Food choice questionnaire revisited in four countries. Does it still measure the same?

Nutritional impact of sodium reduction strategies on sodium intake from processed foods

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Sodium intake in the Netherlands is substantially above the recommended intake of 2400 mg/day. This study aimed to estimate the effect of two sodium reduction strategies, that is, modification of the composition of industrially processed foods toward the technologically feasible minimum level or alteration of consumers' behavior on sodium intake in the Netherlands.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

Data from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (2007-2010) and the Food Composition Table (2011) were used to estimate the current sodium intake. In the first scenario, levels in processed foods were reduced toward their technologically feasible minimum level (sodium reduction in processed foods scenario). The minimum feasible levels were based on literature searches or expert judgment. In the second scenario, foods consumed were divided into similar food (sub)groups. Subsequently, foods were replaced by low-sodium alternatives (substitution of processed foods scenario). Sodium intake from foods was calculated based on the mean of two observation days for the current food consumption pattern and the scenarios.

RESULTS

Sodium levels of processed foods could be reduced in most food groups by 50%, and this may reduce median sodium intake from foods by 38% (from 3042 to 1886 mg/day in adult men). Substitution of foods may reduce sodium intake by 47% (from 3042 to 1627 mg/day in adult men), owing to many low-sodium alternatives within food groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In the Netherlands, reduction of sodium intake by modification of food composition or by alteration of behavior may substantially reduce the median sodium intake from foods below the recommended sodium intake.

Food Choice Motives among the Students of a Dental Institution in Mysore City, India

Background:

In pursuit of a more “holistic” dentistry and an increasing focus on promoting oral health, dental students are increasingly being trained to take a more active part in health promotion and education. In particular, this incorporates an emphasis on diet and educating people to eat in more healthy ways.

Aim:

This paper works from the premise that if dental students are to engage in oral health promotion, they will do so more effectively if they have first explored their own food choice motivations.

Subjects and Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional questionnaire study. The food choice questionnaire (FCQ) was distributed to a comparative group of 1^st and 5^th year dental students in timetabled lecture slots. The FCQ is a previously validated measure designed to assess ten main factors relevant to peoples” food choices. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) using descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test.

Results:

Nearly 77% (122/159) students responded. Findings were analyzed using independent sample t-test. Results indicated statistically significant differences in terms of food choice motivations between male and female students of 1^st and 5^th year.

Conclusion:

Awareness and an understanding of the differences in motivational factors affecting food choice between dental students is important as they are increasingly taught to play an active role in oral health promotion.

Parents’ food choice motives and their associations with children’s food preferences

Objective

The objective was to investigate parents’ motives for selecting foods for their children and the associations between these motives and children’s food preferences.

Design

Cross-sectional survey. A modified version of the Food Choice Questionnaire was used to assess parents’ food choice motives. Parents also reported children’s liking/disliking of 176 food and beverage items on 5-point Likert scales. Patterns of food choice motives were examined with exploratory principal component analysis. Associations between motives and children’s food preferences were assessed with linear regression while one-way and two-way ANOVA were used to test for sociodemographic differences.

Setting

Two Australian cities.

Subjects

Parents (n 371) of 2–5-year-old children.

Results

Health, nutrition and taste were key motivators for parents, whereas price, political concerns and advertising were among the motives considered least important. The more parents’ food choice for their children was driven by what their children wanted, the less children liked vegetables (β =−0·27, P<0·01), fruit (β=−0·19, P<0·01) and cereals (β=−0·28, P<0·01) and the higher the number of untried foods (r=0·17, P<0·01). The reverse was found for parents’ focus on natural/ethical motives (vegetables β=0·17, P<0·01; fruit β=0·17, P<0·01; cereals β=0·14, P=0·01). Health and nutrition motives bordered on statistical significance as predictors of children’s fruit and vegetable preferences.

Conclusions

Although parents appear well intentioned in their motives for selecting children’s foods, there are gaps to be addressed in the nature of such motives (e.g. selecting foods in line with the child’s desires) or the translation of health motives into healthy food choices.

Regulatory focus and food choice motives. Prevention orientation associated with mood, convenience, and familiarity

The authors tested the robustness of the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) with a U.S. sample and examined the relationship between individual differences in regulatory focus and everyday food choice motives. Although a popular measure in cross-culture research, the FCQ has seen limited use with U.S. samples, and its psychometric properties have not been tested in this population. American participants (n = 408) completed the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire and a measure of food choice motives. The data did not support the nine-factor FCQ structure. An ad hoc revised measure of food choice motives showed complete measurement invariance (loadings, intercepts, and residuals) across regulatory focus. Regarding everyday food choices, participants with a prevention focus placed greater importance on mood, convenience, and familiarity than participants with a promotion focus. There were no significant differences regarding the importance of health, environmental protection, impression management, natural content, price, and sensory appeal. Several food choice motives were positively correlated. Compared with the promotion-focused participants, the prevention-focused participants more strongly associated the importance of sensory appeal with the importance of natural content and the importance of price.

Association between parental motives for food choice and eating patterns of 12- to 13-year-old Norwegian children

Objective

To determine (i) the importance of parents’ motives for everyday family food choices; and (ii) the relationship between parental food choice motives and eating patterns of 12- to 13-year-old children.

Design

Cross-sectional study. A modified version of the Food Choice Questionnaire was used to determine parental motives for food choices. The children's food and drink intake was reported by their parents using a retrospective FFQ. Eating patterns were derived using principal component analysis. The association between food choice motives and eating patterns was examined using multiple linear regression analysis.

Setting

Primary schools, Telemark County, Norway.

Subjects

In total, 1095 children aged 12–13 years and their parents.

Results

The parental motive ‘sensory appeal’ was the most important for food choice, followed by ‘health’, ‘convenience’, ‘natural content’ and ‘weight control’. The food choice motives were associated with the eating patterns of the children, independent of background variables. The motive ‘health’ was most strongly associated with a ‘varied Norwegian’ eating pattern, representing a diverse diet and regular meals, while the motive ‘convenience’ appeared to be the most important barrier to this eating pattern. ‘Weight control’ was not associated with the ‘varied Norwegian’ eating pattern.

Conclusions

To encourage parents to make healthy food choices for their children, health promotion activities should focus on the health benefits of a diverse diet and regular meals, rather than weight control. Recommended food products should be made more convenient and easily available for families with children.

The motivational and informational basis of attitudes toward foods with health claims

This research explored the effects of food choice motives, nutritional knowledge, and the use of food labels, on attitude toward food with health claims. Food with health claims was chosen as a relatively novel category of products designed to be beneficial for health. We identified eight motives served by food in general, and tested if they serve as motivations to positively evaluate functional food. Questionnaire was administered on nationally representative samples of 3085 respondents from six Western Balkan countries. We proposed two structural models relating an extensive list of eight and, alternatively, restricted list of three food-choice motives (health, mood and sensory appeal) to attitude toward functional food. We also expected the indirect association between the health motive and attitude, through nutritional knowledge and use of food labels. The results revealed highly positive, although undifferentiated attitude toward functional food, with no significant differences between the countries. The restricted model provided a better fit then the exhaustive model; the health motive was proven to have indirect influence on attitude through knowledge and label use. The implications of these findings for functional approach to attitudes, understanding the demand for functional food and overcoming barriers to dietary change are discussed.