Easy-to-learn dietary behavior change intervention does not significantly improve diet quality of college students: a randomized controlled trial

College students consistently report poor dietary patterns, and face numerous barriers towards improving diet quality. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of an easy-to-learn, semi-personalized diet behavior change intervention on diet quality in college students. This parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was comprised of an ethnically diverse group of full-time college students (N = 114) from two large university campuses in Southern California. Students were screened and excluded if they reported medical conditions requiring a modified diet, were considered at risk for eating disorders, or had a dietary pattern already aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). The experimental group selected 2 of 7 predefined diet change statements that aligned with DGAs and carried them daily as keychain tags for four weeks. The control group was asked to read and consider the DGAs, without any specific dietary directives. We hypothesized that the experimental group would report a significant increase in Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2020 total and component scores from baseline to 4 weeks, compared to control group. The population ratio method was used to statistically compare HEI-2020 scores between groups. No significant differences were observed between groups for the HEI-2020 total score or its component scores at 4 weeks or at 8 weeks follow-up. This short-term, easy-to-learn dietary intervention for college students was unsuccessful in improving diet quality. Future studies should consider more frequent participant contact and tailoring behavior change options to aspects of students' diets most in need of improvement. This trial was registered under ISRCTN #53920728.