Relationship of Diet-Health Attitudes and Nutrition Knowledge of Household Meal

The relationship of household meal planners’ diet-health attitudes and nutrition knowledge to their fat and fiber intakes and to the intakes of 2- to 5-year-old children in the households was examined using data from the 1989–91 Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals and Diet Health Knowledge Survey (CSFII/DHKS). Selected households (n = 478) provided 24-hour diet recalls and the households’ main meal planners responded to the DHKS. Meal planner attitude variables were defined according to the Health Belief Model and selected CSFII/DHKS questions served as proxy measures. The relationship of meal planners’ attitudes and knowledge to meal planners’ and children's fat and fiber consumption at home and in the total diet was analyzed using multiple regression. Several diet-health attitude variables were significantly related to meal planners’ fat and fiber intakes and relationships were similar for foods eaten at home and for foods eaten in the total diet. Knowledge was significantly related to meal planners’ and children's home fat intake (p < .05) but the relationships failed to reach statistical significance for the total diets. Meal planners’ taste concerns differed significantly in their relationship to meal planners’ and children's fiber consumption (p < .05). Results indicate that parents’ diet-health attitudes are more influential in their diets than in the diets of preschoolers. Findings also suggest that taste and practical food concerns are significant barriers to healthy eating among younger adults and that general nutrition knowledge may not be as helpful in making healthy food choices outside the home as it may be in the home setting.