# Immediate Effects of Brief Exposure to the Healthy Eating Plate on Adults’ Nutrition Knowledge: A Cross-Sectional Survey

## TL;DR

A study in Poland found that a visual guide called the Healthy Eating Plate significantly improved adults' short-term understanding of healthy eating principles.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates the immediate effectiveness of the Healthy Eating Plate in improving nutrition knowledge among adults.

## Key findings

- Exposure to the Healthy Eating Plate increased overall knowledge scores by 16.7 percentage points.
- Participants had the highest post-test scores for whole-grain intake and salt reduction recommendations.
- The largest knowledge deficit remained in identifying components of a balanced meal.

## Abstract

Introduction: The Healthy Eating Plate is a graphical presentation of Polish healthy eating recommendations introduced in 2020. This study evaluated the extent to which the model and its accompanying materials improve adults’ short-term recall and comprehension of healthy eating principles. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Poland (19–30 September 2025) using the MNForce Poland research panel. The sample comprised 200 adults aged 18–65 years. Participants completed an author-developed questionnaire including demographics, a pretest, exposure to the Healthy Eating Plate and the “In 3 Steps to Health” material, an immediate post-test aligned thematically with the pretest, and items evaluating perceptions of the Healthy Eating Plate. Results: The overall knowledge index increased from 64.3% (SD 17.6) pre-exposure to 81.0% (SD 19.4) post-exposure, representing a 16.7 percentage-point improvement. This increase in short-term knowledge scores was statistically significant. The largest residual knowledge deficit concerned identifying the components of a balanced meal (38.0% correct post-test). The highest post-test performance was observed for recommendations on increasing whole-grain intake and reducing salt consumption to 5 g/day (both 91.5%). Baseline knowledge was associated with prior use of dietetic services and with self-assessed knowledge. Conclusions: Exposure to the Healthy Eating Plate and accompanying materials resulted in significant immediate improvements in recall and comprehension of healthy eating recommendations. These findings reflect short-term knowledge transfer under real-world dissemination conditions and should not be interpreted as evidence of sustained learning or behavioural impact, while highlighting the need to strengthen communication of the balanced-meal concept.