Demographic and psychographic associations of consumer intentions to purchase healthier food products

Food and nutrition information requirements of Australian primary school parents

OBJECTIVE

To explore what Australian primary school parents want to learn about food and nutrition to improve their children's eating behaviours, as well as the associations between parents' personal and demographic characteristics and their views regarding their food and nutrition knowledge needs.

DESIGN

An online nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2021 using a mixed-methods approach. Logistic regression analysis was utilised to examine the relationship between parents' demographics, personal values and their views. Content analysis was performed using Leximancer.

SETTING

Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Seven hundred and eighty-seven parents.

RESULTS

Fifty-one per cent wanted to learn more about food and nutrition to improve their children's healthy eating habits, and 77% of those preferred schools to provide that information. Online/printed newsletters and YouTube were the most preferred methods for receiving food and nutrition related information. Higher universalism-concern value (concern for the welfare of those in the larger society and world) scores were positively associated parents' preference for schools to provide food and nutrition-related information. Parents with non-English-speaking backgrounds and younger parents were more likely to want to learn about food and nutrition. Parents wanted to learn more about encouraging healthy eating, ideas for the lunchbox, food labels and age-specific portion sizes and recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings can inform public health educators and assist them in designing future food and nutrition education programmes and resources targeting primary school parents.

Contemporary Trends and Habits in the Consumption of Sugar and Sweeteners-A Questionnaire Survey among Poles

The purpose of the paper was a cross sectional study to evaluate the use of sugars and selected sweeteners by Polish consumers in their diet. The survey was conducted using the direct interview method on the group of 2000 adults declaring the consumption of sugar or sweeteners. The ANOVA test and multi-dimensional cluster analysis was used to the data interpretation (p < 0.05). It was stated that the consumption of sugar among consumers remained at a high level. Respondents declared taking up the activities towards reducing sugar intake in their diet mostly due to health-related reasons. It was emphasized in particular by women taking part in the survey. The most frequent way to limit the amount of sugar in the diet consisted in choosing sweeteners, mainly stevia and xylitol. However, the knowledge concerning steviol glycosides among the consumers was not extensive. Results are the source of up-to-date information concerning the consumption of sugar and sweeteners. Consumers to whom nutrition campaigns on the necessity to limit the content of sugar in the diet are worth addressing were identified. A hypothesis, that consumers are currently more aware of the negative influence of increased sugar consumption on their health and they aim at limiting the content of added sugar in their diet, was confirmed.

Personal values, marketing attitudes and nutrition trust are associated with patronage of convenience food outlets in the Asia-Pacific region: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

An online cross-sectional survey examined the relationships between the demographic characteristics, personal values, trust in sources of nutrition information and the use of convenience food outlets among middle-class household food providers in the Asia-Pacific region.

METHODS

The survey was administered to 3945 household food providers in Melbourne, Singapore, Shanghai, Vietnam and Indonesia in late 2013. Information about demographics, personal values, trust in sources of nutrition information and use of convenience food outlets was elicited. Exploratory factor analysis, two-step clustering and logistic regression were employed.

RESULTS

The analyses found that the use of convenience food outlets was positively related to hedonist values and trust in food industry sources of nutrition information. However, lesser use of convenience food outlets and trust in health sources of nutrition information was associated with traditional (community-oriented) values.

CONCLUSIONS

Further replication and extension of these findings would be useful. However, they suggest that improvements in the quality of foods sold in convenience food outlets combined with stronger regulation of food marketing and long-term food education are required.