Perceived palatability of the prudent diet: results of a dietary demonstration for physicians.

"Product sampling" is an effective marketing strategy which lowers consumer buying resistance by providing a free sample of the product for the consumer to test. We used this strategy to demonstrate the palatability of the prudent diet (30-35% of calories from total fats, less than 10% from saturated fats, less than 3 g sodium, and increased fiber) to physicians attending a 5-day family practice continuing medical education conference. The effect of the intervention was evaluated with pre- and postintervention questionnaires and a 20% random sample of participants was surveyed 1 year later. The proportion of physicians who reported that they considered the diet to be "very palatable" rose from 26% before the demonstration to 64% after the demonstration. Only 5% of the physicians did not report a favorable response to the demonstration. Sixty-two percent of the physicians reported that the diet was better than expected, and 82% reported that the demonstration encouraged them to recommend the diet to their patients. One year after the intervention 60% considered the diet "very palatable" and 55% reported that the demonstration stimulated them to increase their dietary intervention activities. These data suggest that serving the prudent diet at continuing medical education programs helps to remove prejudices about the diet and encourages physicians to recommend the diet to their patients.