Department of Food Science and Technology, Food Security Research Center, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Vice Chancellery for Food and Drug, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Int Q Community Health Educ. 2021 Apr;41(3):275-284. doi: 10.1177/0272684X20916612. Epub 2020 Apr 6.
Emerging noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) with premature mortality are one of the major concerns in health supervising organizations of the world. High intake of energy, salt, sugar, fat, and trans fatty acids are introduced as dietary risk factors of NCDs. The status of food risk factors is presented in Traffic Light (TL) food labeling through colors of red, yellow, and green as the signs of , and , respectively. This stepwise interventional study examined whether TL education can result in choosing healthier food via assessing the impact of face-to-face educational sessions on knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 673 respondents toward TL food labeling through a self-administered and structured questionnaire. Paired test or alternatively Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate the influence of education in total scores of knowledge, attitudes, and practices in test-retest. Results indicated that before education, the average of the scores for the knowledge, attitudes, and practices was 1.003 ± 0.69, 10.97 ± 1.86, and 1.60 ± 1.84, respectively. After education, the scores were increased to 8.72 ± 3.11, 15.95 ± 2.64, and 8.42 ± 1.69. Significant differences in the scores of the respondents were observed before and after education ( < .05). This study revealed that the intervention of education had positive effect on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the studied population. Even though general awareness about the food risk factors of NCDs existed, special education is required to make public TL and food labeling information usage as an actual guidance for every food item in Iran.
新兴的非传染性疾病（NCDs）和过早死亡是世界卫生监督组织关注的主要问题之一。高能量、盐、糖、脂肪和反式脂肪酸的摄入被认为是 NCDs 的饮食风险因素。通过颜色的红、黄、绿来表示食物风险因素的状况，分别代表“危险”、“注意”和“安全”。这项逐步干预研究通过评估面对面教育课程对 673 名受访者对红绿灯（TL）食品标签的知识、态度和实践的影响，来检验 TL 教育是否可以通过选择更健康的食物。通过自我管理和结构化问卷来评估面对面教育对知识、态度和实践总分的影响。采用配对 t 检验或替代的 Wilcoxon 检验来评估教育在测试-重测中对知识、态度和实践总分的影响。结果表明，在教育之前，知识、态度和实践的平均得分分别为 1.003±0.69、10.97±1.86 和 1.60±1.84。在教育之后，这些分数分别增加到 8.72±3.11、15.95±2.64 和 8.42±1.69。教育前后受访者的得分差异有统计学意义（<0.05）。本研究表明，教育干预对研究人群的知识、态度和实践有积极影响。尽管公众对 NCDs 的饮食风险因素有一般的认识，但需要进行专门的教育，以使公众能够使用 TL 和食品标签信息，作为伊朗每种食品的实际指导。
