardized intervention effect sizes were 0.16 at 6 months and 0.13 at 12 months of follow-up.

Conclusions and implications: The HHHF resulted in short-term improvements in dietary quality, although more research is needed to interpret the clinical significance of effect sizes of this magnitude.