Background – Current scientific literature has yet to provide strong support for the role of nutrition knowledge in influencing food intake behaviours. This relationship may have been prematurely rejected, as previous measures of nutrition knowledge used have lacked validity and reliability; and measuring dietary intake is notoriously difficult. Objective – Test a valid and reliable measure of nutrition knowledge to assess the relationship between knowledge and dietary intake in two South Australian communities of differing socio-economic status (SES).
Design – Nutrition knowledge was measured in two community groups in South Australia: a lower SES sample (Low-SES, n = 118) and a higher SES sample (High-SES, n = 96). Dietary intake was measured within a smaller sub-sample of the two groups by validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and assessed using a diet quality index and food group analysis.
Outcomes – Low-SES scored significantly lower on three of the four knowledge areas: specifically, knowledge of the sources of nutrients, choosing everyday foods and knowledge of diet-disease relationships (p<0.001). Overall, the total nutrition knowledge score (out of a possible 113) was almost 13 points lower for Low-SES compared to High-SES (a notably significant difference; p<0.001). Preliminary analysis of reported dietary intake (FFQ) suggests that individuals from the lower SES community were consuming less fruit and vegetables, more high sugar, low fibre carbohydrates foods and less variety in their food choices.
Conclusions – Nutrition knowledge levels differed significantly between community samples of differing SES. Differences in diet quality appear to be present. Further analysis will be conducted on the strength of the relationship between nutrition knowledge and dietary intake and located within the context of other factors that impact upon dietary behaviour.