Abstract
Background
Sound nutrition knowledge and a balanced diet are essential for operational readiness
and optimal health of military personnel. Few studies have examined nutrition knowledge
in this population.
Objective
To assess the level of general nutrition knowledge across military occupations (ie,
officers [OFFRs], physical training instructors [PTIs], cooks [CKs], and soldiers
[SOLs]) compared with a civilian, community (C) sample.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Participants/setting
Convenience sample of Australian military (M) and C participants.
Main outcome measures
General nutrition knowledge measured using the validated General Nutrition Knowledge
Questionnaire (GNKQ). Knowledge scores and the influence of demographic characteristics
(eg, age, sex, level of education, and living arrangement) within and between M and
C groups were evaluated.
Statistical analyses
Analysis of variance, general linear models, independent-samples median test, t tests, χ2 test, and Spearman's correlation.
Results
A sample of 1,295 participants were recruited with 622 (48%) from C. The M sample
(n=673) consisted of SOLs 62.1%, OFFRs 9.1%, PTIs 12.8%, and CKs 16.0%. Mean age was
higher for C than M (35.5±14 y vs 29.7±9.2 y; P<0.001). However, SOLs were younger and OFFRs older than other groups (P<0.001). The M sample had more men (91.1% vs 39.4%; P<0.001). The OFFRs, PTIs, and C members had similar total GNKQ scores (62.8%, 61.9%,
and 64.7%, respectively) with these groups higher (P<0.001) than CKs and SOLs (56.4% and 50.6%, respectively). Across all participants,
there was a positive relationship between total GNKQ score and age, female sex, and
tertiary education (all P values <0.001). Significant differences identified in total GNKQ score between groups
remained after adjusting for demographic factors. Young men (M or C) without tertiary
education had the lowest GNKQ scores.
Conclusions
Because low general nutrition knowledge may be detrimental to dietary intake, health,
and operational readiness in military personnel, nutrition education programs particularly
targeted at SOLs and CKs seem warranted.
Keywords
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Biography
C. J. Kullen is a dietitian with the Australian Regular Army and a PhD candidate with the Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Biography
L. Iredale is a dietitian, Medibank Health Solutions, New South Wales, Australia; at the time of the study, she was a student with the Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Biography
T. Prvan is a senior lecturer in statistics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia.
Biography
H. T. O’Connor is a senior lecturer, Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 15, 2015
Accepted:
August 7,
2015
Received:
January 8,
2015
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This work was supported by Headquarters Forces Command.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
