Sri Lanka Standards Institution, 17, Victoria Place, Elvitigala Mawatha, Colombo 00800, Sri Lanka.
Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4220, Australia.
Nutrients. 2023 Jun 30;15(13):3007. doi: 10.3390/nu15133007.
Healthy eating behaviour of women is critical not only for their health but also for their children's health and well-being. The present study examined the dietary pattern, nutrition-related knowledge, and attitudes of working women in Western Province, Sri Lanka. In addition, this study identified the factors associated with dietary diversity score (DDS). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 working women, aged 20-60 years, in Western Province, Sri Lanka. The data on socio-demography, dietary patterns, and nutrition-related knowledge and attitudes were collected. Overall, 38% of the women were overweight and 13% were obese. The median frequency of intake of chicken, fish, eggs, milk and milk products, green leafy vegetables, and fruits were 2, 5, 2, 9, 5, and 10 respectively, per week. A large majority of the women (70%) had tea/coffee with sugar and snacks (60%) at least four times a week. Only a third of the women met the minimum DDS, while more than half of the women had good nutrition-related knowledge and attitudes. Women with good nutrition-related knowledge were more frequent consumers of roots/tubers, shellfish, vegetables, fruit, fruit juice, nuts and oils, and fast food. Women with good nutrition-related attitudes had a significantly lower frequency of consumption of soya meat, while having a higher frequency of consumption of fast food. Multiple regression analysis showed that age and household income were significantly independently related to DDS, while attitudes were negatively associated. While there was a trend, the association of nutrition-related knowledge with DDS was not statistically significant ( = 0.057). The overall F ratio (8.46) was highly significant ( = 0.001) and the adjusted R was 0.093. The results demonstrate that a significant proportion of working women have good basic nutrition-related knowledge and attitudes, while two-thirds of them do not meet the minimum DDS. Furthermore, age, family income, and knowledge were positively associated with DDS, while attitudes were negatively associated. Before designing any intervention, further research is needed using a qualitative approach to understand how nutrition knowledge and eating behaviour are related in this population group.
女性的健康饮食习惯不仅对她们自身的健康至关重要，对其子女的健康和幸福也同样重要。本研究旨在调查斯里兰卡西部省职业女性的饮食模式、营养相关知识和态度，并确定与饮食多样性评分（DDS）相关的因素。本研究采用横断面研究方法，选取斯里兰卡西部省 300 名年龄在 20-60 岁之间的职业女性作为研究对象，收集了她们的社会人口统计学、饮食模式以及营养相关知识和态度等方面的数据。结果显示，38%的女性超重，13%的女性肥胖。每周摄入鸡肉、鱼类、鸡蛋、牛奶和奶制品、绿叶蔬菜和水果的中位数频率分别为 2、5、2、9、5 和 10 次。绝大多数女性（70%）每周至少喝四次加糖茶/咖啡和吃六次零食。只有三分之一的女性达到了最低 DDS，而超过一半的女性具有良好的营养相关知识和态度。营养相关知识较好的女性更频繁地食用根茎类蔬菜、贝类、蔬菜、水果、果汁、坚果和油以及快餐。营养相关态度较好的女性食用豆制品的频率较低，而食用快餐的频率较高。多因素回归分析表明，年龄和家庭收入与 DDS 显著相关，而态度与 DDS 呈负相关。虽然存在趋势，但营养相关知识与 DDS 的相关性无统计学意义（ = 0.057）。总 F 比（8.46）高度显著（ = 0.001），调整后的 R 为 0.093。研究结果表明，相当一部分职业女性具有良好的基本营养相关知识和态度，但三分之二的女性未达到最低 DDS。此外，年龄、家庭收入和知识与 DDS 呈正相关，而态度与 DDS 呈负相关。在设计任何干预措施之前，需要进一步采用定性研究方法来了解该人群的营养知识和饮食习惯之间的关系。
