Beliefs and attitudes toward “healthier eating” among women attending maternity hospital

In order to identify the beliefs and attitudes surrounding healthful food choices which could be addressed in maternity nutrition education programs, 95 pregnant and post-natal women attending Aberdeen Maternity Hospital (UK) completed a detailed questionnaire.
Assessment items were based on Fishbein and Ajzens' expectancy value model which examines attitudes (feelings) towards healthier eating and subjective norm (perceived pressure from others to try healthier eating).
More than half of the sample indicated a positive intention to try healthier eating. Scores for intention were strongly correlated with scores for direct attitudes which, in turn, correlated with estimated attitudes (measured as a function of beliefs about healthier eating multiplied by the outcome evaluation of these beliefs).
The beliefs selected for promotion in ante-natal education were those relating the role of healthier eating to the maintenance of good health and those identifying healthier eating as a family concern. Of less importance to the sample were the roles of doctors and family in promoting healthier diets. These findings suggest that efforts to change dietary habits could usefully focus on underlying belief and attitude variables rather than concentrating on information transfer alone.