Stages of change in clinical nutrition practice.

For years, nutritionists have developed education materials that attempted to change dietary behaviors. However, most of these programs were effective only in increasing knowledge and did not produce long-term behavior change. Research indicates that nutrition interventions will be more effective if based on a theoretical model. The stages of change theory attempts to explain behavior change as a series of levels of readiness to changes. The stages range from precontemplation, where an individual does not recognize the need for change, to the maintenance of long-term behavior change. Use of this theory in nutrition education has been found to be most effective if education methods are stage specific and address the individual needs of clients. Unfortunately, little research has been done using this theory in traditional clinical nutrition practice, but implementation may be easy for the nutritionist and may help to increase compliance with dietary recommendations in individuals with chronic disease. The first step in using the stages of change theory is to determine the behavior that is going to be changed. With this information, the clinician can then determine the patient's stage of readiness to change a variety of dietary habits. Through the identification of an individual's stage, education methods can be tailored to meet the needs of the patient, helping to promote life-long dietary change.