Nutritional knowledge and consumption frequency of foods - a case study

Nutritional knowledge and consumption frequency of foods a case study. The relationship between nutritional knowledge and the consumption frequency of preferred food-types was studied among one sample of Uruguayan consumers. A locally-adapted version of Parmenter & Wardle's General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire and a food consumption survey based on 39 food groups were completed by a total of 270 participants. Cluster Analysis enabled the identification of two clusters showing different levels of nutritional knowledge -cluster 1 (n = 177) and cluster 2 (n = 93), providing an average of 73.6% and 52.9% of correct answers, respectively. These clusters differed significantly (p <= 0.05) in age and educational distribution -cluster I was composed mainly by older adults and persons with a higher educational level. A number of areas were identified where nutritional knowledge was extremely poor, as was the case with the recommended daily fruit and vegetable intake and the caloric content of the nutrients. Overall, nutritional knowledge was found to have a positive influence on food preferences and consumption frequency, those participants with a higher nutritional knowledge reporting a higher consumption of fruits, vegetables and low-fat products, in addition to a lower consumption of high-fat and high-sugar foods.