Pettigrew Simone, Talati Zenobia, Pratt Iain S
School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University Kent St, Bentley, 6102 WA Australia.
School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University Kent St, Bentley, 6102 WA Australia ; Cancer Council Western Australia, 420 Bagot Rd, Subiaco, 6008 WA Australia.
BMC Obes. 2017 Jan 10;4:3. doi: 10.1186/s40608-016-0142-0. eCollection 2017.
Using appropriate terminology in nutrition education programs and behaviour change campaigns is important to optimise the effectiveness of these efforts. To inform future communications on the topic of healthy eating, this study explored adults' perceptions of the meaning of four terms used to describe unhealthy foods: junk food, snack food, party food, and discretionary food.
Australian adults were recruited to participate in an online survey that included demographic items and open-ended questions relating to perceptions of the four terms. In total, 409 respondents aged 25-64 years completed the survey.
'Junk food' was the term most clearly aligned with unhealthiness, and is therefore likely to represent wording that will have salience and relevance to many target audience members. Snack foods were considered to include both healthy and unhealthy food products, and both snack foods and party foods were often described as being consumed in small portions. Despite being used in dietary guidelines, the term 'discretionary food' was unfamiliar to many respondents.
These results demonstrate that different terms for unhealthy foods can have substantially different meanings for audience members. A detailed understanding of these meanings is needed to ensure that nutrition guidance and health promotion campaigns use appropriate terminology.
在营养教育项目和行为改变活动中使用恰当的术语对于优化这些努力的效果至关重要。为了为未来有关健康饮食主题的交流提供信息，本研究探讨了成年人对用于描述不健康食品的四个术语的理解：垃圾食品、休闲食品、聚会食品和自由支配食品。
招募澳大利亚成年人参与一项在线调查，该调查包括人口统计学项目以及与对这四个术语的理解相关的开放式问题。共有409名年龄在25至64岁之间的受访者完成了调查。
“垃圾食品”是与不健康最为明确相关的术语，因此可能代表对许多目标受众成员具有显著性和相关性的措辞。休闲食品被认为既包括健康食品也包括不健康食品，并且休闲食品和聚会食品都常被描述为少量食用。尽管“自由支配食品”这一术语在膳食指南中被使用，但许多受访者并不熟悉。
这些结果表明，用于描述不健康食品的不同术语对受众成员可能具有截然不同的含义。需要详细了解这些含义，以确保营养指导和健康促进活动使用恰当的术语。
