Counseling regarding healthy lifestyles in primary healthcare and the dietary practices of clients

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examines a counseling program on healthy lifestyles run by health care professionals to establish the adoption of healthy dietary practices by patients attending a primary health care unit. Participants in the study included 417 clients of the unit, the majority of whom were women (78.9%), with an average age of 39 years, a high incidence of excessive weight, (59.1%), important dietary inadequacies, and with a contrastingly low frequency of receiving counseling (40.8%). Clients receiving counseling displayed more appropriate consumption of candy/gum (p=0.031), softdrinks (p=0.036), salty foods (p=0.037), artificial flavorings (p=0.005) and eggs (p=0.010). Adoption of healthy dietary practices was more common among older individuals and women (p <0.05). Despite the importance of nutritional counseling in dealing with such health problems, this was not prevalent, suggesting the need for greater intervention by health care professionals aimed at preventing and controlling disease and promoting good health.