Nutrition knowledge of high school senior students in Northwest Arkansas

Though there are many complex factors influencing diet, nutrition knowledge correlates with healthier food choices in older adolescents and can play a pivotal role in health. Nutrition curriculum was addressed in the state of Arkansas through Arkansas Act 1220 of 2003. Numerous changes have been seen in the school environment regarding nutrition, but there is no means of testing nutrition curriculum effectiveness in terms of nutrition knowledge of students. It is the purpose of this descriptive study to improve understanding of the nutrition knowledge of high school seniors. High school senior students (n = 25; males = 12, females = 13) successfully completed a validated Survey to Assess the Knowledge of Conventional and Unconventional Dietary Methods of Weight Control based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. The survey also included demographic questions and items regarding sources of nutrition information. The mean nutrition knowledge score (out of 24) was 8.7 ± 2.8 or 36% (min. score = 4, max. score = 14). There was no significant difference in nutrition knowledge scores based on ethnicity, those on specialized diets, frequency of eating out, physical activity, gender, source of nutrition information, thoughts about food, or for any criteria based categorizing scores by High/Low. Though the study indicates better education is needed, this pilot test should be followed up with a larger sample size to confirm these results

Pre-service health and physical education teachers’ obesity-related nutrition knowledge and food habits

This study aimed to quantify the levels of nutrition knowledge of pre-service health and physical education teachers as well as their ability to provide suitable weight-based advice to overweight adolescents. The influence of degree progression, gender and their own food habits on knowledge and ability was also assessed. Pre-service health and physical educators (n=72) were surveyed at three consecutive points in their degree with a questionnaire designed to extract information on demographics, food habits, nutrition knowledge related to obesity and knowledge about obesity counselling. Degree progression resulted in improvements to nutrition knowledge, as expected. When surveyed just prior to degree completion, scores on repeated measures reflect inaccuracies in obesity related nutrition knowledge and the propensity to advocate inappropriate weight-control advice to future overweight students. Females had higher levels of obesity-related nutrition knowledge than males. Gender was also significantly associated with obesity counselling knowledge among students in their second and fourth years of study and with dieting behaviours in second- and third-year students, with female students more likely to diet for weight control than their male peers. These results identify the need for further research into methods of increasing nutrition knowledge and obesity counselling skills in pre-service health and physical education teachers

The Nutrition Elite: Do Only the Highest Levels of Caloric Knowledge, Obesity Knowledge, and Motivation Matter in Processing Nutrition Ad Claims and Disclosures?

This study examines the role of the highest levels of caloric knowledge, obesity consequences knowledge, and motivation to search for nutrition information in the processing of relative nutrient content claims in advertisements, such as “half the calories” or “half the fat,” for products relatively high in total calorie levels. After controlling for the impact of demographics, dietary habits, body mass index, relative ad claims and disclosures, perceived weight gain risk, and other variables, the authors find curvilinear (quadratic) effects for caloric knowledge, obesity consequences knowledge, and motivation to search for nutrition information on intent to buy an advertised, high-calorie snack bar. This suggests a strengthening of the negative relationship for intent for consumers at the highest levels of caloric knowledge, obesity consequences knowledge, and motivation (i.e., the “nutrition elite”). The authors offer public policy implications, including whether achieving such exceedingly high levels of nutrition knowledge and motivation is realistic for the general public in light of other policy alternatives, such as market-based solutions (e.g., reducing serving sizes, standardized front-of-package icons)

The Influence of Endogenous Nutrition Knowledge on Consumers’ Willingness-To-Pay for Grass-Fed Beef

The relationship between nutrition knowledge and consumers’ food behavior has been debated for years. This may be partially attributed to the difficulty introduce by endogeneity of nutrition knowledge in econometric modeling. Using grass-fed beef as a vehicle, this paper investigates the impacts of consumers’ nutrition knowledge on their willingness to pay by accommodating the endogeneity problem using instrumental variable approach. Our results suggest that consumers’ nutrition knowledge significantly influences their willingness to pay for grass-fed beef. Gender and education are influential factors of consumers’ nutrition knowledge level.Nutrition Knowledge, Endogeneity, Willingness to Pay, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Marketing,

CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE OF SELECTED NUTRIENT CONTENT OF NINE FRESH MEAT CUTS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the medical profession, among others, have attempted to broaden consumers' knowledge of the nutritive content of foods. Retailers provide information by supplying point-of-purchase nutrition information and/or nutrition labels on fresh meats. The availability of nutrition information on packaged fresh meats is relatively new. A survey of Louisiana households provided estimates of their knowledge of the fat, cholesterol, and protein content of selected combinations of fresh beef, pork, chicken, and turkey meats. Permutation analysis and tabular analyses were used to assess households' nutrition knowledge of the selected fresh meats.beef, chicken, consumer knowledge, nutrient content, permutation analysis, pork, turkey, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

USDA's Healthy Eating Index and Nutrition Information

A comprehensive model is developed to measure the extent that nutrition knowledge and diet-health awareness, among other factors, influence an individual's Healthy Eating Index (HEI), USDA's measure of overall diet quality. This is the first study that rigorously attempts to examine variation in the index across population groups by controlling for personal and household characteristics and nutrition information levels, as well as test for the endogeneity of nutrition information. Results indicate that one's level of nutrition information has an important influence on one's HEI and that nutrition information and the HEI are simultaneously determined. Other factors explaining variations in HEI's across individuals are income and education levels, race, ethnicity, and age. Evidence supports the hypothesis that higher education promotes more healthful food choices through better acquisition and use of health information.diet quality, Healthy Eating Index, nutrient demand, nutrition knowledge, health inputs, health production, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Misunderstanding of Front-Of-Package Nutrition Information on US Food Products.

Front-of-package nutrition symbols (FOPs) are presumably readily noticeable and require minimal prior nutrition knowledge to use. Although there is evidence to support this notion, few studies have focused on Facts Up Front type symbols which are used in the US. Participants with varying levels of prior knowledge were asked to view two products and decide which was more healthful. FOPs on packages were manipulated so that one product was more healthful, allowing us to assess accuracy. Attention to nutrition information was assessed via eye tracking to determine what if any FOP information was used to make their decisions. Results showed that accuracy was below chance on half of the comparisons despite consulting FOPs. Negative correlations between attention to calories, fat, and sodium and accuracy indicated that consumers over-relied on these nutrients. Although relatively little attention was allocated to fiber and sugar, associations between attention and accuracy were positive. Attention to vitamin D showed no association to accuracy, indicating confusion surrounding what constitutes a meaningful change across products. Greater nutrition knowledge was associated with greater accuracy, even when less attention was paid. Individuals, particularly those with less knowledge, are misled by calorie, sodium, and fat information on FOPs

Nutrition education in portuguese medical students: impact on the attitudes and knowledge

Nutrition has been underrepresented in the curriculum of many medical schools and therefore physicians do not feel adequately prepared to provide dietary counselling. The aim of the present study is to determine the impact of a Nutrition and Metabolism curricular unit on nutrition attitudes, knowledge and confidence on future clinical practice of medical students.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INTEGRATION OF A PRODUCT CHOICE MODEL AND A LATENT VARIABLE MODEL OF NUTRITION INFORMATION

We develop and estimate an integrated discrete choice model system of product choice and nutrition information for prepared frozen meals in the United States in the period from 1993 to 1998, when government regulation of nutrition labeling changed from voluntary to mandatory. The model links consumer characteristics (e.g., income, knowledge about nutrition, nutrition label use) to product characteristics (e.g., prices, nutritional attributes) and allows us to obtain consumer preference parameters and demand elasticities with regard to product characteristics. We find that prices, advertising, price reductions, and consumer preferences for taste have a significant effect on the demand for prepared frozen meals, whereas knowledge about nutrition and nutrition label use do not. Using the estimated demand parameters we then evaluate the impact of the new mandatory labeling policy. The results show that consumer preferences and purchasing patterns within the prepared frozen meals category did not change significantly after the implementation of mandatory nutrition labeling.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Socio-economic Profiles of Nutrition Label Users

This paper aims to explore the socio-economic profiles of the nutrition label users and focuses on seven key nutrients: calories, calories from fat, total fat, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. The data are from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2006 and Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) 1994-96. Similar conclusions are drawn from both data sets: those consumers who are older, better educated, higher income, female, and have higher nutrition knowledge will have higher probability to use nutrition labels; those consumers who are in larger size families and being either Hispanic or black have lower probability of using nutrition labels.Socio-economic, Profiles, Nutrition Label, Users, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing,