Internet-based education program of nutrition as a workplace health promotion tool – A review of the literature

Nutrition education in the workplace is important to prevent increased lifestyle-related diseases among employees. Recently, an Internet-based nutrition education as a new education approach was developed, and its effects evaluated. The objective of this study is to review the literatures related to Internet-based nutrition education programs and examine the future possibilities of this approach in the workplace. The literatures were searched using the MEDLINE database. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) conducted Internet-based nutrition education trials, (2) randomized controlled trial, and (3) published between 1990 and 2005. Eleven studies were identified and reviewed. Internet-based nutrition education programs in these studies were designed for different themes and subjects; however, there was only one study conducted in the workplace. The longest intervention period was 1 year, and the majority of the studies evaluated the effectiveness of the program before and after. Although the control groups greatly differed in terms of their health guidance, some positive outcomes were reported by most studies. As a whole, some positive results of this approach were suggested. However, more studies conducted in the workplace with a longer period of implementation and/or follow-up period are needed to examine the effectiveness of Internet-based nutrition education for workplace health promotion.