Adults\u27 attitudes towards healthy diet recommendations

Eden izmed glavnih dejavnikov krepitve in varovanja zdravja je zdravo prehranjevanje, zato moramo posamezniki uživati zdravo, uravnoteženo prehrano. Uravnotežena, zdrava prehrana temelji na priporočilih o fizioloških potrebah posameznika po energiji in hranilih, ki se razlikujejo glede na življenjska obdobja, spol in življenjske sloge. Poznavanje in upoštevanje priporočil o zdravem prehranjevanju med odraslimi je pomembno, saj pomagajo pri pravilnih prehranskih odločitvah in boljših prehranskih navadah. Če so posamezniki ozaveščeni o zdravem prehranjevanju, varujejo svoje zdravje in zmanjšajo tveganje za nastanek bolezni. Namen magistrskega dela je bil ugotoviti odnos odraslih do prehranskih priporočil, kakšno je njihovo poznavanje in upoštevanje, ter ugotoviti zaviralne dejavnike za njihovo neupoštevanje. Pri izdelavi magistrskega dela sem uporabila deskriptivno metodo in kvantitativni raziskovalni pristop. V vzorec je bilo vključenih 177 odraslih prebivalcev Slovenije, starih od 25 do 65 let. Postopek zbiranja podatkov je bil anketiranje, tehnika zbiranja podatkov pa vprašalnik. Ugotovili smo, da imajo odrasli pozitiven odnos do priporočil o zdravem prehranjevanju, izjema so priporočila za mleko in mlečne izdelke, poznavanje maščob, ki škodujejo zdravju (trans in nasičene maščobne kisline), ter poznavanja prehranskega krožnika in s tem poznavanja priporočil o ustreznih razmerjih skupin živil na krožniku. Odrasli priporočila o zdravem prehranjevanju upoštevajo le delno, predvsem zaskrbljujoče je upoštevanje priporočil za mesne izdelke ter mleko in mlečne izdelke, čeprav tudi upoštevanje drugih priporočil ni zadostno. Možnih je več vzrokov za njihovo neupoštevanje. Eden izmed njih je lahko, da odrasli precej bolj optimistično ocenjujejo svoj način prehranjevanja, kot dejansko je. Poleg tega pa je lahko razlog tudi, da odrasli namenijo premalo pozornosti, koliko zaužijejo določenih živil (soli, sladkorja, maščobnih živil, transmaščobnih kislin, sadja, zelenjave in tekočine). Vzrok je lahko tudi, da odrasli, predvsem starejši od 45 let, in odrasli z nižjo stopnjo izobrazbe bolj zaupajo trditvam, ki jih lahko označimo kot mite (neustrezne informacije) o prehrani, kot trditvam, ki jih lahko označimo kot resnice (ustrezne informacije) o prehrani. Odrasli tudi menijo, da je zdrava prehrana draga in da so si informacije o zdravi prehrani nasprotujoče, kar lahko tudi vpliva na neupoštevanje priporočil. Ocenjujemo, da je potrebno izboljšati informiranost in prehransko pismenost odraslih, kar bo izboljšalo izbiro in uživanje zdrave hrane. Promocijo zdravega prehranjevanja je potrebno usmerjati zlasti v odrasle z nižjo stopnjo izobrazbe. Informacije in nasveti morajo biti usmerjeni k spodbujanju zdravih prehranskih odločitev in k odpravljanju zaviralnih dejavnikov neupoštevanja prehranskih priporočil.One of the main factors for improving and protecting health is healthy eating. This is why individuals should eat a healthy and balanced diet, which is based on the recommendations for individual’s physiological needs for energy and nutrients that vary depending on the stage of life, gender and lifestyle. It is important to know and follow the recommendations on healthy eating in adults because this improves proper nutritional choices and dietary habits. If individuals have knowledge of healthy eating, they protect their health and reduce the risk of disease. The purpose of this master’s thesis was to determine the attitude of adults to nutritional recommendations, to determine how well adults know nutritional recommendations and follow them and to establish the inhibiting factors that cause adults to disregard the nutritional recommendations. In this thesis, the descriptive method and the quantitative research approach were used. The sample included 177 adult Slovenians aged 25 to 65. A survey was used for data collection with a questionnaire as a method. We have established that adults have a positive attitude to recommendations on healthy eating, with the exception of recommendations for milk and milk products, the knowledge of fats that are harmful to health (trans-unsaturated and saturated fatty acids) and the knowledge of the healthy eating plate and thus the knowledge of recommendations on the appropriate ratio of food groups on the plate. The recommendations on healthy eating are only partially taken into account by adults. The consideration of recommendations for meat products and milk and milk products is of particular concern, although other recommendations are also not taken into account sufficiently. There are several possible causes for their disregard. One of them might be that adults are very optimistic about their diet, while the reality might be different. Another cause might also be that adults pay too little attention to the amount of certain foods that they consume (salt, sugar, fatty foods, trans-unsaturated fatty acids, fruit, vegetables and liquid). Another reason may also be that adults – especially those older than 45 and those with a lower level of education – are more likely to believe claims that can be labelled as myths (inappropriate information) on diet than claims that can be labelled as truth (appropriate information) on diet. Adults also believe that healthy eating is expensive and that information on healthy eating is contradictory, which can also lead to disregarding the recommendations. Our assessment is that adults need to be better informed and their nutritional literacy improved, which will improve the selection and consumption of healthy food. Healthy eating should be promoted especially in adults with a lower level of education. The information and advice should be aimed at promoting healthy nutritional choices and eliminating inhibitory factors that cause the disregard of the nutritional recommendations