THE EFFECTS OF NUTRITION EDUCATION ON LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH BEHAVIOUR OF HEALTH AND NON-HEALTH RELATED MAJOR INDIVIDUALS

AND MALES AND FEMALED IN HEALTH RELATED MAJORS

Author:

Tala L. Moshref

School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences,San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA 92182-7251

Running Head: Effects of Nutrition Education on lifestyle

Address correspondence to: Michael StoneSan Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA 92120-7251

Email: mstonemail.sdsu.edu

Phone/Fax: (858) 722-2520

Abstract

Objective

The effects of nutrition education on lifestyle and health behavior including food

choices and intake amongst students in health related majors and non health related majors as

well as male and female individuals in health related majors.

Methods

A total of 68 female and 29 male individuals (n=97) were provided with a

questionnaire form and were instructed on how to approach the questions. The data was

gathered and analyzed to determine if health related major students have healthier eating

habits compared to non health related major students. In addition, the data was used to

determine if female students in health related majors have healthier dietary habits compared

to male individuals in health related majors.

Results

The analysis from MEDFICTS showed that there was not a significant difference

between the two groups of health and non health related majors. Also, this test showed that

female students in HRM have a healthier diet compared to male individuals. The results from

Healthy Behavior Lifestyle Questionnaire showed that HRM subjects have healthier dietary

habits. The results from analyzing male and female food intake showed a slight difference in

all areas. Males consumed more processed meats and cheeses and females consumed more

nuts and seeds, lean meats and fruits. In addition, males needed to make some changes to

their dietary habits to have a heart healthy diet.

Conclusion

Nutrition education has some effect on people’s dietary choices and food intake. In

addition, female individuals in health related majors do follow a healthier dietary pattern

compare to male individuals.

Introduction

Nutrition is one of the most important factors in human health and has a lifelong

effect on their wellbeing. The relationship between diet and health has been recognized for

centuries [1]. In recent years this information has been vastly used to improve people’s

health. As the foods and nutrition industry evolves, understanding how and why individuals

utilize nutrition information to make food choices is an essential concept. However, there has

been a great debate on whether nutrition knowledge influences food choices or not. In a

previously conducted study, the nutrition knowledge and use of labels in making food choices

have been researched. The results confirmed that nutrition education does not have an

influence on reading food labels creating a weak bond between knowledge and health

behavior [2].

Some studies have shown that females in general pay more attention to their healthy

behaviors in regards to food intake compared to males. These results have been conducted

without considering nutrition knowledge. When this knowledge has actually been

considered, it is concluded that males and females are actually equal in using their knowledge

to read food labels and make better food choices [1]. Another study suggest that in general

male individuals have higher intakes of meats (processed and lean), fats and consume lower

amounts of whole or canned fruits and vegetables [3].

The purpose of this study was to identify the difference in food choices of health

related and non health related major individuals as well as the difference gender makes

amongst individuals in health related majors. The hypothesis was that health related major

students use their knowledge when choosing foods and therefore, follow a healthier diet

compared to non-health related majors. Also, as far as gender difference, the hypothesis was

that female individuals in health related majors follow a healthier diet compared to male

individuals.

Materials and Methods

Subjects

Initially, a total of 105 subjects filled out the survey. After selecting the appropriate

and fitting individuals, the number of participating subjects came down to 97. The age range

of participants was between 18-45 years old. This total included 68 female and 29 male

individuals. Amongst the subjects, 47 were in health related majors including Nursing,

Public Health, Exercise and Nutritional Sciences and Kinesiology majors. The remaining 50

subjects were from non health related majors such as Economics, Civil Engineering, Liberal

Studies and Computer Science.

Materials

Each survey package consisted of two parts: MEDFICTS Sample Dietary Assessment

Questionnaire keeping records of weekly consumption of certain foods such as meats, eggs

and dairy products and Healthy Behavior Lifestyle Questionnaire including questions on how

often certain types of foods such nuts, meats, cheesees, and fruits and vegetables were

consumed per day or per week.

