RESULTS Our findings suggest that consumers have a relatively poor underst and ing of a healthy diet .
The literature also demonstrates that there is poor evidence on the health protective effects of single foods or nutrients .
We further show that low SES is the single consistent risk factor for not adhering to a healthy diet .
Our review of the literature on determinants demonstrates that intentions , habits , self-regulatory skills , and the social and physical environment are the most important determinants of a healthy diet , which are in turn amenable to change by intervention strategies with varying levels of effectiveness .
Educational interventions generally show a limited effect on practising a healthy diet whereas interventions targeting habitual behaviour and /or the physical environment seem more promising .
In view of the large number of people who are concerned about their diets and make attempts to change their dietary patterns , we conclude that it is crucial to gain a better underst and ing of both the automatic and environmental influences that are responsible for people not acting upon their good intentions for diet change
OBJECTIVE To discuss healthy diet from a psychological perspective by considering definitions of healthy diet in terms of consumer underst and ing ; the health effects of specific dietary elements in terms of overweight and ( chronic ) illness ; the prevalence of healthy diet ; the psychological and environmental determinants of healthy diet ; and the psychological interventions that have been design ed to promote healthy diet .
Is there a consumer backlash against the diet and health message?
OBJECTIVE Anecdotal evidence exists that the public is becoming skeptical about nutrition messages . This article examines whether there is a backlash against dietary recommendations and whether it is associated with less healthful diets . DESIGN / PARTICIPANTS Data are from a 1997 - 1998 Washington State r and om-digit-dial survey of 1,751 adults design ed to monitor attitudes and behavior related to cancer risk and prevention . STATISTICAL ANALYSES Responses to the nutrition backlash survey were weighted to reflect the Washington State population . Linear regression was used to examine associations of nutrition backlash with fat and fruit and vegetable intake . RESULTS This survey did not find strong evidence that nutrition backlash was widespread . However , 70 % of respondents thought that Americans are obsessed with the fat in their diet and that the government should not tell people what to eat . More than a quarter agreed with the statement that eating low-fat foods takes the pleasure out of eating . Nutrition backlash was associated with less healthful diets : individuals showing high backlash had a fat-related diet habits score of 2.11 compared with a score of 1.73 among those showing low backlash ( P for trend = .001 ) , which corresponds to a difference of roughly 4 percentage points in percentage energy from fat . Individuals showing high backlash reported eating only 2.72 servings of fruits and vegetables per day , compared with 3.35 servings among those showing low backlash ( P for trend = .001 ) . APPLICATIONS/ CONCLUSIONS Nutrition professionals need to ensure that dietary recommendations are clear and positive to avoid the possibility that consumers may disregard nutrition messages entirely
RESULTS Our findings suggest that consumers have a relatively poor underst and ing of a healthy diet .
The literature also demonstrates that there is poor evidence on the health protective effects of single foods or nutrients .
We further show that low SES is the single consistent risk factor for not adhering to a healthy diet .
Our review of the literature on determinants demonstrates that intentions , habits , self-regulatory skills , and the social and physical environment are the most important determinants of a healthy diet , which are in turn amenable to change by intervention strategies with varying levels of effectiveness .
Educational interventions generally show a limited effect on practising a healthy diet whereas interventions targeting habitual behaviour and /or the physical environment seem more promising .
In view of the large number of people who are concerned about their diets and make attempts to change their dietary patterns , we conclude that it is crucial to gain a better underst and ing of both the automatic and environmental influences that are responsible for people not acting upon their good intentions for diet change
OBJECTIVE To discuss healthy diet from a psychological perspective by considering definitions of healthy diet in terms of consumer underst and ing ; the health effects of specific dietary elements in terms of overweight and ( chronic ) illness ; the prevalence of healthy diet ; the psychological and environmental determinants of healthy diet ; and the psychological interventions that have been design ed to promote healthy diet .