Contrariwise obesity through organic food consumption in Malaysia: a signaling theory perspective

Background: the context and purpose of the study Unhealthy food consumption has raised an alarming situation of obesity among Asian nations and posing serious threats to human health. Recent studies have acknowledged that organic food consumption has been contrariwise associated with obesity. The consumption of healthy food has received research attention in social marketing and several antecedents and consequences have been identified. However, to date, there is a void in literature that how social, individual, and marketing elements together tradeoff in predicting a healthy lifestyle. Thus, the current investigation unfolds the antecedents of healthy foods’ adoption in Asia by integrating the brand signaling and theory of planned behavior. Methods The data of 241 respondents were collected from selected social media Facebook communities through a survey using assessed 42 questions. For this purpose, participants’ Facebook accounts were selected from the online healthy communities such as ‘Diet Suku Suku Separuh’ (469,000 followers), ‘Hiking, and Camping around Malaysia’ (351,200 followers), and ‘Healthy Malaysia’ (332 followers). The enumerator also engaged with the online community by liking posts and following health accounts. Results The data was analyzed using PLS (SEM) approach, the outcomes of hypotheses revealed interesting information that health consciousness not significantly predicts the purchase intention of healthy food. All antecedents were significant contributors to the prediction of foods’ purchase intentions in this study. However, the findings indicated that no positive relationship exists between brand image identifications and brand credibility identifications, and healthy foods’ purchase intentions identifications. The findings also indicated that no positive relationship exists between health consciousness identifications and healthy foods’ purchase intentions identifications. Conclusions: (summary and potential implications) Owing to the perilous increase in obesity among the general public in Asia. This study reinforced the factor that can help in the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. The study validated that a healthy lifestyle is reliant on the consumers’ health consciousness, environmental concern, and innovativeness through motivating the consumers’ healthy foods’ purchase intentions. Surprisingly, the results highlighted that respondents have not identified brand image and credibility as an antecedent of purchase intention. Given that organic food brands are somewhat new in Asian markets and therefore, brands must endure crisis marketing practices to improve their brand recognition. Therefore, policymakers must facilitate the food promotional activities that are critical to enhancing the perceived benefits of organic food to combat issues like obesity. This paper offers a foundation for future empirical investigations in Asia and various stakeholders on how to promote a healthy lifestyle in Asia. Specifically, the results will help policymakers to offer positive policies and procedures for the improvement of a healthy lifestyle through the understanding of the antecedents and consequences of health-conscious consumers’ healthy foods’ purchase intentions.

Propensity to Purchase Organic Food

Organic food is becoming popular among today's millennial consumers because of increased awareness of healthy lifestyles. Scholars and practitioners attempt to understand what drives consumers to purchase organic foods toward developing market domination strategies and tactics. Since organic food tends to be more expensive than non-organic, this study aims to analyze the impact of consumer values on their tendency to buy organic food. Consumption values are an important factor that could drive consumer behavior and their preferences for goods or services. Consumption values are defined in terms of the required benefits from the purchase and consumption of the preferred products. Sheth, Newman, and Gross defined consumption values in terms of practical, social, emotional, epistemic, and conditional values.

Organic Food Consumption During the Complementary Feeding Period and Respiratory or Allergic Diseases Up to Age 5.5 Years in the ELFE Cohort

Objectives: To assess (1) whether a history of allergy is associated with feeding with organic foods (OFs) during the complementary feeding period and (2) whether OF consumption in infancy is related to the incidence of respiratory and allergic diseases up to age 5.5 years.Study Design: Analyses involved more than 8,000 children from the nationwide Étude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) birth cohort. Associations between family or infant history of allergy and frequency of OF consumption during the complementary feeding period were assessed with multinomial logistic regression. Associations between OF consumption in infancy and respiratory or allergic diseases between age 1 and 5.5 years were assessed with logistic regression.Results: A family history of allergy or cow's milk protein allergy at age 2 months was strongly and positively related to feeding with OF during the complementary feeding period. Feeding with OF during the complementary feeding period was not related to respiratory diseases or eczema up to age 5.5 years. Compared to infrequent consumption of both organic and commercial complementary foods, frequent OF consumption without commercial complementary foods was associated with a higher risk of food allergy, whereas frequent commercial complementary food consumption without OF use was associated with a lower risk of food allergy.Conclusions: This study suggests that a history of allergy strongly affects feeding with OF during the complementary feeding period. However, OF consumption was not associated with reduced odds of food allergy later in childhood but could be associated with increased odds, which should be examined more deeply.

Integrated Soil and Crop Management in Organic Agriculture: A Logical Framework to Ensure Food Quality and Human Health?

