Promoting nutrition and wellness statewide through an electronic newsletter

Abstract

The Words on Wellness (WOW) newsletter was designed as an electronic newsletter intended to provide research-based nutrition and wellness information to Iowans. An evaluation was conducted to assess to what extent the newsletter is being used by its readership and whether readers are making lifestyle changes as a result. Those who completed the online survey (n = 154) report making lifestyle changes and finding the information to be current, understandable, and relevant to their lives. These results indicate that the use of indirect nutrition and wellness educational materials (i.e., a newsletter) is effective in promoting research-based information that results in self-reported behavior change.