Nutrition and health communication: the message and the media over half a century

The diet-health message for the 1990s has become complex, changing from the simple directives of previous decades as scientific evidence has evolved. If today's consumers are more knowledgeable, they are also more confused. The confusion stems not only from the complexity of the message, but also from the fact that the various groups and organizations developing it respond to the challenge from their own perspectives. Added to this are the constraints of the various media (print, radio, and television) that deliver the message. For consumers, the result has been not only confusion but, at times, outright rejection of resonable recommendations. The more that health professionals in academia, government, and voluntary organizations, food producers, and health reporters can agree on a set of clear, consistent, focused, and positive messages based on current scientific knowledge, the sooner recommendations for a healthful diet will be accepted and followed.