An indirect approach to the measurement of nutrient-specific perceptions of food healthiness.

BACKGROUND Enhancing our understanding of food-related perceptions is critical to assist those with eating- and weight-related problems. PURPOSE This study investigated normative and person-specific aspects of perceived food healthiness in terms of nutritional characteristics and the relevance of nutritional knowledge to perceived healthiness. METHODS Two hundred sixty-three undergraduate women judged the healthiness of 104 foods and completed nutrient knowledge tasks. Multilevel modeling estimated average and person-specific reliance on and knowledge about nutrients. RESULTS Participants relied substantially on fat and fiber, moderately on sugar, and minimally on protein. Disordered eating symptoms moderately predicted greater reliance on fat. Nutritional knowledge was highest for sugar and lowest for fiber. Nutritional knowledge and utilization were unrelated. CONCLUSIONS Public health campaigns should educate college-aged women further on the health consequences of sugar and protein consumption. Explicit knowledge of nutrients may not be prioritized when judging food healthiness.