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Healthy eating: the views of general practitioners and patients in Scotland^1,2,3,4

¹ From the Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change, Department of General Practice, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Background: Scotland has one of the poorest health records of all Western countries, and this has been linked to poor diet. A key part of efforts to improve health has been an action plan to improve the Scottish diet. General practice has been identified as an important setting for health promotion and the provision of healthy eating advice.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the views of general practitioners (GPs) and their patients about healthy eating and the provision of healthy eating advice in general practice.

Design: This qualitative research study used semistructured in-depth interviews with 15 general practitioners (8 female and 7 male) and 30 patients (15 married couples in social class 3, 4, or 5 with young children).

Results: The study found that health was only one priority in patients’ everyday lives and that these patients were also questioning the relevance of healthy eating advice. GPs were divided in their opinions, with greater enthusiasm being displayed by the younger and female doctors. However, despite their differing views, GPs felt that general practice was better suited to specific rather than general health advice.

Conclusions: If programs in general practice to address dietary inequalities are to succeed, both patients’ views and GPs’ views must be taken into account.

Key Words: General practice • Scottish diet • qualitative methods • nutrition education • dietary advice • healthy eating

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