Is there a consumer backlash against the diet and health message?

Anecdotal evidence exists that the public is becoming skeptical about nutrition messages. This article examines whether there is a backlash against dietary recommendations and whether it is associated with less healthful diets.

Data are from a 1997-1998 Washington State random-digit-dial survey of 1,751 adults designed to monitor attitudes and behavior related to cancer risk and prevention.

Responses to the nutrition backlash survey were weighted to reflect the Washington State population. Linear regression was used to examine associations of nutrition backlash with fat and fruit and vegetable intake.

This survey did not find strong evidence that nutrition backlash was widespread. However, 70% of respondents thought that Americans are obsessed with the fat in their diet and that the government should not tell people what to eat. More than a quarter agreed with the statement that eating low-fat foods takes the pleasure out of eating. Nutrition backlash was associated with less healthful diets: individuals showing high backlash had a fat-related diet habits score of 2.11 compared with a score of 1.73 among those showing low backlash (P for trend = .001), which corresponds to a difference of roughly 4 percentage points in percentage energy from fat. Individuals showing high backlash reported eating only 2.72 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, compared with 3.35 servings among those showing low backlash (P for trend = .001).

Nutrition professionals need to ensure that dietary recommendations are clear and positive to avoid the possibility that consumers may disregard nutrition messages entirely.