An exploratory study into Dutch consumers' experiences with implementing dietary recommendations to reduce fat intake

Background: Nutrition education messages for the Dutch public include many different dietary recommendations for reducing fat intake, e.g. use low-fat milk, reduce meat intake, etc. The purpose of this exploratory study was t o assess which types of dietary recommendations are difficult to implement for consumers and which are easier. Methods: Twenty-five recommendations that are often used in educational mes sages were selected and classified by type of recommendation. Two classific ations were used for each recommendation: the product group the recommendat ion relates to, and the recommended type of behavioural change. Sixty-six a dults of all ages were recruited to implement as many of the recommendation s as possible over a period of four weeks. Beforehand, participants complet ed a food frequency list to assess which recommendations they had already i mplemented. After the 4 weeks? they completed a written questionnaire measu ring intention, implementation and perceived difficulties for each of the r emaining recommendations. Results: Based on the classification according to product group, recommenda tions concerning spreads and butter, sauces and gravy were rated as least d ifficult to implement, while recommendations on snacks were most difficult to implement. As fat as the type of behavioural change recommendations, pre paring a product differently was easiest to implement, while recommendation s to eat less of a high-fat product were considered as most difficult to im plement. Conclusions: The results show that there are differences in difficulties co nsumers experience in implementing different types of recommendations for r educing fat intake. Further research should extend this line of inquiry to help design optimally effective nutrition interventions.