Abstract
Understanding the factors that coexist with healthy and unhealthy eating behaviors is prevalent and important for public health. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between food involvement, eating restrictions, and dietary patterns in a representative sample of Polish adults. The study was conducted among a group of 1007 adults. Questions with the answers yes or no were used to obtain the data regarding eating restrictions. Data relating to food involvement were obtained with the Food Involvement Scale (FIS). Questions from the Beliefs and Eating Habits questionnaire were used to measure the frequency of consumption of different food groups. Five dietary patterns (DPs) were derived using principal component analysis (PCA), i.e., ‘Fruit and vegetables’, ‘Wholemeal food’, ‘Fast foods and sweets’, ‘Fruit and vegetable juices’ and “Meat and meat products’. In each of the DPs, three groups of participants were identified based on tertile distribution with the upper tertile denoting the most frequent consumption. Nearly two-thirds of the study sample declared some restrictions in food consumption. The probability of implementing restrictions in consumption of foods high in sugar, fat and high-fat foods increased in the upper tertile of ‘Fruit and vegetables’ and ‘Wholemeal’ DPs. Moreover, the probability of implementing restrictions in consumption of meat and high-starch products increased in ‘Wholemeal’ DP. The probability of using eating restrictions decreased in the upper tertile of ‘Fast foods and sweets’ and Meat and meat products’ DPs. In conclusion, individuals characterized by high food involvement were more inclined to use eating restrictions than individuals with lower food involvement. Their DPs were also healthier compared to those of individuals manifesting low food involvement. Therefore, promoting personal commitment to learning about and experiencing food may be an effective way of inducing a change of eating habits, and therefore a healthier diet.
Highlights
Research indicates that a significant proportion of the population, young women, use various dietary restrictions [1,2,3]
Present-day diets with a high content of fat, sweet, and energy density often correlate with higher body mass index (BMI) [5,6,7]
The results of our study have shown that implementation of eating restrictions is a common practice, with over 60% of the participants reporting this behavior
Summary
Research indicates that a significant proportion of the population, young women, use various dietary restrictions [1,2,3]. This practice may have both positive and negative effects on nutritional status, health, and on the quality of life. Present-day diets with a high content of fat, sweet, and energy density often correlate with higher body mass index (BMI) [5,6,7]. Some restraint in consumption of foods, and especially those undesirable in a healthy diet might be beneficial and healthy behavior.
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