A Healthy Eating Identity is Associated with Healthier Food Choice Behaviors Among U.S. Army Soldiers

Abstract Background Making decisions about food is a critical part of everyday life and a principal concern for a number of public health issues. Yet, the mechanisms involved in how people decide what to eat are not yet fully understood. Here, we examined the role of visual attention in healthy eating intentions and choices. We conducted two-alternative forced choice tests of competing food stimuli that paired healthy and unhealthy foods that varied in taste preference. We manipulated their perceptual salience such that, in some cases, one food item was more perceptually salient than the other. In addition, we manipulated the cognitive load and time pressure to test the generalizability of the salience effect. Results Manipulating salience had a powerful effect on choice in all situations; even when an unhealthy but tastier food was presented as an alternative, healthy food options were selected more often when they were perceptually salient. Moreover, in a second experiment, food choices on one trial impacted food choices on subsequent trials; when a participant chose the healthy option, they were more likely to choose a healthy option again on the next trial. Furthermore, robust effects of salience on food choice were observed across situations of high cognitive load and time pressure. Conclusions These results have implications both for understanding the mechanisms of food-related decision-making and for implementing interventions that might make it easier for people to make healthy eating choices.

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Healthy Through Presence or Absence, Nature or Science?: A Framework for Understanding Front-of-Package Food Claims

Journal of Public Policy & Marketing ◽

10.1177/0743915618824332 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 172-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Quentin André ◽

Pierre Chandon ◽

Kelly Haws

Keyword(s):

Weight Loss ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Validation Studies ◽

Food Choice ◽

Low Fat ◽

Meso Level ◽

Nutrition Quality ◽

Micro Level ◽

Scientific Arguments ◽

Negative Attributes

Food products claim to be healthy in many ways, but prior research has investigated these claims at either the macro level (using broad descriptions such as “healthy” or “tasty”) or the micro level (using single claims such as “low fat”). The authors use a meso-level framework to examine whether these claims invoke natural or scientific arguments and whether they communicate about positive attributes present in the food or negative attributes absent from the food. They find that common front-of-packaging claims can be appropriately classified into (1) science- and absence-focused claims about “removing negatives,” (2) science- and presence-focused claims about “adding positives,” (3) nature- and absence-focused claims about “not adding negatives,” and (4) nature- and presence-focused claims about “not removing positives.” The authors conduct validation studies using breakfast cereals, a category for which nutrition quality varies but food claims are constant. They find that claim type is completely uncorrelated to actual nutrition quality yet influences inferences consumers make about taste, healthiness, and dieting. Claim type also helps predict the effects of hedonic eating, healthy eating, or weight loss goals on food choice.

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Beauty and the beast: gender differences in food-related behavior

Revista Brasileira de Marketing ◽

10.5585/remark.v12i1.2441 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 149-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Simone Velloso Missagia ◽

Solange Riveli Oliveira ◽

Daniel Carvalho Rezende

Keyword(s):

Regression Analysis ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Food Choice ◽

Total Sample ◽

Food Choices ◽

Age And Gender ◽

Men And Women ◽

Beauty And The Beast ◽

Males And Females ◽

And Gender

Among the decisions that consumers have to make there are food choices, including the decision to eat healthily. In this way, both motives for food choice and the behavior reported by consumers can describe how people relate to healthy food, particularly males and females, and what distinguishes them. Researching of a sample of 309 people, respondents were randomly selected in order to achieve balanced age and gender. Such individuals were recruited through an offline method that consisted of contact in supermarkets. Total sample size is constituted by 174 female and 135 male respondents. The results of the logistic regression analysis pointed that the main difference between genders is the way they interpret healthiness as a motive for food choice. While men find important that the products they eat keep them healthy, women consider more important the fact that they are nutritious. In addition, other motives and behaviors that distinguish men and women in respect of food choices and healthy eating were observed.DOI:10.5585/remark.v12i1.2441

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Healthy eating in Ukraine: attitudes, barriers and information sources

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1079/phn200059 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 207-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

OO Biloukha ◽

V Utermohlen

Keyword(s):

Nutrition Education ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Food Choice ◽

