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

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Perceptual salience influences food choices independently of health and taste preferences

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Dai ◽  
Jeremy Cone ◽  
Jeff Moher
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Taste Preference ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Perceptual Salience ◽  
Choice Tests

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.

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

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
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

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

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.

scholarly journals An Examination of Factors Associated With Self-Efficacy for Food Choice and Healthy Eating among Low-Income Adolescents in Three U.S. States

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy W. Muturi ◽  
Tandalayo Kidd ◽  
Tazrin Khan ◽  
Kendra Kattelmann ◽  
Susan Zies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Factors Associated

scholarly journals Food choices in the presence of ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ eating partners

2012 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Robinson ◽  
Suzanne Higgs
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Item ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Energy Dense Food ◽  
Lunch Time

Eating with others has been shown to influence the amount of food eaten in a meal or snack. We examined whether choosing food in the presence of another person who is choosing either predominantly low-energy-dense or high-energy-dense foods affects food choices. A between-subjects laboratory-based study was used. A group of 100 young females selected a lunch-time meal from a buffet consisting of a range of high-energy-dense and low-energy-dense foods, in the presence of an ‘unhealthy’ eating partner (who chose predominantly high-energy-dense foods) or a ‘healthy’ eating partner (who chose predominantly low-energy-dense foods) or when alone. Participants in the ‘unhealthy’ eating partner condition were significantly less likely to choose and consume a low-energy-dense food item (carrots), than when choosing alone or in the presence of a ‘healthy’ eater. Choice of high-energy-dense food did not differ across the conditions, nor did the total energy consumed. These data suggest that social influences on food choice are limited in this context but the presence of an ‘unhealthy’ eating partner may undermine intentions to consume low-energy-dense foods.

What is healthy eating? A qualitative exploration

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 2408-2418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Mete ◽  
Alison Shield ◽  
Kristen Murray ◽  
Rachel Bacon ◽  
Jane Kellett
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Information Research ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Qualitative Exploration

AbstractObjective:The present study aimed to explore how healthy food choices are translated into everyday life by exploring definitions of healthy food choices, perceptions of own food choice, and healthy food choice drivers (facilitators) and barriers.Design:An exploratory qualitative study design was employed using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and cross-checked for consistency. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns emerging from the data.Setting:Canberra, Australia, October 2015–March 2016.Participants:A total of twenty-three participants aged 25–60 years were interviewed. The mean age was 38 years and the mean BMI was 29·1 kg/m2. All male participants (n4) were within the healthy weight range compared with 58 % of female participants, with 26 % being overweight and 16 % being obese.Results:(i) Healthy food choices are important but are not a daily priority; (ii) healthy eating information is known but can be difficult to apply into everyday life; (iii) popular diets are used in attempts to improve healthy eating; and (iv) social media inspires and connects people with healthy eating.Conclusions:Social media facilitates healthy food choices by providing access to healthy eating information. In addition to Facebook and Instagram, healthy eating blogs were highlighted as a source of nutrition information. Research should consider exploring the use of healthy eating blogs and whether these blogs can be used as a tool by dietitians to communicate procedural healthy eating information more effectively in the future.

Ethical dilemmas in food choice: A dietitian’s reflexive journey

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-43
Author(s):  
Dean Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
The Right ◽  
Food Systems Sustainability

This paper will explore, from the perspective of food systems sustainability, ethical dilemmas contained within dietitians’ healthy eating advice as framed by Canada’s Food Guide. The author’s own experience as a dietitian, who is also situated within the discourse of sustainability, is described to illustrate ethical dilemmas that arise when deciding ‘what is the right thing to do?’ regarding our food choices.

scholarly journals Modeling Dynamic Food Choice Processes to Understand Dietary Intervention Effects

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Steven Marcum ◽  
Megan R Goldring ◽  
Colleen M McBride ◽  
Susan Persky
Keyword(s):  
Childhood Obesity ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Dietary Intervention ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Risk Information ◽  
Obesity Risk ◽  
Event Modeling ◽  
Choice Processes ◽  
Micro Level

