Riverina men's study: a preliminary exploration of the diet, alcohol use and physical activity behaviours and attitudes of rural men in two Australian New South Wales electorates

Many men, particularly rural men, experience health disadvantage. Data for this research were collected via a written postal survey that gathered information on diet, alcohol use, physical activity, and attitudes to health and body image. The survey was sent to 2000 randomly selected men in the Riverina in New South Wales in June 2004, achieving a 27 per cent response rate. Approximately one third of respondents achieved a poor Food Habit Score. Age was not significantly associated with diet quality, but those in higher skilled occupations had a better diet, compared with those in less skilled occupations. Eighty seven per cent of the respondents drank alcohol and of those, almost half consumed only one or two alcoholic drinks at each session. Nearly a quarter reported that they had more than four drinks on each drinking occasion. Almost half did no vigorous exercise. Men with poor dietary habits were more likely to agree with less desirable attitudes to health, such as needing a health scare before changing their lifestyle.