Abstract
Despite their nutritional value, population-level nut consumption remains low. Studies suggest that individuals would eat more nuts on their doctor’s advice, making health professionals potentially important for promoting nut consumption. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the perceptions and knowledge of nuts and the predictors of nut promotion among health professionals in New Zealand. Dietitians, general practitioners (GPs), and practice nurses were identified from the Electoral Roll and invited to complete a questionnaire (n = 318, 292, and 149 respondents respectively). Over one-fifth of GPs and practice nurses believed that eating nuts could increase blood cholesterol concentrations and cause weight gain. The most common perceptions overall were that nuts are healthy; high in protein, fat, and calories; and are satiating. Nut consumption was recommended for reasons relating to these perceptions and because of nuts’ selenium content. Conversely, reasons for suggesting the consumption of fewer nuts included that they were high in calories and fat, would cause weight gain, and concerns regarding allergies and cost. All groups of health professionals were more likely to promote nut consumption if they perceived nuts to reduce the risk of diabetes (all p ≤ 0.034). Education could improve health professionals’ knowledge regarding the effects of nut consumption on blood cholesterol and body weight, alongside other health benefits, which should improve the advice given to patients and may thereby increase nut consumption.
Highlights
Nuts are rich in cis-unsaturated fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals, and a number of phytonutrients [1,2,3]
The response rates by health profession were not significantly different, being 55% for dietitians, 49% for general practitioners (GPs), and 56% for practice nurses (Chi-squared p = 0.058), and no reasons were given by participants for not completing the questionnaire
We identified gaps in health professionals’ knowledge, which could be used to develop educational material aimed at specific health professions, targeting perceptions of nuts, that our results suggest could lead to an increased likelihood of health professionals recommending the consumption of nuts, which in turn could promote nut consumption
Summary
Nuts are rich in cis-unsaturated fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals, and a number of phytonutrients [1,2,3]. The regular consumption of nuts has been shown to be associated with a reduction in total mortality [4,5], with a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The National Heart Foundation of NZ recommends the consumption of 30 g of nuts per day as part of a cardioprotective diet [9]. In the United States of America (USA), a qualified health claim stating that eating 42 g of nut per day may reduce the risk of heart disease was approved in. Information from population studies indicates that regular nut consumption is far below these guidelines [11,12,13,14].
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