© 2004 British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin, 29, 199–203 199 Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKNBUNutrition Bulletin1471-98272004 British Nutrition Foundation ? 2004293199203Original ArticleDietary change and perceptions of changeA. A. Lake et al. Correspondence: Amelia A. Lake, Human Nutrition Research Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Wellcome Research Laboratories, RVI, Queen Victoria Rd, Newcastle NE6 5AR, UK. E-mail: amelia.lake@ncl.ac.uk *Amelia Lake was a runner-up in the British Nutrition Foundation Young Scientists Awards. These awards honour young people working in the field of public health nutrition. The winners presented their work at a colloquium in London in December 2003. BNF YOUNG SCIENTISTS AWARDS Dietary change and perceptions of change over time A. A. Lake*, A. J. Adamson, R. M. Hyland and J. C. Mathers Human Nutrition Research Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, UK Summary Dietary patterns and change in eating habits are influenced by the interrelationship between an individual’s internal and external environment. This longitudinal dietary survey study produced evidence of dietary change and investigated percep- tions of, and attributions for, dietary change from adolescence to adulthood, using sociodemographic data and questionnaire responses. Dietary data were obtained in 1980 and 2000 from the same respondents (mean age 11.6 and 32.5 years, respec- tively). Two 3-day food diaries were collected from 198 participants in 1980 and 2000. Foods consumed were assigned to one of the five food categories from the Balance of Good Health (BGH) and expressed as percentage contribution to total food weight. A questionnaire was completed in 2000 which explored how subjects perceived their own dietary change and the factors to which they attributed such change. Respondents were split into three groups in respect of their perceptions of the relative healthiness of the diet now (2000) compared with what it was in 1980. Those who perceived that their diet in 2000 was healthier than their diet in 1980 (‘Healthier’) had increased their fruit and vegetables more and decreased their foods containing fat and/or sugar more than those who perceived that their diet in 2000 was ‘Less healthy’. The cross-referencing of questionnaire answers with measured dietary change illustrates an association between perception of change and degree of change in intake of three BGH food groups: fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and alternatives, and foods containing fat and/or sugar. These findings help to explain the complex process of dietary change from adolescence to adulthood. Keywords: adolescence, adulthood, dietary change, healthy eating, longitudinal dietary sur- vey, perceptions Introduction Dietary changes over time are important to health; understanding the development of food choices and atti- tudes is of critical significance in affecting the current diet–disease relationship (Wardle et al. 1995). Longitu- dinal studies provide the opportunity to explore change in diet and the factors attributed to such a change. In order to answer the question of why we eat what we eat, an understanding of individuals’ ideas about their body and their health, in addition to issues of time, social rela-