title: Locus of health control as a predictor of diet in pregnant women residing in a small town and rural setting in Małopolska district.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The locus of health control is one of the individual characteristics determining the diet of an individual.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to analyse the consumption frequency of selected food products depending on the locus of health control in a group of pregnant women residing in a small town and rural setting in Małopolska district.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted in a group of 300 pregnant women from Małopolska region, who were between 20 and 40 years of age (29.02 +/- 6.33). The consumption frequency of food products was examined with a prepared questionnaire, in a 7-item scale (from 7 points--several times a day to 1 point--never). The locus of health control was determined with the MHLC scale developed by K.A. Wallston et al., and adapted by Z. Juczyński. The relationship between the MHLC scale and the frequency of consumption of various products was estimated on the basis of Spearman's coefficients of rank correlation and the Mann-Whitney U test, using Statistica 10.0 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher level of internal control (MHLC-I) was associated with significant increase in the consumption frequency of orange and red vegetables (p < 0.01), marine fish (p < 0.01), and seafood (p < 0.05), and lower ingestion of margarine (p < 0.05). Higher influence of powerful others (MHLC-P) was associated with significant increase in the consumption frequency of cheese (p < 0.01), salted snacks (p < 0.01), and fast food products (p < 0.01), and lower ingestion of whole grains (p < 0.01), oat meal (p < 0.01), eggs (p < 0.01), pork and pork sausages (p < 0.05). Higher influence of the chance locus of health control (MHLC-C) was associated with significantly reduced frequency of consuming whole grains (p < 0.01), oat meal (p < 0.01), nuts (p < 0.01), marine fish (p < 0.05), and fresh fruit or vegetable juices (p < 0.05), as well as with more frequent ingestion of salted snacks (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnant women with the internal control made more rational nutritional choices significantly more frequently than those with the external control.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gacek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011044:Poland; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult