CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF DIETARY-CHANGES FOR REDUCING FAT INTAKE

Although consumers have been advised to reduce their dietary fat intak e, there has been no change in average fat intake (as a percentage of energy) in the United Kingdom over the past decade. In the study repor ted in this paper, the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) was us ed to investigate consumers' attitudes, subjective norm and perceived control as they relate to reducing fat in the diet. Information about current fat intake was also obtained using a Food Frequency Questionna ire, for all 390 respondents who were then classified into tertiles ba sed on their actual and perceived current fat intakes. For the total s ample, subjective norm was the most important predictor of intentions to reduce fat intake and to carry out specific dietary changes. This w as also the case for people consuming a low fat diet and for those who perceived their fat intake as low, while attitude was the best predic tor of intention for people consuming a high fat diet and for those wh o perceived their fat intake as high. Perceived control was found to b e a poor predictor of intention in all cases.