Low knowledge of physical health behaviours is associated with poor diet and chronic illness in adults
Robert Stanton A E , David Scott B and Brenda Happell C D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Medical and Applied and Sciences, CQUniversity, Bruce Highway, Rockhampton, Qld 4702, Australia.
B NorthWest Academic Centre, The University of Melbourne, Northern Hospital, 185 Cooper Street, Epping, Vic. 3076, Australia.
C Research Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Practice, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, University Drive, Bruce, NSW 2617, Australia.
D ACT Health, Research Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Practice, Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, ACT 2605, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: r.stanton@cqu.edu.au
Australian Journal of Primary Health 22(3) 226-232 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY14132
Submitted: 4 September 2014 Accepted: 12 December 2014 Published: 24 February 2015
Abstract
Governments invest heavily in health promotion strategies to improve physical health behaviours. However, the dietary and physical activity practices of many Australians fail to meet minimum levels for health, leading to the unacceptably high prevalence of chronic and complex illness. Health literacy is known to impact on health behaviour, and to be related to health knowledge; however, no studies have specifically examined knowledge of physical health behaviours in an Australian context. We assessed knowledge of physical health behaviours in 1244 adults in Queensland, Australia. Almost two-thirds of respondents had a ‘Good’ knowledge of physical health behaviour. People with ‘Good’ knowledge of physical health behaviours were more likely to be female, educated beyond secondary school, be employed and have an annual household income of >$52 000 (P < 0.05). People with ‘Low’ knowledge of physical health behaviours were significantly more likely to report insufficient intake of vegetables and have at least one chronic illness (P < 0.05). Binary logistic regression shows low daily intake of vegetables to have the strongest association with low knowledge of physical health behaviours. Given the association between health knowledge and health literacy, assessment of the knowledge of physical health behaviours may provide considerable insight into the effectiveness of future health promotion interventions.
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