Unhealthful diets are strongly linked to health problems, including obesity, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Past efforts to improve population diet centered on conveying the importance of nutrition and nutrition knowledge. This study examines if the effect of the knowledge of specific nutrient’s function on dietary behavior is mediated by motivation towards better health. Survey data used in this study was obtained via a web-panel survey that was conducted by Ipsos-Observer. We employed the mediation analysis method that is established in the literature. We find that motivation mediates the influence of the knowledge of nutrients’ function on dietary behaviors. Individuals with high health-motivation and higher levels of the knowledge of nutrients’ dietary functions exhibit healthier dietary behaviors than individuals with low-health motivation but high levels of nutrients’ functional knowledge. Furthermore, individuals with health problems exhibited higher motivation to maintain healthy diet. A key implication is that efforts to promote healthy dietary behaviors should consider motivation in addition to providing tools, such as nutrients’ functional knowledge and nutrition labels. Simply conveying the importance of nutrition itself may not be enough to motivate people to affect diet changes. Educating about the specific role of nutrients’ in human health might motivate more individuals to modify diet.
Published in | Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 1) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11 |
Page(s) | 1-9 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Diet Behavior, Nutrients’ Dietary Function, Motivation, Nutrition, Diet
[1] | Fardet, A. and Boirie, Y. (2014), Associations between food and beverage groups and major diet-related chronic diseases: an exhaustive review of pooled/meta-analyses and systematic reviews, Nutrition Reviews. Vol. 72, No. 12. [place unknown]: Oxford Academic. p. 741-762. |
[2] | McCullough, M. L., Feskanich, D., Stampfer, M. J. et al. (2002), Diet quality and major chronic disease risk in men and women: moving toward improved dietary guidance, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol. 76, No. 6. [place unknown]: Oxford Academic. p. 1261-1271. |
[3] | Solbak N. M., Xu J., Vena J. E., Csizmadi I., Whelan H. K., Robson P. J. (2017) Diet quality is associated with reduced incidence of cancer and self-reported chronic disease: Observations from Alberta's Tomorrow Project, Preventive Medicine. Vol. 101. [place unknown]: Elsevier. p. 178-187. |
[4] | Schiwal A., Fauth E. B., Wengreen H., Norton M. (2020). The Gray Matters App Targeting Health Behaviors Associated with Alzheimer’s Risk: Improvements in Intrinsic Motivation and Impact on Diet Quality and Physical Activity. Vol. 24. [place unknown]: [The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging]. p. 893-899. |
[5] | Frerichs L., Bess K., Young T. L., Hoover S. M., Calancie L., Wynn M., McFarlin S., Cene C. W., Dave G., Corbie-Smith G. (2020). A Cluster Randomized Trial of a Community-Based Intervention Among African-American Adults: Effects on Dietary and Physical Activity Outcomes. Vol 21. [place unknown]: [Prevention Science]. p. 344-354. |
[6] | Dashti S., Dabaghi P., Tofangchiha S. (2020). The effectiveness of training program based on protective motivation theory on improving nutritional behaviors and physical activity in military patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vol. 9, No. 7. [place unknown]: [Medknow Publications]. p. 3328-3332. |
[7] | Wardle, J., Parmenter, K. and Waller, J. (2000), Nutrition knowledge and food intake, Appetite. Vol. 34, No. 3. [place unknown]: Elsevier. p. 269-275. |
[8] | Brug, J. (2008), Determinants of healthy eating: motivation, abilities and environmental opportunities. Family Practice, Vol. 25, No. Supplement 1. [place unknown]: Oxford University Press., p. 50-55. |
[9] | De Boer J., Schösler H., Aiking H. (2017) Towards a reduced meat diet: Mindset and motivation of young vegetarians, low, medium and high meat-eaters. Vol. 113. [place unknown]: Appetite. p. 387-397. |
[10] | Petrovici, D. A. and Ritson, C. (2006), Factors influencing consumer dietary health preventative behaviours, BMC Public Health. Vol. 6, No. 222. [place unknown]: [BioMed Central Ltd]. |
[11] | Moorman, C. and Matulich, E. (1993), A model of consumers' preventive health behaviours: The role of health motivation and health ability, Journal of Consumer Research. Vol. 20, No. 2. [place unknown]: [Oxford Academic]. p. 208-228. |
[12] | Miller, L. M. S. and Cassady, D. L. (2012), Making healthy food choices using nutrition facts panels. The roles of knowledge, motivation, dietary modifications goals, and age. Appetite, Vol. 59, No. 1. [place unknown]: Academic Press Inc. p. 129-139. |
[13] | Michaelidou, N., Christodoulides, G. and Torova, K. (2012), Determinants of healthy eating: a cross-national study on motives and barriers. International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 36, No. 1. [place unknown]: [Oxford University Press]. p. 17-22. |
[14] | Sun, T., Lin, S. and Kolodinsky, J. (2014), Hierarchical trait predictors of healthy diet: a comparison between US and Chinese young consumers, International Journal of Consumer Studies. Vol. 38, No. 6. [place unkown]: Appetite. p. 620-627. |
[15] | Steptoe, A. and Wardle, J. (1999), Motivational factors as mediators of socioeconomic variations in dietary intake patterns, Psychology and Health. Vol. 14, No 3. [place unknown]: [Taylor & Francis]. p. 391-402 |
[16] | Povey, R., Conner, M., Sparks, P. et al. (1998), Interpretations of healthy and unhealthy eating, and implications for dietary change. Health Education Research, Vol. 13, No. 2. [place unknown]; Oxford University Press. p. 171-183. |
[17] | Eikenberry, N. and Smith, C. (2004), Healthful eating: perceptions, motivations, barriers, and promoters in low-income Minnesota communities, Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Vol. 104, No. 7. [place unknown]: Elsevier p. 1158-61 |
