Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 Apr;15(2):163-74.
doi: 10.1093/her/15.2.163.

Demographic variation in nutrition knowledge in England

K Parmenter  1 , J Waller, J Wardle
Affiliations

Demographic variation in nutrition knowledge in England

K Parmenter et al. Health Educ Res. 2000 Apr.

Abstract

This paper describes a nutrition knowledge survey carried out on a cross-section of the adult population of England (n = 1040), looking at knowledge relating to current dietary recommendations, sources of nutrients, healthy food choices and diet-disease links. Serious gaps in knowledge about even the basic recommendations were discovered, and there was much confusion over the relationship between diet and disease. Significant differences in knowledge between socio-demographic groups were found, with men having poorer knowledge than women, and knowledge declining with lower educational level and socio-economic status. Possible reasons for these differences and implications for public education campaigns and socio-economic inequalities in health are discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Percentage correct on each section for men and women; ▪ indicates women, ▪ indicates men.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Knowledge differences across educational levels. From left to right, bars represent `No qualifications', `O level', `A level' and `Degree'.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Knowledge differences across SES groups. From left to right, bars represent classes `I', `II', `III non-manual', `III manual', `IV' and `V'.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Knowledge differences across age groups. From left to right, bars represent the following age groups: `18–34', `35–44', `45–54', `55–64' and `65 and over'.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adler N. E., Boyce T., Chesney M. S., Cohen S., Folkman S., Kahn R. L., Syme S. L. Socioeconomic status and health. American Psychologist. 1994;49:15–24. - PubMed
    1. Anderson A. A., Cox D. N., McKellar S., Reynolds J., Lean M. E. J., Mela D. J. Take Five, a nutrition education intervention to increase fruit and vegetable intakes: impact on attitudes towards dietary change. British Journal of Nutrition. 1998;80:133–140. - PubMed
    1. Anderson A. S., Umapathy D., Palumbo L., Pearson D. W. M. Nutrition knowledge assessed in a group of medical in-patients. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 1988;1:39–46.
    1. Bridgwood A., Savage D. People, households and families. In General Household Survey 1991. 1993. HMSO, London.
    1. Buttriss J. L. Food and nutrition: attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge in the United Kingdom. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1997;65:1985S–1995S. - PubMed

Publication types