Eating behavior toward oil and fat consumption versus dietary fat intake

Abstract

Objective: To analyze whether the stages of change of the Transtheoretical Model are in accordance with the fat consumption of members of the Academia da Cidade of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a simple random sample of users aged ≥20 years frequenting an Academia da Cidade. Eating behavior toward oil and fat consumption was evaluated by the transtheoretical model and compared with fat intake adequacy, obtained through mean fat intake was investigated by three 24-hour recalls. Anthropometric and sociodemographic data were also collected. Additionally, the stages of change were verified, after reclassification the stages of change agreed with the consumption of fatty foods, fats, and fractions. Results: A total of 131 women with a mean age of 53.9±12.1 had an average fatty acid consumption of 556.0 mL. Some participants consumed high-fat foods, lipids (20.6%), saturated (31.3%) and polyunsaturated (38.2%) fatty acids, and cholesterol (16.0%) in excess. The stages of eating behavior were significantly different after reclassification. The number of women in action and maintenance decreased in a way that in the end, 4.6% were in precontemplation, 19.8% were in contemplation, 26.0% were in preparation, 28.2% were in action, and 21.4% were in maintenance. The consumption of chicken skin; fatty salad dressing; bread, doughnuts or cake with butter/margarine; and fats, saturated fatty acids, and monounsaturated fatty acids was lower in the final stages of the transtheoretical model. Conclusion: After reclassification the algorithm is in agreement with the ingestion of high-fat foods, which denotes its applicability for the evaluation of eating behavior and for providing data to food and nutrition education actions.