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Disassociation between knowledge and behaviors related to body weight status of adults in Kentucky
Author(s) -
Wang Changzheng,
Huang Lingyu,
Butler Cecil
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.595.25
Subject(s) - overweight , obesity , environmental health , medicine , soft drink , physical activity , gerontology , food science , psychology , demography , physical therapy , chemistry , sociology
Reduction in obesity prevalence will largely depend on modification of dietary and physical activity behaviors of people. The objective of this study was to assess the critical knowledge and behaviors related to the body weight status of adults in Kentucky. A total of 820 visitors to the 2005 Kentucky State Fair were recruited to fill out a questionnaire before they were given a free analysis of their body composition with a Tanita TBF‐521 body composition analyzer. Majority of the subjects had a positive view of milk, vegetables, fruits and physical activities, but over 40% of the subjects consumed less than two servings of milk per day, over 50% of them consumed less than two servings of vegetables and more than 60% of them consumed less than two servings of fruits per day. Most of the subjects realized that soft drinks were not healthful but liked the taste of the drinks, so over 50% of the people had more than 2 servings of soft drinks per day. A significant proportion of people considered watching TV fun, so over 70% of the people watched two or more hours of TV per day. Compared with people with normal body mass indexes, overweight and obese people consumed less milk, vegetables and fruits, but had more soft drinks and spent more time watching TV. These results indicate that people do not always adopt behaviors which they know are good for them. Preventive programs should focus on motivating people to increase behaviors which will help to reduce risks of obesity.