Attitudes and knowledge of fruit and vegetable recommendations among adults using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) survey

Abstract

Few studies describe the influence of attitudes on knowledge of dietary recommendations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of knowledge about current fruit and vegetable (FV) recommendations among adults in the US, and to determine whether attitudes toward dietary recommendations, and other FV knowledge are associated with knowledge of the FV recommendation. We analyzed data from 3,021 adults who participated in the 2007 NCI Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) survey. Data were weighted and analyzed using logistic regression. Few participants (6%) knew the current recommendation of 7–13 daily servings of FV for adults. A higher proportion (24%) knew the former “5 A Day” recommendation. Participants were more likely to know the older and more inclusive recommendation of 5–13 daily servings of FV if they reported that they paid attention to government recommendations (OR=1.48, 95% CI=1.16–1.88), believed that what a person eats affects his/her health (OR=1.93, 95% CI=1.34–2.78), and were able to correctly categorize a list of foods as fruit, vegetable or “other” food. Findings suggest the need for interventions to increase awareness of current campaigns such as the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters, to help ensure that adults are knowledgeable of the current FV recommendation so that they may develop positive attitudes toward dietary recommendations, and consequently, increase their FV intake.