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Americans Starved for Dietary Information

Americans Starved for Dietary Information

by Deborah Jordan Brooks

Don't eat eggs. Eat eggs. Eat a low-fat diet rich in carbohydrates. Eat the fat, don't touch the carbohydrates. The debate about the relative merits of different diets has reached a fevered pitch (see "Dieter's Dilemma: Bagels or Bacon?" in Related Items), and it is no wonder that some health-conscious people are confused about how to eat right. According to a July 2002 Gallup poll*, 24% of Americans are very or somewhat confused about how to eat a healthy diet, up from 17% three years ago.

A large percentage of Americans are trying to keep up-to-date on how to eat well -- 55% say they pay at least a fair amount of attention to food warnings and nutritional recommendations. However, that level of interest varies among different groups. Those differences matter as health officials address America's obesity problem and determine how to reach as many overweight people as possible with dietary guidance.

Level of Interest Higher Among Certain Groups

Who pays the most attention to food warnings and nutritional information? While 22% of Americans overall say they pay "a lot" of attention to these kinds of information, there are some important regional, age and health status differences. Denizens of the western United States, generally thought of as more health conscious than people in other parts of the country, give more attention to food warnings and nutritional recommendations, with 28% saying that they pay a lot of attention. This compares to only 19% of Midwesterners, 20% of Southerners, and 23% of Easterners.

Older people are about twice as likely as younger people to be interested in food and nutritional information: 13% of 18- to 29-year-olds pay a lot of attention, compared to 27% of people aged 50 and older. Declining health among older people may be a contributing factor, because health status certainly influences people's level of attention to the dietary concerns. People who say they are in fair or poor health are more likely than people in good health to pay a lot of attention to food and nutritional information (interestingly, people who say they are in "excellent" health fall in the middle).

On the other hand, there is no difference in attention levels between people who say they are overweight and those who consider themselves to be about the right weight. Those among the two groups who do pay attention may be doing so for entirely different reasons -- maintaining a healthy diet and weight versus improving their dietary habits in the effort to lose weight -- but the overall level of interest appears to be the same.

Level of Attention Related to Healthy Eating

Not surprisingly, people who pay more attention to food warnings and nutritional information are far more likely to make what are generally considered to be healthy dietary choices. People who pay at least a fair amount of attention to food and nutrition are most likely to actively attempt to avoid fat, salt and sugar in their diets. In a similar vein, people who pay more attention to the subject are more likely to actively try to include healthier items such as vegetables, fruits, poultry and seafood in their diets than those who are less attentive.

Key Points

It's impossible to tell whether the relationship between interest in nutrition and healthy eating is because people who read about the subject use the information to eat a healthy diet, or if it is simply because people with good diets enjoy reading information that validates their good dietary choices. Regardless, it is clear that the people who pay the least attention to the subject have the most questionable dietary inclinations. The implication is that those most in need of nutrition-related information are the least likely to receive the information through food warning or nutrition labels.

Because people who have unhealthy diets are unlikely to be attuned to nutrition-related information on their own, medical professionals and others should initiate direct discussions of dietary health with them at every opportunity. Changing people's behavior is obviously very difficult, but helping patients overcome a substantial knowledge deficit at least gives them a chance to eat a healthy diet if, and when, they choose to do so.

*Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,004 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted July 9-11, 2002. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3%.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/6670/americans-starved-dietary-information.aspx
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