Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample

Food myths are nutritional concepts poorly justified or even contradict existing scientific evidence that individuals take as the truth. Knowledge in nutrition is an important tool in tackling misinformation and in the promotion of adequate food choices. This study aimed to investigate the beliefs a...

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Autores principales:	Sofia G. Florença, Manuela Ferreira, Inês Lacerda, Aline Maia
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	food myths sources of information nutritional knowledge health Chemical technology TP1-1185
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/831e622afc2642628189107829f8a6b0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:831e622afc2642628189107829f8a6b02021-11-25T17:35:06ZFood Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample10.3390/foods101127462304-8158https://doaj.org/article/831e622afc2642628189107829f8a6b02021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/11/2746https://doaj.org/toc/2304-8158Food myths are nutritional concepts poorly justified or even contradict existing scientific evidence that individuals take as the truth. Knowledge in nutrition is an important tool in tackling misinformation and in the promotion of adequate food choices. This study aimed to investigate the beliefs and perceptions of a sample of the Portuguese population regarding a series of food myths and facts, evaluating, consequently, the level of knowledge and the main sources of information. The research was conducted on a sample of 503 participants, using a questionnaire disclosed online, by email, and social networks, between May and June of 2021. Thirty statements, some true and others false, were analyzed to assess people’s perceptions. Based on the respondents’ answers, a score was calculated for each statement, allowing to differentiate the correct (positive score) from incorrect (negative score) perceptions. The results showed that most statements obtained positive scores, corresponding to correct perceptions. Moreover, the level of knowledge was measured, being very high for 21.7% of the participants and high for 42.1%. The main sources where the participants acquire nutritional information are scientific journals (43.3%), website of the Portuguese General Health Office (DGS) (31.4%), and technical books (31.0%), which is concordant with the level of trust in these sources. Hence, it was concluded that, despite the levels of nutritional knowledge, there are still several food myths that need to be debunked, through the proper channels, in order to promote healthy, balanced, and adequate eating behaviors.Sofia G. FlorençaManuela FerreiraInês LacerdaAline MaiaMDPI AGarticlefood mythssources of informationnutritional knowledgehealthChemical technologyTP1-1185ENFoods, Vol 10, Iss 2746, p 2746 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	food myths sources of information nutritional knowledge health Chemical technology TP1-1185
spellingShingle	food myths sources of information nutritional knowledge health Chemical technology TP1-1185 Sofia G. Florença Manuela Ferreira Inês Lacerda Aline Maia Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample
description	Food myths are nutritional concepts poorly justified or even contradict existing scientific evidence that individuals take as the truth. Knowledge in nutrition is an important tool in tackling misinformation and in the promotion of adequate food choices. This study aimed to investigate the beliefs and perceptions of a sample of the Portuguese population regarding a series of food myths and facts, evaluating, consequently, the level of knowledge and the main sources of information. The research was conducted on a sample of 503 participants, using a questionnaire disclosed online, by email, and social networks, between May and June of 2021. Thirty statements, some true and others false, were analyzed to assess people’s perceptions. Based on the respondents’ answers, a score was calculated for each statement, allowing to differentiate the correct (positive score) from incorrect (negative score) perceptions. The results showed that most statements obtained positive scores, corresponding to correct perceptions. Moreover, the level of knowledge was measured, being very high for 21.7% of the participants and high for 42.1%. The main sources where the participants acquire nutritional information are scientific journals (43.3%), website of the Portuguese General Health Office (DGS) (31.4%), and technical books (31.0%), which is concordant with the level of trust in these sources. Hence, it was concluded that, despite the levels of nutritional knowledge, there are still several food myths that need to be debunked, through the proper channels, in order to promote healthy, balanced, and adequate eating behaviors.
format	article
author	Sofia G. Florença Manuela Ferreira Inês Lacerda Aline Maia
author_facet	Sofia G. Florença Manuela Ferreira Inês Lacerda Aline Maia
author_sort	Sofia G. Florença
title	Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample
title_short	Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample
title_full	Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample
title_fullStr	Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample
title_full_unstemmed	Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample
title_sort	food myths or food facts? study about perceptions and knowledge in a portuguese sample
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/831e622afc2642628189107829f8a6b0
work_keys_str_mv	AT sofiagflorenca foodmythsorfoodfactsstudyaboutperceptionsandknowledgeinaportuguesesample AT manuelaferreira foodmythsorfoodfactsstudyaboutperceptionsandknowledgeinaportuguesesample AT ineslacerda foodmythsorfoodfactsstudyaboutperceptionsandknowledgeinaportuguesesample AT alinemaia foodmythsorfoodfactsstudyaboutperceptionsandknowledgeinaportuguesesample
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Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample

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