Application of the stages of change model to dairy consumption among students of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences

In some studies، the model of stages of change has been used to determine the changes of diet. This study was performed to investigate the application of this model to dairy consumption among students of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. In this cross sectional study 423 students of medical sciences branch were evaluated in 2011. Two-stage random cluster sampling method was used. Three part questionnaire which included demographic data، food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and the standard questionnaire of stages of change was used for data collection. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 16 and statistical tests as: Chi-square، Mann-Whitney، Kruskal-Wallis and regression. The mean age of students was 22. 1±3. 3 years (18-35 years). From this sample، 67. 4% of them were female and 21% were married. The highest and lowest consumption of dairy products، related to the cheese and whey، respectively. Most of the students (78. 1%) were not consuming enough daily servings of dairy. Based on the results، in single students the daily consumption of dairy products were more than in married ones (P<0. 05). Study of dairy consumption based on the pattern of stages of change revealed that most of the students (24. 1%) were in contemplation’s stage and their lowest were in the pre-contemplation’s stage (10. 4%). Overall، 54. 6% of students were in the preoperative stages (pre-contemplation، contemplation and preparation) and 45. 4% of them were in the postoperative stages (action and maintenance). Considering the stages of change model، most under study students were in the contemplation stage، especially preoperative stages. Also most of the students did not use enough dairy in daily diet. So this theory could be a good suggestion to encourage using of dairy in this group of population.