Determination of awareness, knowledge levels and reasons for preference of functional foods of dietitians who provide healthy nutrition and diet counseling in Turkey

The study was planned in order to evaluate the functional nutritional knowledge levels, reasons for preferring/not choosing, and recommending to clients of dietitians who graduated from Nutrition and Dietetics departments in Turkey, agreed to participate voluntarily, and provided healthy nutrition and diet consultancy. A 21-question questionnaire including multiple-choice and open-ended questions was applied to determine the socio-demographic characteristics, general information, client profiles, preference and recommendation status of functional foods. The survey link was sent online via e-mail or social network. The response rate to the questionnaires was calculated as 25.75%, and a total of 103 dietitians, 94.2% female and 5.8% male, with a mean age of 27.91±4.79%, participated in the study. 97% of dietitians preferred functional foods. It has been observed that they have a general knowledge of functional foods and recommend functional foods to their clients. 65.0% of dietitians defined functional foods as "Foods used for certain health conditions with additional benefits for the body are called functional foods". 75.7% of those who preferred functional foods preferred because their health benefits were based on evidence. Female dietitians preferred whole grain foods more than male dietitians (p<.05). As the number of years, they admitted to the clients increased, the frequency of choosing herbal teas decreased (p<.05). The functional nutrients and components they preferred in the nutrition programs they applied to their clients (cancer and nutrition, diabetes and nutrition...) were generally found to be similar. The rate of preference for soy proteins in their own nutrition and diet lists is quite low. As a result of this study, it was concluded that dietitians know functional foods in general and include functional foods both in their own use and in the programs, they apply to their clients. Dietitians prefer functional foods because they provide additional health benefits in certain situations, and they believe this health benefit is evidence-based. Keywords: Functional Foods, Dietitian, Healthy Diet