Beliefs about the Healthfulness of Common Foods

Abstract

The primary focus of this research was to evaluate beliefs about the healthfulness of common foods. There is widespread agreement that a whole foods, plants-based diet, such as that depicted by Canada’s Food Guide, promotes optimal health. However, many processed foods are marketed with nutrition messages that are purportedly designed to assist people in making healthier food choices, but may in fact be misleading. This study evaluated beliefs about the healthfulness of 30 common foods across three categories, whole, processed, and highly processed foods, and compared them to an objective measurement of nutritiousness. An array of food choice items, including values such as health, price, and convenience, as well as physical health and fitness questions, were included in the current study to explore relationships with ratings of healthfulness and frequency. Results indicate that participants underestimated the healthfulness of whole foods, were reasonably accurate when rating processed foods, and overrated the healthfulness of highly processed foods. Participants rated whole foods as being included in their diets more frequently than either processed or highly processed foods. Correlation analyses indicated relationships between ratings of healthfulness, frequency, food choice values and health and fitness items. Consumers must be able to understand the relative healthfulness of foods in the marketplace in order to choose a healthy diet. The current study suggests that consumer understanding of the healthfulness of common foods, especially whole and highly processed foods, is questionable. Additionally, food and nutrition information sources were not related to healthfulness ratings. These findings have implications for healthy eating policies because they suggest the need for other strategies beyond information interventions.