“To eat and to know what you eat”: Exploring perceptions on diet and diet recording among people in a Sri Lankan locality

Improving nutrition through dietary modification is important for prevention of non-communicable diseases. This study was a preliminary step in designing a culturally-apt dietary data collection tool that reflects local food culture and eating habits, based on public perceptions of diet and diet recording in Sri Lanka. Three focus group discussions were conducted among a heterogeneous, purposively selected sample of 30 adults to identify perceptions on diet and diet recording, following completion of a standard food diary. Content analysis identified six key themes: i.e. definition of a meal, knowledge on calories, determinants of diet, benefits / difficulties in diet recording and expected improvements of the diet diary. The understanding of a meal, calories and determinants of diet were major components in the perceptions of diet. Individual, family, occasion and time-related and economic factors were identified as determinants of daily diet. Participants stated that documenting diet is useful to define health, nutritional components of a meal and diet control, while time factor was a limitation. A user-friendly diet diary was expected to include information on balanced diet and diet-related diseases, appearance, instructions and food lists to choose from. These findings are important in designing culturally appropriate tools for the dietary assessment in the management of non-communicable diseases.