Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

6-1982

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major Professor

Lura M, Odland

Committee Members

Mary Duffy, Grayce Goertz, John Larsen, Jane Savage, Jay Stauss

Abstract

In an attempt to explore the use of the Dietary Goals of the United States 1977 as publicized by the United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, a study was made of the use of the 1977 Dietary Goals by Public Health Nutrition Directors in state and territorial health agencies. It was proposed that the Public Health Nutrition Directors were using the Dietary Goals of the United States 1977 in the planning and development of programs for participants. A questionnaire developed for this research study was used to indicate the use of these goals in public health nutrition programs.

The total population of Public Health Nutrition Directors was surveyed in the study. All subjects were listed by the Public Health Service and the Association of State and Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors as official nutrition representatives for state and territorial health agencies.

The questionnaire obtained self report answers from the Public Health Nutrition Directors concerning nutrition education practices recommended within the individual public health nutrition programs, activities of the directors in program planning and implementation, agreement with the Dietary Goals statements, and the implementation of a national nutrition policy in 1981. The Public Health Directors also provided background information on education, work experiences, age, and geographical location.

General comparisons found no differences in acceptance of the Dietary Goals of 1977 attributable to age, years of work experience, salary, or geographical location. The Dietary Goal statements were accepted by the Public Health Directors in varying degrees. The goals related to modification of the dietary intake of saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and total fat intake were the least supported. Agreement with the limitation of salt and sugar intake was positive. The strongest support was in the increased consumption of complex carbohydrates. Over 85 percent of the Public Health Nutrition Directors expressed positive support for the development and publication of a national nutrition policy to aid in the standardization of program goals and objectives for food and nutrition. Generally, the Public Health Nutrition Directors were supportive of the 1977 Dietary Goals of the United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs which has led to the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

A major constraint in the development of a state and territorial nutrition policy is the dependence upon Federal categorical funding to support services within state health agencies. This dependence may be a distinct problem as federal involvement in health and social services decreases within the next years. Future research should focus upon determining the direction of funding in state and territorial public health nutrition programs and assessing the use of 1977 Dietary Goals of the United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs and Dietary Guidelines in the development of nutrition programs in other state and federally funded programs such as Extension, School Lunch, and Nutrition Education and Training of the Department of Agriculture.

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