Procedure

Students from two of the Nutrition 302 lab sections of spring 2014 were provided

with the survey forms and were trained to administer the questionnaires. Each student

recruited subjects from work, family, school, church and other groups. The data were then

collected and entered to a shared drive by each student. Next, the appropriate data was

selected by the instructor to be analyzed. Information was entered into an analyzing program

named SPSS and detailed data on correlations and some statistics were provided.

Analysis

All provided data was analyzed to estimate the effects of nutrition education on food

choices of health related major and non health related major individuals. In addition, the

effects of nutrition education on food choices of male and female individuals in health related

majors have been assessed.

Results

The results from the MEDFICTS indicated that both health related major (HRM)

subjects and NHRM subjects are within the heart healthy range in between 40-70. Also, the

MEDFICTS results indicated that males with a mean of 86 need to make some dietary

changes due to exceeding the normal ranges of 40-70. However, HRM female students

scored a mean of 58 for this test staying in the heart healthy dietary limit. See Figure A-1 for

a summary of results.

HRM NHRM HRM Male HRM Female0

102030405060708090

100

6368

86

56

Results from MEDFICTS

Heart Healthy DietHealthy Range Between 40-70

Mea

n

Figure A-1

The results from the Healthy Behavior Lifestyle Questionnaire are as follows: for the

first question the results indicated that HRM individuals with mean of 2.2 consume higher

amounts of nuts and seeds per week compared to NHRM students with a mean of 2.0. In

addition, the results indicated that HRM female individuals with mean of 2.3 consume higher

amounts of nuts and seeds compared to male individuals with mean of 1.9. The results from

the second question indicated that with mean of 3.2, HRM subjects consume more lean meat

compared to the non health related major subjects with mean of 3.0. In addition, the results

showed that male individuals in HRM consume a higher amount of lean meats with a mean of

3.5 compared to females with mean of 3.2. The results of the third question on the Healthy

Behavior Lifestyle Questionnaire indicated that individuals in NHRM with a mean of 2.3

consume more cheese compared to HRM subjects with a mean of 2.2. Also, the male

individuals in HRM with a mean of 2.8 consumed higher amounts of cheese compared to

female HRM with a mean of 2.1. The results for the fourth question showed that NHRM

subjects with a mean of 2.3 consume higher amounts of processed meats compared to HRM

individuals with a mean of 2.0. Furthermore, results showed that male participants in HRM

with a mean of 2.8 consume higher amounts of processed meats compared to females in

HRM with a mean of 1.8. The analysis of the fifth question showed that HRM participants

with a mean of 3.1 consume higher amounts of vegetables in comparison to NHMS with a

mean of 2.8. The results also indicated that males in HRM consume slightly higher amounts

of vegetables with a mean of 3.3 compared to HRM females with mean of 3.1. The results

from the last question indicated that HRM subjects with mean of 3.0 have higher intakes of

fruit or fruit juices compared to NHRM individuals with a mean of 2.6. Also, the results

showed that HRM female individuals with mean of 3.2 have a higher consumption of fruit

and fruit juices compared to male HRM individuals with mean of 2.3. Refer to figures A-2

and A-3 for a summary of results.

Lean Meats

Cheese

Processed Meats

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

3.2

2.2

2

3

2.3

2.3

3.5

2.8

2.8

3.2

2.1

1.8

Regular Consumption of Meets & Cheese

HRMF

HRMM

NHRM

HRM

Consumption

Food Product

Figure A-2

Nuts & Seeds

Vegetables

Fruit

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

2.2

3.1

3

2

2.8

2.6

1.9

3.3

2.3

2.3

3.1

3.2

Regular Consumption of Fruit, Vegetables &Nuts

HRMF

HRMM

NHRM

HRM

Consumption

Food Product

Figure A-3

Discussion

Some studies have shown that nutrition education does not make a difference in

people’s food choice and dietary habits. Referring to one of the studies supporting this idea,

even though there are many ways, such as the media, to educated people on healthier diets,

the amount of fat and cholesterol consumption has not changed on a population level [2]. In

some cases even though the education is there, translating it into daily life is a challenge. For

