Comparing the Effectiveness and Appeal of Delivering the Whole-Body Approach (WBA) Program Via Text Messages and In-Person to Northern Illinois Food Bank Clients

Background Few studies compare instructional modalities’ effectiveness in identical health education programs.Purpose To compare the effectiveness of text message and in-person delivery of the Whole Body Approach (WBA) program in improving eating competence, physical activity motives, and self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable consumption among food pantry clients.Methods A non-experimental, comparative design was used to evaluate the WBA program. Convenience samples of Northern Illinois Food Bank clients included 147 text message group (TMG) participants recruited from My Pantry Express (2021), and 14 in-person group (IPG) participants recruited from the Winnebago Community Market (2022). Both 10-week programs addressed stress management, mindful eating, healthy body image, and enjoyable movement. The text message program was delivered from February to April 2021, and the in-person program was delivered from February to April 2022. Independent and Paired samples t-tests compared post-intervention outcomes for participants completing pre- and post-surveys.Results IPG showed significantly better outcomes than TMG in eating competence (p < .05) and physical activity motives (p = .004). No significant differences were observed in fruit and vegetable self-efficacy.Discussion In-person delivery yielded superior outcomes for eating competence and physical activity. Future research could explore hybrid delivery models.Translation to Health Education Practice This study informs health educators on how to design, implement, and evaluate health promotion programs in the community settings, emphasizing how the mode of program delivery can influence outcomes.