Stages of Change and Reduction of Dietary Fat: Effect of Knowledge and Attitudes in an Australian University Population

This survey focused on the use of the stages of change model of behavior change in reducing dietary fat intake while identifying attitudinal variables that might be relevant in the decision to change one's dietary habits. Knowledge of dietary fat and reported fat intake were also examined. Data were obtained using a cross-sectional survey of 1081 university employees. The Precontemplation stage comprised the largest group of respondents (33%) while the Contemplation stage was the smallest group, containing only 6% of respondents. Twelve percent of respondents were in the Preparation stage while the Action and Maintenance groups comprised 22% and 27% of the total population, respectively. Two one-way multivariate analyses of variance were used to compare male and female respondents across the five stages of change on knowledge, dietary fat intake, benefits, and barriers. Dietary fat intake and barriers to reducing fat intake decreased significantly across the stages of change while the benefits to change increased significantly across the stages. The results of our study confirm differences in stages of change in fat intake and indicate the need for taking these phases of change into account in nutrition advice.