BACKGROUND: In spite of multiple efforts by public health authorities to promote consumption of milk and alternatives in the Canadian adult population, consumption of these healthy foods is still suboptimal. This study aimed to explore salient beliefs underlying the consumption of fluid milk and cheese among adults. METHODS: The qualitative descriptive research design was based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework, using 20 focus groups. A total of 161 men and women (19 to 50 years old) from Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto (Canada) were recruited to participate in focus groups. A hybrid approach (deductive and inductive) to qualitative methods of thematic analysis was used during coding of focus group transcripts to draw out participant's salient beliefs regarding milk and cheese consumption. RESULTS: For both milk and cheese, most groups cited advantages or disadvantages with regards to health effects, nutritional value, taste, socio-affective aspects and practicality. Family and friends, health professionals and advisors, and communications domain (e.g. advertisements, TV programs, well-known personalities) were cited as major influences affecting consumption. Price reduction, product improvements, supply increase and variation, favourable food/drink combinations and access were among the most commonly cited facilitators for milk and cheese consumption. Major barriers included high price, reduced confidence in the product (reasons/contexts that reduce perceived safety of the product), health status, problems linked to supply (varieties/formats which are not available), and habits and cultural values. Gender and level of milk and cheese consumption differences were observed between groups: men referred more often to industry and politics as factors influencing their milk consumption, while women expressed more animal and environmental concerns. Differences were also noted between high and low consumer's groups in relation to the themes of taste, pleasure and emotions for milk and cheese consumption. Lastly, low consumers expressed more distrust and disgust relating to milk consumption than high consumers. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of beliefs observed are consistent with earlier studies on milk or dairy product consumption. Consumers' concerns about origins of milk, however, have never been reported. These findings will help optimize approaches for promoting consumption of these foods among different segments of Canadian adults.
Abstract Background In spite of multiple efforts by public health authorities to promote consumption of milk and alternatives in the Canadian adult population, consumption of these healthy foods is still suboptimal. This study aimed to explore salient beliefs underlying the consumption of fluid milk and cheese among adults. Methods The qualitative descriptive research design was based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework, using 20 focus groups. A total of 161 men and women (19 to 50 years old) from Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto (Canada) were recruited to participate in focus groups. A hybrid approach (deductive and inductive) to qualitative methods of thematic analysis was used during coding of focus group transcripts to draw out participant's salient beliefs regarding milk and cheese consumption. Results For both milk and cheese, most groups cited advantages or disadvantages with regards to health effects, nutritional value, taste, socio-affective aspects and practicality. Family and friends, health professionals and advisors, and communications domain (e.g. advertisements, TV programs, well-known personalities) were cited as major influences affecting consumption. Price reduction, product improvements, supply increase and variation, favourable food/drink combinations and access were among the most commonly cited facilitators for milk and cheese consumption. Major barriers included high price, reduced confidence in the product (reasons/contexts that reduce perceived safety of the product), health status, problems linked to supply (varieties/formats which are not available), and habits and cultural values. Gender and level of milk and cheese consumption differences were observed between groups: men referred more often to industry and politics as factors influencing their milk consumption, while women expressed more animal and environmental concerns. Differences were also noted between high and low consumer's groups in relation to the themes of taste, pleasure and emotions for milk and cheese consumption. Lastly, low consumers expressed more distrust and disgust relating to milk consumption than high consumers. Conclusions The majority of beliefs observed are consistent with earlier studies on milk or dairy product consumption. Consumers' concerns about origins of milk, however, have never been reported. These findings will help optimize approaches for promoting consumption .
INTRODUCTION: The epidemic of non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes is attributable in large part to unhealthy eating and physical inactivity. In the fall of 2016, the Québec government launched its first-ever Government Health Prevention Policy (Politique gouvernementale de prévention en santé (PGPS)) to influence factors that lead to improved health status and quality of life as well as reduced social inequalities in health in the population of Québec. NutriQuébec is a web-based prospective open cohort study whose primary aim is to provide essential data for the evaluation of the PGPS on the Québec population's eating and other lifestyle behaviours over time. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Over a first phase of 3 years, NutriQuébec will enrol 20 000 adults living in the province of Québec in Canada through a multimedia campaign designed to reach different segments of the population, including subgroups with lower socioeconomic status. Participants will be invited to complete on a web platform nine core questionnaires on a yearly basis. Questionnaires will assess several dimensions related to lifestyle, including eating and physical activity behaviours, as well as a large number of personal characteristics and global health status. Temporal trends in eating and lifestyle behaviours will be analysed in relation to the implementation of the PGPS to provide essential data for its evaluation at a population level. Data analyses will use sociodemographic weights to adjust responses of participants to achieve, so far as is possible, representativeness of the adult Québec population. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Université Laval Research Ethics Board approved the NutriQuébec project. Data analysis, presentations in conferences and publication of manuscripts are scheduled to start in 2020. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04140071.
Purpose: To assess how nutrition knowledge is associated with global diet quality and to investigate whether sociodemographic characteristics (ie, sex, age, education, income, marital status, and living with children or not) moderate this association. Design: Cross-sectional web-based study. Participants: The PREDISE study aims at identifying correlates of adherence to healthy eating guidelines in French-speaking adults from the Province of Quebec, Canada. Subjects: A probability sample of 1092 participants (50% female). Measures: The Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire and 24-hour food recalls from which the Canadian Healthy Eating Index (C-HEI) was calculated. Analysis: Multiple linear regressions performed to assess how nutrition knowledge is associated with the C-HEI. Interaction terms tested to evaluate whether sociodemographic characteristics moderate the association between nutrition knowledge and the C-HEI. Results: Nutrition knowledge (B = 0.141 [95% CI: 0.075-0.208], P < .0001) was identified as a significant correlate of the C-HEI. Education significantly moderated the association between nutrition knowledge and the C-HEI ( P interaction = .0038), with a significative association among participants with a lower education level (B = 0.295 [95% CI: 0.170-0.421], P < .0001) but not among participants with a higher education level (B = 0.077 [95% CI: −0.004 to 0.157], P = .06). Whether participants lived with or without children also significantly moderated the association ( P interaction = 0.0043); nutrition knowledge was associated with the C-HEI only in participants who were not living with children (B = 0.261 [95% CI: 0.167 to 0.355], P < .0001). Conclusion: This study suggests that the association between nutrition knowledge and adherence to healthy eating guidelines is not the same in different subgroups of the population. Interventions aiming at increasing nutrition knowledge may be a promising approach to improve diet quality, especially among individuals with a lower education.
