Perceptions of food healthiness among free-living women.

Background: Improving our understanding of food-related healthiness perception may be beneficial to assist those with eating- and weight-related problems.

Purpose: This study replicates and extends prior work by examining normative and person-specific predictors of the perceived healthiness of foods in a sample of free-living women.

Methods: One hundred sixty-nine women from the community judged the healthiness of 104 foods that varied in fat, fiber, sugar, and protein content. Mixed-effects modeling estimated normative influences of food-specific and individual-specific characteristics on each participant's utilization of the nutrients when judging healthiness.

Results: When judging healthiness, free-living women relied substantially on fat and fiber independently of other nutrients. In contrast, reliance on fat and fiber was moderated by the presence of protein and sugar. Three bivariate interactions emerged between: 1) fiber and sugar; 2) fat and protein; and 3) fiber and protein. Binge-eating symptoms and frequency of healthy food consumption positively correlated with independent reliance on fat as a predictor of perceived healthiness.

Conclusions: Public health campaigns should continue to encourage free-living women to consume adequate amounts of protein. Additionally, free-living women should be reminded that the presence of sugar in foods without nourishing components (i.e., fiber, protein) is problematic, and consuming these foods in excess should be avoided. Healthy food consumption appears to enhance perceptions of food healthiness.