Communicating Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Room for improvement
Section snippets
Methods
Sample Selection
An experienced firm fielded the research (11). A moderator conducted 5 focus groups comprised of 40 participants (8 per group), aged 25 to 45 years. Three groups were conducted in Baltimore, Md (2 groups of women and 1 group of men) and 2 in St Louis, Mo (1 group each of men and women).
The site coordinators recruited participants by telephone. Participants in St Louis received a $40 incentive, and those in Baltimore received $50.The coordinators audiotaped and videotaped all
Results
The sample reflected a range of demographic characteristics of the US population (see Table 1).
Awareness of healthy dietary behaviors, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and other educational tools
Most respondents described a healthful diet as eating well-balanced meals, with foods from several food groups, and eating in moderation. Respondents were somewhat familiar with the Food Guide Pyramid (9) because it is featured on many products, including cereal boxes. Some could describe the
Applications/Conclusions
■ Target and test messages. This research suggests that messages used in dietetics practice need to be tested and targeted for specific subpopulations because several guideline messages confused respondents. These included “Maintain or improve your weight,” “Balance the food you eat with physical activity,” “Balance your consumption of high-fat foods with low-fat foods” and “Balance your fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake over a few days.” Respondents’ confusion regarding the word
Limitations
As with all focus group research, the findings are based on a small sample of respondents, and thus do not statistically represent the total population. Therefore, although the findings presented in this report accurately reflect the opinions expressed in the groups, they should be interpreted as suggestive rather than definitive.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans can significantly improve the health of Americans if consumers are provided with concise, actionable, important messages in a
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Cited by (18)
Putting the dietary guidelines for americans into action: Behavior-directed messages to motivate parents-phase iii quantitative message testing and survey evaluation
2013, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsCitation Excerpt :Messages that target parental support by encouraging parents to act as role models may promote increased activity levels among all family members. Focus group findings9 showed consumers had initial difficulty grasping the term “energy balance,” which has been observed in previous studies.16,23,24 However, a detailed message about what energy balance entails—“Take Charge of Your Weight: Balancing the calories you eat and drink with the calories you burn through physical activity puts you in control”—was considered most believable and motivating by participants.
Putting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans into Action: Behavior-Directed Messages to Motivate Parents-Phase I and II Observational and Focus Group Findings
2013, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsCitation Excerpt :Still, parents indicated time spent on children's activities decreased time available for their own physical activity and often compromised the perceived healthfulness of their family's diet choices. As in previous research,10,16 participants did not readily understand the term energy balance. Once explained, parents indicated they understood the concept but were reluctant to count every calorie and struggled to stay motivated to be physically active.
Picking the Nutrition Facts from the Fads: An Internet-based Tutorial
2007, Journal of Nutrition Education and BehaviorCitation Excerpt :Analysis of nutrition news reported in media aimed at the general consumer makes it clear that there is no agreement on the meaning of “being healthy” and how to achieve that goal. An increasing demand for information and guidance on achieving optimal health has been met with an even larger amount of misinformation, quackery, and fraud.1,2 Advertising, news articles, and testimonials entice consumers of all ages with claims of wondrous transformations seen without making changes in lifestyle.
Setting dietary guidelines: The US process
2003, Journal of the American Dietetic AssociationA review of consumer awareness, understanding and use of food-based dietary guidelines
2011, British Journal of Nutrition