Two-hundred and ninety-three UK consumers completed a questionnaire eliciting estimates of fat content (as a percentage of energy) of 24 common foods, along with information on respondents' nutrition training, perceived knowledge and use of nutrition information, age, sex, height, weight, and eating restraint. The relative positioning of foods with regard to fat content was generally correct; however, there was a consistent tendency to overestimate the fat content of foods low in fat and to underestimate those high in fat. Estimates of fat content were characterized by wide deviations from true values, and were particularly poor for several specific foods. Females and respondents with formal (but not informal) nutrition training were more accurate overall, but still made large errors in estimate for certain food items. The results indicate that many consumers are likely to have substantial misconceptions regarding the relative proportion of energy derived from fat in many common foods.
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