[18] | Hochbaum, G., Rosenstock, I., and Kegels, S. (1952), Health belief model. United States Public Health Service. [Washington, DC.]: SAGE. |
[19] | Becker, M. H., Maiman, L. A., Kirscht, J. P. et al. (1977), The Health Belief Model and Prediction of Dietary Compliance: A Field Experiment. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, Vol. 18 No. 4. [place unknown]: American Sociological Association. p. 348-366. |
[20] | National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Dietary Supplements. (2019). Potassium Fact Sheet for Consumers. available at https://ods.od.nih.gov/pdf/factsheets/Potassium-Consumer.pdf (accessed 01 April 2020). |
[21] | Mayo Clinic. (2016), High cholesterol. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/diagnosis-treatment/diagnosis/dxc-20181913 |
[22] | Baron, R. M. and Kenny, D. A. (1986), The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 51 No. 6. [place unknown]: American Phycological Association. p. 1173-1182. |
[23] | Kenny, D. A., Kashy, D. A., and Bolger, N. (1998), Data analysis in social psychology. Gilbert, D., Fiske, S., and Lindzey, G. (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology |
[24] | Choi, H., Paek, H-J., and King, K. W. (2012) Are nutrient-content claims always effective? International Journal of Advertising. Vol. 31, No. 2. [place unknown]: Elsevier., p. 421-443. New York: McGraw-Hill., p. 233-265. |
APA Style
Michael Lindbloom, Jebaraj Asirvatham, Wanki Moon, Ira Altman. (2021). Motivation Mediates the Influence of the Knowledge of Nutrients’ Function on Diet. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 9(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11
ACS Style
Michael Lindbloom; Jebaraj Asirvatham; Wanki Moon; Ira Altman. Motivation Mediates the Influence of the Knowledge of Nutrients’ Function on Diet. J. Food Nutr. Sci. 2021, 9(1), 1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11
AMA Style
Michael Lindbloom, Jebaraj Asirvatham, Wanki Moon, Ira Altman. Motivation Mediates the Influence of the Knowledge of Nutrients’ Function on Diet. J Food Nutr Sci. 2021;9(1):1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11
@article{10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11, author = {Michael Lindbloom and Jebaraj Asirvatham and Wanki Moon and Ira Altman}, title = {Motivation Mediates the Influence of the Knowledge of Nutrients’ Function on Diet}, journal = {Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences}, volume = {9}, number = {1}, pages = {1-9}, doi = {10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfns.20210901.11}, abstract = {Unhealthful diets are strongly linked to health problems, including obesity, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Past efforts to improve population diet centered on conveying the importance of nutrition and nutrition knowledge. This study examines if the effect of the knowledge of specific nutrient’s function on dietary behavior is mediated by motivation towards better health. Survey data used in this study was obtained via a web-panel survey that was conducted by Ipsos-Observer. We employed the mediation analysis method that is established in the literature. We find that motivation mediates the influence of the knowledge of nutrients’ function on dietary behaviors. Individuals with high health-motivation and higher levels of the knowledge of nutrients’ dietary functions exhibit healthier dietary behaviors than individuals with low-health motivation but high levels of nutrients’ functional knowledge. Furthermore, individuals with health problems exhibited higher motivation to maintain healthy diet. A key implication is that efforts to promote healthy dietary behaviors should consider motivation in addition to providing tools, such as nutrients’ functional knowledge and nutrition labels. Simply conveying the importance of nutrition itself may not be enough to motivate people to affect diet changes. Educating about the specific role of nutrients’ in human health might motivate more individuals to modify diet.}, year = {2021} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Motivation Mediates the Influence of the Knowledge of Nutrients’ Function on Diet AU - Michael Lindbloom AU - Jebaraj Asirvatham AU - Wanki Moon AU - Ira Altman Y1 - 2021/01/18 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11 DO - 10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11 T2 - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences JF - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences JO - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-7293 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20210901.11 AB - Unhealthful diets are strongly linked to health problems, including obesity, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Past efforts to improve population diet centered on conveying the importance of nutrition and nutrition knowledge. This study examines if the effect of the knowledge of specific nutrient’s function on dietary behavior is mediated by motivation towards better health. Survey data used in this study was obtained via a web-panel survey that was conducted by Ipsos-Observer. We employed the mediation analysis method that is established in the literature. We find that motivation mediates the influence of the knowledge of nutrients’ function on dietary behaviors. Individuals with high health-motivation and higher levels of the knowledge of nutrients’ dietary functions exhibit healthier dietary behaviors than individuals with low-health motivation but high levels of nutrients’ functional knowledge. Furthermore, individuals with health problems exhibited higher motivation to maintain healthy diet. A key implication is that efforts to promote healthy dietary behaviors should consider motivation in addition to providing tools, such as nutrients’ functional knowledge and nutrition labels. Simply conveying the importance of nutrition itself may not be enough to motivate people to affect diet changes. Educating about the specific role of nutrients’ in human health might motivate more individuals to modify diet. VL - 9 IS - 1 ER -