Food choice and food consumption frequency for Uruguayan consumers

The aims of the present work were to study motives underlying Uruguayan consumers' food choice behaviour and to study the consumption frequency of some selected food items. A modification of the Food Choice Questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire was administered to a group of 200 Uruguayan consumers. Feeling good and safety, sensory appeal and health and nutrient content were rated as the most important factors, while familiarity was rated as the least important. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, three clusters with different choice patterns were identified. Frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products, and whole cereals, increased as the importance attributed to health and nutrition increased; consumption of fatty foods decreased.     

Impact of different food label formats on healthiness evaluation and food choice of consumers: a randomized-controlled study

Background  

Front of pack food labels or signpost labels are currently widely discussed as means to help consumers to make informed food choices. It is hoped that more informed food choices will result in an overall healthier diet. There is only limited evidence, as to which format of a food label is best understood by consumers, helps them best to differentiate between more or less healthy food and whether these changes in perceived healthiness result in changes of food choice.     

Gluten and casein free diets in autism: a study of the effects on food choice and nutrition

Background There is growing interest in possible dietary involvement in the aetiology and treatment of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Research has focused on the physiological and behavioural effects of dietary change but has not examined the effect of exclusion diets on nutritional intake. Aims The aim of this study was to examine whether the removal of major dietary staples placed children with autism at risk of nutrient deficiency and compares their food choice with ASD children not following gluten and/or casein free diets. Methods A postal questionnaire was sent to parents of children aged 3–16 years, diagnosed with ASD belonging to the National Autistic Society in Leicestershire and southern Derbyshire. Detailed dietary information and a 3‐day food diary were collected. The sample size was small: those using gluten/casein free diets (n = 8) and those not following diet (n = 29). Results Nutrient intakes fell below the Lower Reference Nutrient Intake (LRNI) in 12 children (32%) for zinc, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and riboflavin in the nondiet group and four children (50%) for zinc and calcium in the diet group. Fruit and vegetable intakes were higher and cereal, bread and potato consumption were lower in those children using gluten and/or casein free diets. Conclusion No significant differences in the energy, protein and micronutrient intakes were found between the two groups of children. A longitudinal prospective study is suggested to examine whether differences in food choice are the result of dietary intervention or the prerequisite for the successful application of diet in this special group of children.     

Information and consumer choice: the value of publicized health plan ratings

We use data on the enrollment decisions of federal annuitants to estimate the influence of publicized ratings on health plan choice. We focus on the impact of ratings disseminated by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and use our estimates to calculate the value of the information. Our approach exploits a novel feature of the data-the availability of non-public plan ratings-to correct for a source of bias that is inherent in studies of consumer responsiveness to information on product quality: since publicized ratings are correlated with other quality signals known to consumers (but unobserved by researchers), the estimated influence of ratings is likely to be overstated. We control for this bias by comparing the estimated impact of publicized ratings to the estimated impact of ratings that were never disclosed. The results indicate that NCQA's plan ratings had a meaningful influence on individuals' choices, particularly for individuals choosing a plan for the first time. Although we estimate that a very small fraction of individual decisions were materially affected by the information, for those that were affected the implied utility gains are substantial.     

Issues in the consumer choice of health care coverage plans

Developing and implementing successful marketing strategies for prepaid health care coverage plans is becoming an important issue as managers of these plans struggle to remain competitive in the market place. This paper provides insight into the reasons why consumers make choices among varying types of health care coverage plans. Some suggestions are made to plan managers for incorporating these results into the development of marketing strategies for prepaid health care coverage plans.     

Eating out: consumer perceptions of food safety

The purpose of this investigation was to improve the understanding of the public's perception of hygiene standards in eating places and their knowledge of the inspection system. A telephone survey found that despite many claiming experience of food poisoning, and a widely held belief that using eating places may result in illness, people continue to eat out or purchase takeaways regularly. Nearly all respondents claimed that the standard of food hygiene was important to them when deciding where to eat out. Assessments of hygiene standards were mainly based on aesthetics. A minority had concerns/complaints about the hygiene standards of eating places they had used. People do not appear to be well informed about the role of the local authorities in protecting food safety and how the food safety laws are enforced. They believe that they have the right to know the result of a hygiene inspection. Half of them thought that it was difficult to find information on the hygiene standards of eating places. If access to information was easier, some consumers would eat out more often. The public will need to be educated on the inspection and enforcement process if 'scores on doors' is adopted as the main method of raising the confidence of the public in the standards of the food industry.     