Information Sources ◽

Resistance To Change ◽

Tertiary Education ◽

Low Cost ◽

Adult Population ◽

Self Control ◽

Major Factors

AbstractObjectiveTo identify the major perceived influences on food choice, to examine the use of and trust in information sources concerning healthy eating, and to assess attitudes towards and barriers to adopting healthy eating practices in a post-USSR country (Ukraine).DesignA survey of an urban adult population. The questions were adopted from the Pan-European Union (EU) Survey of Consumer Attitudes to Food, Nutrition and Health (1995–1996).SettingLviv city, Ukraine.SubjectsThe survey included 296 adults (84 males, 212 females) aged 18–55 years; they were primarily college students and subjects with tertiary education – the groups most likely to be both interested in healthy eating and affected by current socioeconomic downturns.ResultsThe major factors in food choice were: ‘quality/freshness’ (cited by 80%), ‘price’ (58%) and ‘taste’ (47%); only 34% cited ‘trying to eat healthily’. More older people cited ‘price’ than ‘quality/freshness’, and men were more likely than women to cite ‘taste’. Sources of healthy eating information included: ‘relatives/friends’ (cited by 65%, trusted by 85%) and health professionals (trusted by 92%, but used by only 35%); while advertising was the least trusted source (cited by 28%). Fifty-three per cent of respondents considered their diet to be healthy enough without further changes; 50% thought of the nutritional aspects of the food they ate; fewer women than men considered their diet healthy, and more women than men thought about nutrition. Barriers to healthy eating included: ‘cost’ (cited by 65%), ‘lack of time’ (55%), ‘self-control’ (54%), ‘selection influences’ (41%), ‘lack of knowledge’ (32%), ‘unpleasant foods’ and ‘resistance to change’ (both 30%).ConclusionsStrategies to encourage healthy eating in this population should involve word-of-mouth nutrition education concerning low-cost healthy alternatives.

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The Influence of Residence on Young Adult Attitudes toward Healthy Eating

Social Marketing Quarterly ◽

10.1080/15245000802034689 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 33-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tegan Piggford ◽

Maria Raciti ◽

Debra Harker ◽

Michael Harker

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Living Arrangements ◽

Food Choice ◽

Independent Living ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

The Family ◽

Unexplored Area ◽

Family Home ◽

Self Administered Questionnaire

Like other Western countries, Australia too reports record numbers of overweight and obese individuals with young Australian adults in a particularly high-risk position. It is suspected that the transition from dependent living in the family home to independent living during young adulthood influences food choice. As such, this study sought to investigate if attitudes toward healthy eating varied by the place of residence (dependent or independent) of these young adults. Using a self-administered questionnaire, quantitative data from 310 Australians between the ages of 18 to 24 years found that young adults who lived independently displayed a significantly more positive attitude toward healthy eating than those who remained in the family home. Furthermore, we found that a significant, positive relationship between attitude toward healthy eating and the number of recommended serves consumed in both independent and dependent living arrangements. Being an unexplored area, these findings are novel and provide valuable insights for the implementation of an inducement process for planned social change as well as informing the education and motivation elements of intervention strategies.

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Putting Knowledge into Practice: Low-Income Women Talk about Food Choice Decisions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17145092 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (14) ◽

pp. 5092

Author(s):

Shelly M. Palmer ◽

Simon T. Knoblauch ◽

Donna M. Winham ◽

Molly B. Hiller ◽

Mack C. Shelley

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Food Choice ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Diet Change ◽

Model Framework

Insights into barriers and facilitators for healthy eating are needed to improve low-income women’s diets and to decrease disease risk. The study objectives were to explore women’s qualitative perceptions of influences on their food choices such as food security, their knowledge of nutrition-related health risk factors and self-efficacy for diet change, and their dietary intakes in practice. Thirty-six women, aged 19–50, who were eligible to receive income-based assistance were recruited in central Iowa. Focus group discussions on defining healthy foods, influences on food choice, and nutrition information sources were analyzed using a socioecological model framework. Demographics, nutrient intake estimates, food security status, health behaviors, and self-efficacy for nutrition behavior change were collected by survey. Most participants were White (61%), single (69%), food insecure (69%), and living with children (67%). Few women met dietary recommendations. Barriers to healthy eating include cost, convenience/preparation time, family taste preferences, and limitations of federal food assistance programs. Facilitators are high self-efficacy for nutrition change and health knowledge on average. These results challenge the strategy of using nutrition education to improve healthy eating and instead show that intervention messaging should focus on limited, achievable steps to improve dietary choices that fit within cost, convenience, and taste constraints.

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A Comparison of the Sensory Experience, Health Values, and Environmental Values of Plant-Based Meal Choosers vs Meat-Based Meal Choosers

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzab043_018 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 566-566

Author(s):

Elizabeth Rogers ◽

Johnathan Kershaw

Keyword(s):

Health Behavior ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Food Choice ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Research Question ◽

State University ◽

Green State ◽

Starting Point ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Bowling Green State University

Abstract Objectives Our research question is: is there a difference in food choice values of those who choose plant-based dining options vs those who choose meat-based dining options? Our hypothesis is; sustainability/health involvement and self-reported sustainability/health behavior positively effects plant-based food choice. Methods Consumer panels were recruited from BGSU's campus and were incentivized for their participation. Sample preparation and pick up was conducted at the Oaks Dining Hall at Bowling Green State University. Consumers were served two sample tacos, one vegan and one meat-based. Panelists were provided a QR code containing the survey. Each survey included a prompt indicating what sample to consume, followed by four sensory questions about the sample, presented in a 9-point likert scale. The survey then directed participants to a page with a 30 second timer count down before prompting them to evaluate the other sample, followed by the same four sensory questions. After the samples are evaluated, the panelists are directed to an additional survey about food-choice motives, regarding sustainability/health involvement or sustainability/health self-reported behavior. This survey consisted of eight self-reported health behavior statement, seven sustainability self-reported behavior statements, four health involvement statements, and four sustainability involvement statements. Each statement was presented in a 5-point hedonic scale. Results We did not find differences in the characteristics of sustainability/health involvement or sustainability/health self-reported behaviors between those that chose vegan and those that chose meat. Among both groups, vegan choosers and meat choosers, involvement in healthy eating was higher than involvement in sustainable eating, but there was no difference in self-reported healthy eating and sustainable eating. Conclusions The student demographic we chose is more homogenous than the general population so we didn't see a significant difference in the food choice values of vegan choosers and meat choosers. Among both groups, involvement in healthy eating was significantly higher than involvement in sustainable eating. This provides a beneficial starting point for discussion and further research. Funding Sources Bowling Green State University Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship.

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Associations between moral foundations and healthy eating identity and self-efficacy

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e546872013-299 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah N. Kiser ◽

Punam Ohri-Vachaspati ◽

Christopher Wharton ◽

Sarah Martinelli ◽

LeeAnn Bond ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Eating ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Moral Foundations ◽

Eating Identity

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Liking for and consumption of vegetables in European adolescents: Healthy eating, liking, food neophobia and food choice motives

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665118000927 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 77 (OCE3) ◽

Author(s):

K.M. Appleton ◽

C. Dinnella ◽

S. Spinelli ◽

D. Morizet ◽

L. Saulais ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Eating ◽

Food Choice ◽

Food Neophobia ◽

Food Choice Motives

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Comparison of motives underlying food choice and barriers to healthy eating among low medium income consumers in Uruguay

Cadernos de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/0102-311x00213315 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Gastón Ares ◽

Leandro Machín ◽

Alejandra Girona ◽

María Rosa Curutchet ◽

Ana Giménez

Keyword(s):

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Food Choice ◽

Food Selection ◽

Food Choices ◽

Economic Factors ◽

Middle Income ◽

Main Determinant ◽

Target Populations ◽

Selection For

Abstract: Interventions aimed at changing dietary patterns should be designed based on the main motives underlying the food choices of specific target populations. The aim of the present study was to identify motives underlying food choice and barriers to healthy eating among consumers in two socioeconomic levels in Uruguay. Eleven focus groups were carried out with a total of 76 participants. Six of the groups involved low income participants and the others were conducted with middle income participants. Discussions were held around frequently consumed products, motives underlying food choices and barriers to healthy eating. Results confirmed the strong influence of income level on motives underlying food choice and barriers to the adoption of healthy eating. Low income participants described their choices as mainly driven by economic factors and satiety, whereas convenience was the main determinant of food selection for middle income participants. Implications for the design of public policies targeted at each group are discussed.

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