Attitudes toward diet: health, locus of control and appearance

Abstract

To date, research on the motivating factors behind protective health behaviours has concentrated on examining health beliefs. The Health Belief Model proposes that people take preventive health measures both because of readiness to take action, and because of modifying factors that either help or hinder action. One such modifying factor is locus of control. One preventive health behaviour, eating habits, has also been found to be influenced by concern about appearance (Hayes and Ross, 1987). Hayes and Ross' findings support the separate study of preventive health behaviours e.g. eating, exercising and smoking. The present study extended Hayes and Ross' work by developing a questionnaire to measure and to relate attitudes towards diet, health, locus of control and appearance. Results showed that the best predictor of attitude to a healthy diet was concern about health, regardless of locus of control. Concern about appearance, though significantly correlated with attitude to a healthy diet, did not add significantly to its predictability.