The environmental and biodiversity benefits of organic farming are widely recognized, but there is still controversy about the effects of organic production methods on the nutritional composition of food and human health. In the first part of this article therefore, we critically review the evidence that organic farming methods improve the nutritional quality of food crops. Moreover, we summarize our current understanding of how quality gains are linked to the implementation of the “innovations” introduced into conventional crop production during the intensification or “green revolution” of agriculture over the last 100 years. In the second part of the article, we critically review the evidence for the range of health benefits related to organic food consumption. Specifically, we describe and discuss the results from: (i) dietary intervention studies which have found that organic food consumption substantially reduces pesticide exposure in humans and affects feed intake, growth, hormone balances and immune system responsiveness in animal models; (ii) human cohort/epidemiological studies which have reported significant positive associations between organic food consumption and the lower incidence of a range of diseases including obesity, metabolic syndrome, cancer, hypospadias, pre-eclampsia, eczema and middle ear infections in infants; (iii) interactions and trade-offs between diet (e.g., whole-grain, fruit and vegetables and reduced red-meat consumption) and food types (organic versus conventional) concerning public health and future food security. The article also identifies knowledge gaps and highlights the need for (i) long-term, factorial field experiments to understand the relative effects of agronomic and pedoclimatic drivers on crop quality and safety, and (ii) clinical trials and additional human cohort studies to confirm the positive health outcomes linked to organic food consumption. The main conclusions from our review are that there is growing evidence that (i) agricultural intensification has resulted in a reduction in the nutritional quality of food and the sustainability of food production, and (ii) organic farming practices not only improve food quality and human health, but also food security. This is particularly true where current nutritional guidelines (increasing whole-grain, fruit and vegetable products, while reducing red-meat consumption) are implemented.

Organic Food Consumption among Households in Hanoi: Importance of Situational Factors

The promotion of sustainable consumption plays an extremely important role in Vietnam’s National Green Growth Strategy. However, despite an increase in concerns about environmental issues, eco-friendly buying behaviors in general and organic food consumption in particular are still unpopular among Vietnamese consumers, leading to a question about the importance of situational factors, which this article focuses on. Based on attitudes; subjective norms; perceived norms, which are mentioned in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and consumer choice theory; and social norms from social categorization theory, the research created a questionnaire and then sent it to respondents who were in charge of buying food for their family in Hanoi. Then, 423 of the 570 responses received were used to create the structural equation model (SEM) with four distinct stages in AMOS statistical software, which evidences the crucial role of situational factors. Subjective norms and social norms have the highest positive impact on organic food purchase among households in Hanoi. Moreover, households’ organic food purchase is also positively affected by perceived behavior control and the availability of products but negatively affected by the price of products, which strongly fits with TPB, social categorization theory, and other studies. In particular, there is no evidence about relationships between knowledge of or attitude toward organic food and family income and organic food purchase among households in Hanoi. In addition, age and education status do not have any impact on respondents’ behavior in organic food purchase in this city. Finally, the authors propose some suggestions to promote organic food consumption among households in Hanoi. First is that businesses specializing in the production and supply of organic products should focus on customer care activities, innovate business models, and advertise to attract customers to use organic products. Second is that the government should issue regulations to encourage businesses to invest in the research and production of organic products as well as implement strict regulations to penalize violations in the production and supply of organic products.

The Key Role of Consumers’ Involvement: The Case of Organic Food Consumption

This paper aims to provide a better understanding of conditions that influence the gap between positive attitude and intention towards organic food products and actual behaviour regarding these products. Thus, we propose an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to explain parts of this gap and we highlight the crucial role played by consumers’ involvement as a moderator. A structural equation modelling was performed, and the sta-tistical analysis of a sample of 1327 French consumers supports our organic food products buying behaviour model. The results showed that the difference between the means of actual behaviour was highly different between low- and high-involvement consumers. More specifically, high-involvement consumers express more positive attitudes towards buying organic food products, perceive higher subjective norms and behavioural control, they have higher behavioural intention, and buy organic food products more frequently. Additionally, the results indicated that, com-pared to low-involvement consumers, high-involvement consumers regard organic food products as more attractive, healthier, tastier, and with higher value. We proposed some marketing strategies to help managers to better promote the organic food products market and, in turn, increase their revenues. For example, marketers therefore have a vested interest in increasing consumer involvement, and, among other things, they can do so by educating them (i.e., high-lighting the benefits of consuming organic foods). Moreover, since high-involvement customers have positive atti-tude-intention and behaviour, they can be allies for marketers through their influence (social norms). Thus, we suggest the use of digital influencers to endorse organic food.

Unraveling the mechanism to develop health consciousness from organic food: a cross-comparison of Brazilian and Spanish millennials

PurposeThe aim of this study is to analyze the drivers of health consciousness related to millennials’ organic food consumption and the impact of health consciousness on millennials’ willingness to pay premium through a cross-cultural study.Design/methodology/approachA comparative analysis was conducted in two countries (Brazil vs Spain). Based on the stimuli-organism-response framework, the authors present a conceptual model to investigate the relationship between cognitive and affective stimuli (i.e. natural content, value for money, sensorial appeal, price fairness, trend, emotional appeal and food safety concern) and customers’ health consciousness with the mediating effect of food safety concern and their impact on the customers’ response (i.e. willingness to pay premium). A survey and a structural equation approach are applied.FindingsThe results show that cognitive and affective stimuli and food safety concern improve millennials’ health consciousness and, consequently, their willingness to pay a premium price for organic food. The results present a high validity correlation of constructs with significant differences between the two countries.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in the comparison of drivers of health consciousness and their impact on organic food consumption among millennials from two countries (developed vs developing). This work contributes to the study of organic food consumption with an analysis of the impact of seven drivers on health consciousness and its relationship with willingness to pay premium in a cross-comparison of Brazilian and Spanish millennials.