Health behaviours and awareness of Canada's food guide: A population-based study

Nonsikelelo Mathe, Calypse B. Agborsangaya, Christina C. Loitz, Jeffrey A. Johnson, Steven T. Johnson

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

    6 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Purpose: Lifestyle behaviours among adults reporting awareness of Canada's Food Guide (CFG) are described. Methods: Data from a cross-sectional survey of adults from Alberta were used to estimate the prevalence of reported health behaviours among respondents aware of the CFG. Results: Respondents (n = 1044) reported general awareness of CFG (mean age 50.3 years; 54.2% female) of whom 82.2% reported awareness of specific CFG recommendations. Respondents reported frequently reading food labels (>58.0%), reading the number of calories (45.5%), the amount of sodium (49.5%), the amount of fat (46.7%), and the type of fat (45.5%) on the food label. Most respondents (90.0%) reported frequently selecting foods to promote health. Approximately one-third of the respondents (35.8%) reported frequently consuming ≥5 portions of vegetables and fruit per day and regularly participating in physical activity (55.3%). Body weight was perceived as healthy by 63.4% of the respondents. Most engaged in 2 health behaviours frequently. Adjusting for important sociodemographic characteristics, those who reported frequently consuming ≥5 portions of vegetables and fruit per day were more likely to engage in a second health behaviour outlined in CGF (OR: 23.6, 95% CI (16.2-34.4)). Conclusion: Awareness of CFG did not translate to positive health behaviours. More proactive population level strategies to support specific health behaviours as outlined in CFG might be warranted.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)66-71
    Number of pages6
    JournalCanadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
    Volume77
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun. 2016

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