Turkish adaptation of questionnaire on food sustainability knowledge and attitudes to sustainable eating: Application to blue and white collar employees

This cross-sectional study was conducted in two stages, and in the first stage, a validity and reliability analysis was performed to adapt the Questionnaire on Food Sustainability Knowledge and Attitudes to Sustainable Eating to Turkish. In the second stage, the sustainable nutrition information and attitudes of blue and white-collar employees and their adaptation to the Mediterranean diet were evaluated. The first phase of the study was carried out with 384 individuals with a mean age of 37.8±11.33 years. As a result of the factor analysis, it was found that the Questionnaire on Food Sustainability Knowledge and Attitudes to Sustainable Eating consisting of 33 items was collected under four factors (dimensions), and the factor load of items of all sizes was above 0.50, and the total percentage of variant explanation was 60.4%. High level of reliability were achieved among the total survey items in of the Questionnaire on Food Sustainability Knowledge and Attitudes to Sustainable Eating reliability (internal consistency) analysis (McDonald's omega: 0.918 and Cronbach's alpha: 0.904). The fact that the Chi-square (χ²/df) Good Fit Index is 4.296, the Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI) is 0.958, the Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) is 0.042, and the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) is 0.078, as used in the evaluation of model compatibility resulting from confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), indicates that the model has a good fit and satisfies the validity conditions in adapting the Questionnaire on Food Sustainability Knowledge and Attitudes to Sustainable Eating for use in Turkish. The study's second phase was carried out with 210 employees, including 105 blue and 105 white collars, with a mean age of 41.9±10.87 years. Within the scope of the research, the questionnaire form containing general information and anthropometric measurements, Questionnaire on Food Sustainability Knowledge and Attitudes to Sustainable Eating, Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale (MEDAS), food consumption frequency form and 24-hour recall food consumption record form were applied to the individuals participating in the study by the utilisation of the face-to-face interview method. It has been found that the three concepts that all individuals have the most knowledge of sustainability and sustainable nutrition were local food, environmental impact and biodiversity, respectively, and the concept they had the slightest knowledge of was green water-blue water. It has been determined that white-collar employees have more knowledge about the water requirements for cultivating animal-based foods compared to blue-collar employees (p<0.05). Moreover, the results suggested that white-collar employees attribute more importance to the sustainable production of the products they consume than blue-collar employees and are more willing to spend more money on sustainably produced foods and beverages (p<0.05). Accounting to the MEDAS classification, it has been determined that all individuals who strictly comply with the Mediterranean diet were white-collar employees. Besides, results showcased that white-collar employees who strictly comply with the Mediterranean diet attribute more importance to the products they consume than white-collar employees who adapt and do not adapt to the sustainable production of the products they consume (p<0.05). Based on the data provided by blue and white-collar employees, the means of unsaturated, omega-3 and omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid intakes were higher in white-collar employees within their daily dietary intake. It was also determined that the means of saturated and polyunsaturated acid intakes of the white-collar employees were also low (p<0.05). Consequently, it has been reported that educational, economic and sociocultural disparities are importantly embedded in sustainable and healthy nutrition knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.