Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications

Aim: Health promotion campaigns in Australia have not addressed the needs of an ageing population for nutrition related information. Such campaigns would need to focus on those middle-aged and older to ensure that individuals are aware of appropriate dietary behaviours to sustain them into older age...

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Main Authors: Pettigrew, S., Pescud, M., Donovan, Robert
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29531
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author Pettigrew, S.
Pescud, M.
Donovan, Robert
author_facet Pettigrew, S.
Pescud, M.
Donovan, Robert
author_sort Pettigrew, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Aim: Health promotion campaigns in Australia have not addressed the needs of an ageing population for nutrition related information. Such campaigns would need to focus on those middle-aged and older to ensure that individuals are aware of appropriate dietary behaviours to sustain them into older age. The present study explored the diet-related beliefs and behaviours of mature adults to inform future healthy eating interventions targeting this group. Methods: An inductive, qualitative approach was used to generate information relating to mature adults’ diet related beliefs and behaviours. Twenty individual interviews and 12 focus groups were conducted with 111 Western Australians aged 40+ years. Data were collected from individuals residing in metropolitan and regional areas. Data coding and analysis were conducted with the use of NVivo7 software (QSR International, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia). Results: The consistent findings across age groups and geographical locations suggest that mature adults may not be aware of the implications of ageing on changing dietary needs, and in particular they may lack general knowledge of current guidelines for specific nutrients such as salt and alcohol. Information relating to appropriate serving sizes of different foods may also be useful for members of this segment. Conclusions: While further research is required to support these qualitative findings, it appears that diet-related information may be more readily accepted by mature adults if it is presented as preventing future deterioration rather than improving current health states.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-295312017-09-13T16:07:34Z Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications Pettigrew, S. Pescud, M. Donovan, Robert health belief obesity health promotion ageing Aim: Health promotion campaigns in Australia have not addressed the needs of an ageing population for nutrition related information. Such campaigns would need to focus on those middle-aged and older to ensure that individuals are aware of appropriate dietary behaviours to sustain them into older age. The present study explored the diet-related beliefs and behaviours of mature adults to inform future healthy eating interventions targeting this group. Methods: An inductive, qualitative approach was used to generate information relating to mature adults’ diet related beliefs and behaviours. Twenty individual interviews and 12 focus groups were conducted with 111 Western Australians aged 40+ years. Data were collected from individuals residing in metropolitan and regional areas. Data coding and analysis were conducted with the use of NVivo7 software (QSR International, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia). Results: The consistent findings across age groups and geographical locations suggest that mature adults may not be aware of the implications of ageing on changing dietary needs, and in particular they may lack general knowledge of current guidelines for specific nutrients such as salt and alcohol. Information relating to appropriate serving sizes of different foods may also be useful for members of this segment. Conclusions: While further research is required to support these qualitative findings, it appears that diet-related information may be more readily accepted by mature adults if it is presented as preventing future deterioration rather than improving current health states. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29531 10.1111/j.1747-0080.2012.01602.x Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia restricted
spellingShingle health belief
obesity
health promotion
ageing
Pettigrew, S.
Pescud, M.
Donovan, Robert
Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications
title Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications
title_full Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications
title_fullStr Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications
title_full_unstemmed Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications
title_short Older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: Intervention implications
title_sort older people's diet-related beliefs and behaviours: intervention implications
topic health belief
obesity
health promotion
ageing
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29531