What does humans motivate to observe a healthy diet?

Part 1: Principles of dietary counselling

Volker Pudel, Göttingen

After fifty years of dietary counselling and education, people are well informed in this field, but their nutritional behaviour has not changed. Eating behaviour is largely determined by emotion and based on habits early acquired.

Some fundamental principles of dietary advice are listed below: Practical measures instead of abstract information: dietary information should relate to food and contain practical measures to be taken. Information does not change needs: cognitive information about nutrient requirements does not change the nutritional behaviour, it only makes one feel guilty. Cookery courses, jointly buying food and sensory tests are means of creating experiences, appealing to needs and hence of influencing behaviour.

Influencing needs: needs are based on emotions and early trained behaviour. Selfmonitoring in need-controlled situations and behavioural training in little steps will help to change needs. Targets defined in terms of quantity produce a sense of achievement: clearly defined targets which are subdivided into small steps and can be easily checked produce a sense of achievement and thus intensify the desirable behaviour. Paying attention to questions of contingency: a vague damage to health in the distant future is less suitable to influence behaviour than sensations immediately felt during eating. Advice should therefore refer to today’s life, e.g. by offering a reward for progress in training.

Flexible instead of rigid controls: rigid controls destabilize behaviour even after a minor incompliance. Flexible targets (“Next week, I shall try to only eat 1 bar of chocolate” are easier to comply with and increase selfconfidence. Realistic targets: patients often have unrealistic ideas of losing weight. Advisors should define small steps and make sure that targets are realistic.

Keywords: contingencies, dietary counselling, eating behaviour, requirements vs. needs, rigid controls.

Sie finden den Artikel in deutscher Sprache in Ernährungs Umschau 06/07 ab Seite 308.