Abstract:

The aim of this study was to identify cognitively distorted and unhealthy eating-related attitudes and beliefs in a student population as well as to evaluate mid-term changes in these beliefs after an educational intervention.

Material and methods:
A randomized controlled trial was carried out. The study population comprised a total of 100 students in their third year of Occupational Therapy degree (University of Granada). Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: control and intervention groups. The educational intervention was accomplished through a short nutrition workshop of 1 hour duration, in which we addressed key points about healthy diet. Participants filled the questionnaire “Irrational Food Beliefs Scale (IFBS)” about irrational (IFB subscale) and rational (RFB subscale) beliefs, previously validated in Spanish population. They were invited to fill the questionnaire twice, previously and one month after the educational intervention. Moreover, anthropometric information was gathered at the beginning of the study.

Results:
We detected important irrational beliefs about food in the study population (86.79±13.94 y 33.87±4.61 for IFB and RFB subscales, respectively). Moreover, we have identified higher scores in the RFB subscale in the female population (p=.023) and those with a lower basal calories (p=.038), while the group of students with an elevated fat percentage and younger students showed lower scores in the IFB subscale (p=.031 and p=.075, respectively). Regarding the impact of the educational intervention, we observed statistically significant differences between groups in both subscales, observing a significant increase in the intervention group but not in the control group.

Conclusions:
Attitudes and beliefs that have been distorted and unhealthy related to food have been identified in health-related undergraduates. Moreover, the short educational intervention about healthy diet showed a significant impact on those irrational and rational beliefs.

Keywords:

IFBS, irrational food belief, rational food belief, overweight, BMI, body fat, educational intervention, undergraduate students.