Autonomy and control: the co-construction of adolescent food choice

We explored how adolescents and parents negotiate adolescents' increasing food choice autonomy in European Canadian, Punjabi Canadian and African Canadian families. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 47 adolescents and their parents, participant observation at a family meal and a grocery shopping trip with the family shopper(s). Thematic and constant comparative analyses were used. Adolescents exercised considerable autonomy over much of their food choice and their parents monitored and controlled the environment within which adolescents were given independence and responsibility. Parents used strategies of coaxing, coaching and coercing, while teens responded by complaining, ignoring and refusing their parents' advice. At the same time, teens took responsibility and reflected on their behaviours while keeping in mind their parents' advice, even if in some cases they were as yet unable to act upon it. Food choice autonomy is not simply a negative act of teenage defiance. Instead, it is actively co-constructed by both teens and their parents as each resists and responds to the others. Studies of adolescent autonomy related to food choices, and interventions based on nutritional autonomy as a risk factor for poor nutrition would do well to take account of the co-constructive parent-adolescent process of teen autonomy.     

山西省消费者对食品过敏原认知态度的调查与分析

目的 通过对山西省消费者对食品过敏原了解程度的调查,分析其社会人口学特征影响因素,从而为进一步有针对性地宣传食品过敏原相关知识提供数据依据。 方法 采用配额抽样法对山西省11地市3 500名消费者进行问卷调查,采用SPSS19.0对调查数据进行统计分析,χ2检验进行统计推断。 结果 在3 416份有效问卷中,不了解食品过敏原的有1 505人,占44.1%;不同性别、年龄段、文化程度以及收入的消费者对于食品过敏原的了解程度的差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05);支持在食品包装上标明食品过敏原信息的有2 252人,占65.9%。 讨论 建议针对人口学特征对不同的消费者进行不同程度的食品过敏原知识宣传;根据食品过敏原信息标于食品包装标签的消费者支持度,相关部门、机构应加以重视和落实食品过敏原信息的标注。     

Health concern, food choice motives, and attitudes toward healthy eating: the mediating role of food choice motives

This study addresses how various health concerns might influence not only consumers' food choice motives but also consumers' subsequent attitudes toward healthy eating. This study expects that those consumers with greater health concerns would have different food choice motives and better attitudes toward healthy eating. A self-completion questionnaire was used to gather information. Participants, a random sample of 500 undergraduate students from a national university in Taipei, Taiwan, provided a total of 456 usable questionnaires, representing a valid response rate of 91%. The average age of the respondents at the time of the survey was 21 years and 63% of respondents were females. The relationship between health concern and healthy eating attitudes was confirmed. The relationship between health concern of developing diseases and attitudes toward healthy eating was fully mediated by food choice motives. However, the relationship between calorie consumption health concern and healthy eating attitudes was only partially mediated by food choice motives. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Evidence-based consumer choice: a case study in colorectal cancer screening

OBJECTIVES: To elicit community preferences for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by faecal occult blood test (FOBT) using discrete choice modeling (DCM). To provide policymakers with information that would assist them in designing the future national screening program. METHODS: 301 participants in central Sydney, aged 50 to 70 years, at 'average' risk of CRC, participated in a face-to-face discrete choice study interview in which screening profiles were posed to derive estimates for preferences for CRC FOBT screening. RESULTS: Three characteristics were varied in our screening profiles, namely: benefit (CRC deaths prevented); potential harm (false positive induced colonoscopy); and notification policy (of test result). Ninety-four respondents (32%) did not trade off CRC deaths prevented for any reduction in harms. Twelve per cent always chose no screening. The remaining 56% traded benefits and harms. These latter respondents (n = 164) were willing to accept 853 (false positive induced) colonoscopies for one CRC death prevented. CONCLUSIONS: While survival was all that mattered for just over one-third of the sample and 12% would choose no screening, the remaining individuals were prepared to trade CRC deaths prevented against other characteristics. CRC screening will not receive unqualified community support, irrespective of harms. IMPLICATIONS: In any future national CRC screening program, consideration of these insights about community assessment of benefits, harms, costs and other characteristics of CRC screening is warranted.