Health care providers' attitudes toward nutrition

A survey questionnaire, assessing general attitudes toward the importance of nutrition in the prevention of disease and the maintenance of good health, was administered to physicians, nurses, dentists, and technicians at five U.S. Army medical centers. The various groups of health care specialists differed significantly on many items concerning the importance of good nutrition and eating habits for maintenance of good health and for recovery from illness, as well as on items concerning the importance of nutrition knowledge and training in their health care professions. More agreement was found among the groups on items concerned with the relationship between disease states and dietary factors and the effectiveness of health education programs in the prevention of various diseases. Self-reports of personal health habits did not correlate with scores on survey items concerned with the importance of good nutrition, suggesting that personal attitudes toward nutrition may be unrelated to other health practices.