HealthLink: Canadian insights on nutrition knowledge, attitudes and behaviour
The Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition recently released the sixth wave of the Tracking Nutrition Trends (TNT) consumer research study in October. This survey has tracked what Canadians know, think and do about nutrition since it was first launched in 1989. Over the years, the TNT study has provided valuable insight into Canadians self-reported eating habits and attitudes about food and nutrition. It also monitors sources of nutrition information and consumers’ understanding and use of nutrition labelling. The 2006 survey evolved to collect baseline data on perceptions and behaviours relating to functional foods, food claims, health programs and nutrition information at food service. A telephone survey of 2,014 Canadians nationwide was employed in data collection.
Taste, nutrition, cost and convenience continue to be key drivers of food choices. Taste and nutrition were rated as very or somewhat important by 96% of respondents. When asked ‘what makes a food healthy?’ the most frequently cited factor, identified by 30%, is that it ‘contains good nutrients’. ‘Maintaining good health’ was found to be the most influential factor motivating food choices: 93% of respondents thought it was at least somewhat influential, followed by ‘to get energy or stamina’ (76%), ‘weight management/body image’ (70%), and ‘following a special or prescribed diet’ (39%).
Although most rated their eating habits and health as at least good and their nutrition knowledge as high, there appear to be gaps in understanding. A remarkable 72% agreed incorrectly that ‘the amount of cholesterol that people eat is the major factor that affects their blood cholesterol’. And only 20% claimed to have ever heard about functional foods before the survey. Some of the other key findings in this report include:
• 62% said that they had changed their eating habits in the previous 12 months.
• Only 8% admitted to participating in a popular weight loss diet during that time.
• 77% said they used food labels, the most popular source of nutrition information, at least once.
• 32% responded that a nutrition or health claim had attracted their attention.
• Only 23% said they had personally received nutrition information from a dietitian.
The full TNT VI report identifies opportunities for education to bridge knowledge gaps.
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