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What should I eat? Awareness of Canada’s Food Guide

What should I eat? Awareness of Canada’s Food Guide. Lana Vanderlee , Cassondra McCrory & David Hammond CPHA Annual Meeting May 27, 2014. Image credit: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/order-commander/index-eng.php#a1.

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What should I eat? Awareness of Canada’s Food Guide

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  1. What should I eat?Awareness of Canada’s Food Guide Lana Vanderlee, Cassondra McCrory& David Hammond CPHA Annual Meeting May 27, 2014

  2. Image credit: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/order-commander/index-eng.php#a1

  3. Image credit: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/the-politics-of-food-guides-1.1268575

  4. Image credit: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/order-commander/index-eng.php#a1

  5. Background • Few adults meet recommendations1,2 • Particularly for Vegetables and Fruits and Grain Products • 56% could name four food groups in 1997, and 41% in 2001.3 • Government sources have high credibility, but few people use them4 GarriguetD. Overview of Canadians’ eating habits. Health Rep 2004;2:82-620. Black JL et al. Do Canadians meet Canada's Food Guide's recommendations for fruits and vegetables? ApplPhysiolNutrMetab 2013;38(3):234-242 Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition. Tracking Nutrition Trends: A 20-year history. 2009 Goodman S et al. Use of nutritional information in Canada: national trends between 2004 and 2008. J NutrEducBehav2011;43(5):356-365

  6. Research Objectives • Examine awareness of Canada’s Food Guide • Examine content knowledge of Canada’s Food Guide • Examine knowledge of estimated energy requirements from Canada’s Food Guide

  7. Methods • 10 minute intercept exit interviews • 2 hospital cafeterias in Ottawa, Canada • Aug/Sept 2013 • Questions on what they ordered, nutrition behaviours and knowledge, and socio-demographics

  8. Measures • Last use of Canada’s Food Guide • Knowledge of food groups • Knowledge of recommended servings of each food group • Vegetables and Fruit = 7-10 • Grain Products = 6-8 • Milk and Alternatives = 2-3 • Meat and Alternatives = 2-3

  9. Measures • Knowledge of recommended calorie intake • Physical activity level • Socio-demographic measures

  10. Analysis • Linear regression • Number of food groups names (0 – 4 groups) • Adjusted for socio-demographic variables • Gender • Age • Ethnicity • Income • BMI • How recently they had viewed the food guide

  11. Results

  12. Sample Characteristics • 59% female • 30.3% 55+ years • 47.3% > $80,000/yrhousehold income • 80.8% White • 53.9% overweight or obese

  13. Ability to recall food groups (n=1,048) Vegetables and Fruit All four groups Milk and Alternatives Meat and Alternatives Grain Products

  14. Ability to recall recommended servings (n=1,048) Vegetables and Fruit All four groups Milk and Alternatives Meat and Alternatives Grain Products

  15. Who recalled more food groups? • Viewed the food guide (p<0.001 for all) • Females(p=0.013) • Younger age categories (p<0.01) • White participants (p<0.001) • Higher income groups (p<0.01 for all) • BMI was not significant

  16. Knowledge of calorie recommendations • 4.7% could identify recommendation specific to age, gender and physical activity level • 29.0%could identify recommendation specific only to age and gender. • 50.0% underestimated • 8.8% overestimated • 12.2% were not able or willing to provide a guess • Answers ranged from 3 to 20,000 calories

  17. Limitations & Strengths Limitations • Sample from hospital cafeterias • Broad categories for “correct” responses Strengths • Unprompted recall of groups and recommended servings

  18. Discussion • Relatively low levels of use of Canada’s Food Guide and very low levels of knowledge of food guide content. • Knowledge was lower among populations that face health disparities • Very few participants knew calorie recommendations • Implications for nutritional literacy and ‘calorie literacy’

  19. Image credit: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/order-commander/guide_trans-trad-eng.php and http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/pubs/fnim-pnim/index-eng.php

  20. Discussion • Relatively low levels of use of Canada’s Food Guide and very low levels of knowledge of food guide content. • Knowledge was lower among populations that face health disparities • Very few participants knew calorie recommendations • Implications for nutritional literacy and ‘calorie literacy’

  21. Conclusion • Poor ‘basic understanding’ of Canada’s official recommendations for diet and nutrition. • Improving knowledge and understanding of CFG may lead to improved nutrition behaviours • Sustained campaigns and coordinated efforts with other nutrition programs may improve uptake.

  22. Acknowledgements Funding for the project provided by: Additional support provided by: Stipend support to Lana Vanderlee funded by the CIHR Training Grant in Population Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention: A Pan-Canadian Program (Grant #53893)

  23. Questions? Lana VanderleePhD Student School of Public Health and Health Systems University of Waterloo Email: lana.vanderlee@uwaterloo.ca Tel: 519-888-4567 ext. 31066

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