Relationship Between perception of cardiovascular disease risk based on the Health Belief Model and food intake in a group of public employeess in Tehran, 1391

Undesirable food habits and consumption patterns are two of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD(. Perception of risk influences the preventive behaviors of individuals attempting to reduce disease risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perception of CVD risk based on the health belief model and food intake in a group of public sector employees in Tehran، Ian. This was a cross-sectional study inclding 270 public sector employees (65 women and 205 men، with an average age of40. 80 ± 6. 87 years (in Tehran، Iran، selected by simple sampling. Data were gathered through interviews and completing a 95-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and a self-administered CVD risk-perception (based on the health belief model) questionnaire and food habits. The statitical tests used for data analysis were the Perason and and Spearman correlation. The data howed that older people had a better perception of CVD risk (P=0. 039). The mean score of perception of risk of the disease was 26. 67±4. 38. It was significantly associated with the oil/fat group intake (P=0. 019)، each unit increase in risk perception resulting in a decrease of 0. 75 unit in intake. Preventive nutritional behaviors for cardiovascular disease should start from a young age، when people''s perception of risk is lower. Therefore، it is strongly recommended to develop and implement effective appropriate strategies aiming not only at reducing oil/fat intake but also at increasing consumption of fruits، vegetables and low-fat dairy products.