Determinants of nutrition knowledge in young and middle-aged Belgian women and the association with their dietary behaviour

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of socio-demographic and lifestyle determinants on the nutrition knowledge of Belgian women and the association between their knowledge and dietary behaviour. A total of 803 women, aged 18–39 years, were included in a cross-sectional study and completed a general and nutrition knowledge questionnaire and a 2-day food record. Their height and weight were measured under standardised conditions. Linear regression models showed independent significant associations between the following determinants and the women's nutrition knowledge (in order of importance): educational level, age, kind of occupation, smoking behaviour, and work status. Inconsistent or no associations were found for body mass index, physical activity, living situation, and whether or not they had children. The investigated determinants accounted for 13–14.5% of variance in total nutrition knowledge. A rise in nutrition knowledge was associated with a significant rise in consumption of vegetables and fruit, but no differences were seen for other dietary indicators. Most important determinants of the women's nutrition knowledge were educational level, age and their kind of occupation. Women who had better knowledge of nutrition also exhibited better dietary behaviour, thus underlying the importance of nutrition education for improving dietary behaviour.

Introduction

Nutrition-related health problems characteristic of the developed world, such as obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, are nowadays more frequently diagnosed worldwide and together have a significant impact on the overall health and well-being of the world population (Clugston and Smith, 2002, Wyatt et al., 2006). One of the main goals that (inter-)national public health policies need to achieve during the coming years is to combat the rise in prevalence of these nutrition-related health problems, in particular, obesity (Clugston and Smith, 2002, WHO, 2007). One way to do so is to increase people's nutrition knowledge (NK) base, relying on the assumption that exposing an individual to new information is a necessary condition to increase NK, possibly evoking changes in attitude and subsequently resulting in improvements in dietary behaviour (O’Brien and Davies, 2007, Verbeke, 2008).

The main objective of the present study is to examine the NK of young and middle-aged Belgian women and to define possible determinants of NK among them. Both the influence of socio-demographic and lifestyle determinants on the women's NK is investigated. Further, the association between the women's NK and their dietary behaviour is investigated in order to examine the assumption that a better NK base may be associated with healthier dietary behaviour. Insights in these women's NK, its determinants and the association with their dietary behaviour may provide valuable information for designing more effective and efficient public policies and food-related disease prevention campaigns.