The commitment of the population of the Russian Federation to healthy nutrition

Introduction. The increase in the number of diseases associated with malnutrition has reached global proportions and has become a serious problem for health systems around the world. For example, in the United States, about 36 % of the adult population is obese, in Russia, Georgia and the Republic of Belarus this figure ranges from 21% to 24%. Foreign experience (the Netherlands and the USA) illustrates that the population’s idea of proper nutrition is unrealistic: underestimation of high fat intake, low consumption of vegetables and fruits, etc., relative to their daily allowance, misconception in assessing the balance of their own diet, etc. The purpose of the study: to study the commitment of the population to proper nutrition and to determine the factors influencing people’s choice. Materials and methods. In this work, a questionnaire method was used using a developed questionnaire consisting of seven blocks and 46 questions. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using the programs Statistica for Windows version 10.0 and R-studio. Results. 2,731 respondents over the age of 18 (45.7 % men and 54.3 % women) from all regions of the Russian Federation took part in the survey. Only 5 % (n = 136) replied that they constantly adhered to proper nutrition, a large proportion preferred not to do it at all (43.4 %, n = 1,186) and a third – from time to time (37.3 %, n = 1,018). In addition, it is important that 14.3 % of respondents (n = 391) found it difficult to answer the question, which is most likely due to a lack of understanding of what the concept of «proper nutrition» includes. The parameters related to the observance of proper nutrition by the respondents were female gender, high financial status and regular breakfast intake. In addition, non-smokers, as well as people who, when choosing food in the store, paid attention to the composition, calorie content and the inscription «GMO-free»/ «Sugar-free»/ «Healthy food», had a higher chance of adhering to a proper diet compared to the rest of the participants. Conclusion. It is necessary to increase the commitment and awareness of the population about proper nutrition, focusing primarily on men, obese people, low financial status, workers/employees/specialists, smokers, who often ate at night, ate semi-finished products at home, and ate everything that was on the plate to the end.