M. Nowak

Bio: M. Nowak is an academic researcher. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 8 citations.

Consumers' knowledge of healthy diets and its correlation with dietary behaviour.

Abstract: Background: Procedural nutrition knowledge is knowledge of how to eat a healthy diet. This type of knowledge potentially plays an important role in dietary behaviour. Previous studies of consumers' nutrition knowledge did not systematically assess procedural nutrition knowledge. Thus, we administered a survey of procedural nutrition knowledge to Swiss consumers to assess the prevalence of misconceptions about healthy eating. Methods: We developed 13 procedural nutrition knowledge items. Nine items were based on qualitative consumer interviews and four items were derived from expert guidelines. The items had a true/false format. We administered the items to a random population sample in a written postal survey (n = 1,043). The survey also assessed the consumers' self-reported food consumption. For each respondent, we computed the number of correctly answered knowledge items and we correlated this number with food consumption frequencies. Results: The procedural nutrition knowledge items received between 3% and 38% incorrect answers. Individuals with a higher number of correctly answered items consumed more vegetables (r = 0.29). Higher knowledge was associated with the female gender, younger age, higher education, nutrition-related qualifications and not being on a diet (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that misconceptions exist in the general population about healthy eating. These misconceptions are associated with a decreased consumption of foods usually defined as healthy. Some population sub-groups seem particularly susceptible to holding such misconceptions. The implications for nutrition education, particularly concerning the role of fruit and vegetable consumption as well as the food pyramid are discussed.

Rapid Evidence Assessment

Abstract: Consumer understanding of sugars, fats, oils, in food:  Most of the studies on understanding have focussed on fats, with relatively few addressing consumer understanding of sugar or carbohydrates  There are sizeable sub-proportions of consumers who have little understanding of sugars, fats, and oils  The health messages to reduce fat intake appear to be successful, however  consumers are less sure about specifically which fats to reduce  consumers knowledge of the types of fats in different foods appears to be mixed  There are sizeable sub-proportions of consumers who do not appear to understand the relative sugar concentrations of various beverages. In particular, the idea that some beverages (e.g. fruit juice, milk, vegetable juice) contain energy in the form of natural sugars appears to be less well understood. Added sweetness, e.g. use of sweeteners, may lead consumers to overestimate relative sugar levels in beverages  It is not clear how consumer understanding of the various sugars, fats, and oils influences consumer interpretations of ingredient lists.

Development of a nutrition knowledge questionnaire for obese adults

Abstract: Background and objective: The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire for assessing nutritional knowledge among overweight adults. The questionnaire should reveal knowledge about current dietary recommendations, sources of nutrients, everyday food choices, and conditions related to overweight. Design: The first draft of the nutrition knowledge questionnaire (113 items) was based on literature review. To ensure content validity and expert-assessed face validity, an expert panel examined the questionnaire. Thereafter, the questionnaire was tested for user friendliness and ambiguity by five students. The questionnaire was pilot tested in a group of obese adults, similar to the target group. The results were analyzed for item difficulty and internal consistency and comments made by respondents were taken into account. Two student groups, differing in nutritional expertise, answered the questionnaire on two occasions to test construct validity and test-retest reliability. After the retest, a total overview of the questionnaire was made by the expert panel. The final questionnaire consisted of 91 items. Subjects: The pilot study was conducted in obese adults waiting for a gastric bypass operation (n=33). Construct validity (n=34) and test-retest reliability (n=27) was tested in two student groups: public health nutrition students and construction students. Results: Results from the pilot study showed that internal consistency of the three first sections together was 0.84, measured by Cronbach’s ?. Test of construct validity showed that public health nutrition students scored significantly better than construction students (p<0.001 for all sections), and test-retest reliability for all sections together was 0.82 (Pearson’s r). Conclusion: The knowledge questionnaire had reasonable content-, face-, and construct validities and overall good reliability. The questionnaire can be a useful tool for measuring nutrition knowledge among obese adults. Keywords: nutrition knowledge; questionnaire; obesity; adults; dietary recommendations (Published: 13 October 2011) Citation: Food & Nutrition Research 2011, 55 : 7271 - DOI: 10.3402/fnr.v55i0.7271

Workplace-Based Participatory Approach to Weight Loss for Correctional Employees

Abstract: Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory approach using an employee design team for a 12-week weight-loss program with an 8-week follow-up.Methods:Twenty-four employees with mean [standard error (SE)] for weight 233.24 lb [8.16], body mass index 33.29 kg/cm2 [0.82], and age 42.7 ye

Health Behavior Knowledge and Self-efficacy as Predictors of Body Weight.

Abstract: Obesity is a public health concern with significant economic costs affecting employers. Worksite wellness programs benefit from developing tailored interventions that consider employees’ health-related knowledge and self-efficacy to change behavior. Correction is a high stress occupation with elevated rates of overweight and obesity. Poor stress management and barriers to achieve optimal health in the work environment increases the need for adequate knowledge and self-efficacy, or the level of confidence to eat healthy and be physically active. This cross-sectional pilot study used a sample of sixteen correctional employees who participated in a Nutrition and Physical Activity Questionnaire. This survey assesses knowledge and self-efficacy for nutrition and physical activity and current health behaviors, such as current dietary habits and level of physical activity. Demographic and anthropometric data were also collected for statistical analyses. Participants were primarily male correction officers working first shift with a mean (±SE) BMI of 29 (±1.05) kg/m2, classified as overweight. Multiple regression analyses revealed that knowledge and self-efficacy scores predicted variation in BMI when controlling for other scores in the model. Findings from this study may be applicable for future health promotion interventions in high-risk occupations. In high-risk occupations such as corrections, understanding environmental and organizational barriers to achieving good health and reducing chronic disease risk is important. However, in addition to reducing these barriers, increasing knowledge, improving skills and self-efficacy to achieve good health are also critical in order to develop effective interventions for this population.