Randomized, Controlled Trial to Examine the Impact of Providing Yogurt to Women Enrolled in WIC

ObjectiveExamine the impact of providing yogurt to women enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).DesignRandomized, controlled intervention trial.SettingTwo California WIC local agency sites.Participants511 pregnant, breast-feeding, or postpartum women.InterventionSubstitution of part of the WIC milk allowance with yogurt accompanied with educational materials.Main Outcome MeasuresParticipants' consumption and attitudes regarding yogurt provision.AnalysisChi-square, Fisher exact, and Student t test to compare pre- versus post-intervention responses. Nonparametric Wilcoxon, chi-square, and t test to compare changes in response in intervention versus controls. Analysis of covariance models to test the influence of language preference on outcomes.ResultsOver 86% of women wanted to substitute some of their milk vouchers with yogurt. Among these, 62% reported preferring yogurt to milk. The majority (89%) redeemed the yogurt coupons. Compared to controls, intervention women reported a trend (P = .09) toward an increase in yogurt intake of 1.0 fl oz/day while not decreasing other dairy consumption. Those in the intervention group with the lowest tertile of yogurt intake at baseline increased yogurt consumption by 2.8 fl oz/day (P = .003) relative to controls with lowest intake.ConclusionsYogurt is likely to be a popular substitute for milk and could contribute to increased dairy intake among women if it were an option in WIC.