The Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude & Practice of Gym Attendees

In 2009 I conducted a short four week study on 'The Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude & Practice of Gym “Gymnasium” Attendees in the town of Savanna-la-mar (Westmorland Jamaica)', while on Internship. It would be interesting to reapeat the study now and compare the findings between then and now.

My research question was:
How do persons who attend gyms view the importance of nutrition in achieving their objectives?

And my hypothesis, 'Persons who attend gymnasiums have little knowledge of good nutrition and usually use fad diets to help effect weight loss'.

A fad weight loss diet is any diet that promises fast weight loss without a scientific basis. These diets often eliminate entire food groups and as a result do not provide a wide range of important nutrients ( http://daa.asn.au/for-the-public/smart-eating-for-you/nutrition-a-z/fad-diets/ )

Here is part of the introduction from the study:
Healthy eating is complimentary to physical activity in maintaining a lean weight, fitness, strength and good health. In fact eating correctly can be crucial to sports performance, body building or simple daily exercise routines. The percentage of macronutrients can vary for individuals depending on their goals/objectives. The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for the Caribbean lists the acceptable macronutrient guideline distribution to range as follows;

• Carbohydrate 55-60%
  
  
• Protein 15-20%
  
  
• Fat > 30
  
  

People are usually willing to try anything that promises to help them lose weight, because they want to look or feel better or because they are worried about getting weight-related diseases. Companies or persons who promote fad diets usually take advantage of this fact. They appeal to people by promising weight loss that is very quick and easy, and many people prefer to try the quick fix of a fad diet instead of making efforts to lose weight through long term lifestyle changes.

Fad diets also become popular because many of them do work for a short time, and in many cases occur because when one stops eating certain types of food or eat special combinations of foods, they are getting fewer calories than they normally would. They are also paying more attention to what is being eaten, however, it is likely that much of the weight being lost is from water and lean muscle and not from fat. Also, most people are not able to keep up with the demands of a diet that strictly limits their food choices or requires them to eat the same foods over and over again. Because of this they end up going back to their usual eating habits, hence gaining the weight they have lost.

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The nutritional knowledge, attitude & practice of gym attendees from Cherzed