example, most Americans are familiar with USDA, United States Department of

Agriculture’s dietary guidelines but they are rarely able to utilize this information when

choosing foods. Therefore, it becomes clearer that education and knowledge in this area does

not make a difference in food choices [2]. In addition, other studies have shown that people

who are educated in health related majors such as nursing, have an acceptable level of

knowledge due to their education and application of this information on regular [5]. In

another study conducted on a low income/non working community with high levels of

children obesity, the level of knowledge on different food groups was measured. 75% of the

participants were familiar with all the food groups (grains, dairy, fats, carbohydrates,

proteins, fruit and vegetables). This knowledge of the food groups made the comparison

between nutrition knowledge and diet insignificant. The conductors were unable to study the

relationship between physical characteristics and nutrition knowledge with their designed

study because the results indicated that the level of nutrition information is high [6].

In the present study, part of the results gathered from MEDFICTS indicated that there

is not a significant difference between food choices of HRM and NHRM individuals. When

the final results of the second part, Healthy Behavior Lifestyle Questionnaire were analyzed,

the results showed that there actually is a difference in food choices of HRM students and

NHRM students. According to these results, HRM individuals consumed more fruits,

vegetables, nuts and seeds as well as lean meat products in comparison to NHRM individuals.

In addition, NHRM subjects consumed higher amounts of processed meats such as hot dogs,

burgers and bologna as well as cheeses compared to HRM. Since the questions and the

format of the second questionnaire were more clear and comprehensive, there is a high

chance that there is more accurate information gathered from there compared to the

MEDFICTS. Considering this margin of error, the concluded results are that there is a

difference between the food choices of HRM compared to NHRM subjects and nutrition

education does make a difference in food choices.

Some studies have shown a difference in dietary habits of male and female students.

The results suggest that male students are less evolved during food purchasing process and

are also less interested in reading food labels and purchasing healthier options in comparison

to female students [4]. Another study suggests that male individuals have higher intakes of

fatty dairy and meat products and low intakes of vegetables. These studies suggest that

females have a healthier diet and pay more attention to their food choices [3]. Another study

suggests that the healthy life style choices in males and females come from their personal

background, values and weight [7]. In the current study, the results indicate that females in

HRM consume a higher amount of fruits, vegetables and nuts and seeds. As some of the

previous studies have concluded, female individuals pay closer attention to their diet

compared to male individuals. Even though both groups were chosen from HRMs, the results

were not different.

Some limitations such as a wide age range, not providing enough instructions on how

to fill out the questionnaire and the small font of the MEDFICTS questionnaire and how it

was formatted could alter the final results. Nutrition education is becoming more and more

popular and having people from different age ranges with different nutrition knowledge

backgrounds can be closely looked at. If a similar study was conducted in the future, it is

suggested that the conductors create a smaller age range such as 18-35 years of age.

Refrences

[1] Marino M, Masella R, Bulzomi P, Campesi I, Malorni W, Franconi F, Nutrition and

Human health from a sex-gender perspective, Molecular Aspects of Medicine 2011; 32:1-

70.

[2] Nayga RM, Nutrition knowledge, gender and food label use, The Journal of Consumer

Affairs 2000; 34-112.

[3] Silimon K, Rodas-Fortier K, Neyman M, A survey of exercise and dietary habits and

perceived barriers to following a healthy lifestyle in a college population, Californian

Journal of Health Promotion 2004; 2:10-19.

[4] Van Der Merwe D, Kempen E, Breedt S, De Beer H, Food choice: student consumer’s

Decision-making process regarding food products with limited label information,

International Journal of Consumer Studies 2010; 34:11-18.

[5] Yalcin N, Cihan A, Gundogdu H, Ocakci A, Nutrition knowledge levels of nurses, Health

Science Journal 2012;7:99.

[6] Cluss PA, Ewing L, King WC, Cohen Reis E, Dobb JL, Penner B, Nutrition knowledge of

Low income parents of obese children, Translational Behavioural Medicine 2013;3:218.

[7] Worsley W, Wang CW, Gender differences in the influence of food safety and health

concerns on dietary and physical activity levels, Food Policy 2013;41:184-192.