Abstract Background Meal construction is largely governed by nonconscious and habit-based processes that can be represented as a collection of in dividual, micro-level food choices that eventually give rise to a final plate. Despite this, dietary behavior intervention research rarely captures these micro-level food choice processes, instead measuring outcomes at aggregated levels. This is due in part to a dearth of analytic techniques to model these dynamic time-series events. Purpose The current article addresses this limitation by applying a generalization of the relational event framework to model micro-level food choice behavior following an educational intervention. Method Relational event modeling was used to model the food choices that 221 mothers made for their child following receipt of an information-based intervention. Participants were randomized to receive either (a) control information; (b) childhood obesity risk information; (c) childhood obesity risk information plus a personalized family history-based risk estimate for their child. Participants then made food choices for their child in a virtual reality-based food buffet simulation. Results Micro-level aspects of the built environment, such as the ordering of each food in the buffet, were influential. Other dynamic processes such as choice inertia also influenced food selection. Among participants receiving the strongest intervention condition, choice inertia decreased and the overall rate of food selection increased. Conclusions Modeling food selection processes can elucidate the points at which interventions exert their influence. Researchers can leverage these findings to gain insight into nonconscious and uncontrollable aspects of food selection that influence dietary outcomes, which can ultimately improve the design of dietary interventions.

Drivers of food choices among households in Kersa District, Eastern Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nega Assefa ◽  
Abebe Tolera ◽  
Yadeta Dessie ◽  
Aklilu Abraham ◽  
Lemma Demissie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Nutritional Knowledge ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Eastern Ethiopia ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Household Food Production ◽  
Household Preference

Abstract Introduction: Most individuals in low and middle income countries do not meet nutritional requirements. This can be at least partially attributed to poor diet quality, which is impacted by both external and personal food environment factors. Personal food choice factors among socio-economically disadvantaged groups of Ethiopia are not well researched. Objective: This study aimed to assess food choice factors in eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 1196 households in Kersa, Eastern Ethiopia with women age 18-49 years. Confirmatory factor analysis models were used to estimate factors that influence food choice. Cronbach’s alpha for internal reliability coefficients were tested. Results: A majority of respondents were employed in agricultural work and a quarter of the families were poor. Women were primarily responsible for household food procurement. Factors that play a role in food choice included food price, convenience, quality, household preference, household food production and market advertisement. Conclusion: Improving nutritional knowledge and diversifying food availability may help to improve food choices and dietary intake in this rural part of eastern Ethiopia.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Athletes’ Food Choices during Competition with Use of Digital Images

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona E. Pelly ◽  
Rachael Thurecht
Keyword(s):  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Physiological Factors ◽  
Impact Performance ◽  
Nutrition Labelling ◽  
Self Rating ◽  
Selection Of

The selection of foods made by athletes during competition can impact performance, yet to date, the quality of their food choices has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to describe the food selection of athletes in a buffet-style dining hall setting in terms of diet quality, food variety, and volume of food and compare to their self-rating of their meal, reasons for the choosing the food items, access to previous nutrition advice, and use of nutrition labelling. A total of 81 athletes (42 females, 39 males) from 24 sports across 58 countries at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (Qld, Australia) participated in this study. A digital photograph was taken of the athletes’ meal after selection from the buffet and prior to consumption. Each participant was asked a series of questions in relation to their food selection. The photographs were coded into recommended serves of food groups based on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. The nutritional analysis and photograph of a standard serve size were used to quantify the energy and nutrients for the meal. Most athletes chose adequate quantities of macronutrients, which agreed with their reasons for the food choice, but the majority did not include fruit (80.2%) or dairy (65.4%) in their food selection, while 54% of males included discretionary foods (0.25–7.0 serves). The median self-rating for food choice was 8/10. Most reasons for food choices were nutritional attributes, sensory factors, performance, usual eating practices and physiological factors (e.g., satiety, gut comfort). This suggests that athletes may need more education on the quality of food selected from buffet settings.

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