Determinants of Fast-Food Consumption in Romania: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Organic Vegetable Chips: Exploring Romanian Consumers' Preferences in Relation to Socio-Demographic Factors

In recent years, people have become increasingly interested in adopting a healthy diet, which also extends to healthy snacks, such as chips. Understanding the interplay of factors that influence the preference decisions concerning food products is very helpful in market segmentation for identifying specific groups of consumers with similar needs. This study aims to obtain a better understanding of Romanian consumers' preference for organic vegetable chips vs. classic potato chips. The research involved a transversal, cross-sectional, descriptive, exploratory, and correlational design. Data were collected based on a questionnaire (1060 participants) and processed with the SPSS 22 program, using the Pearson chi-square test and binary logistic regression as statistical procedures. Significant differences were found regarding the distribution of the respondents who prefer organic vegetable chips vs. classic potato chips based on socio-demographic characteristics. The results of the binary logistic regression analysis (χ2 = 102,906, df = 22, N = 909, p < 0.001) indicate that education level and frequency of consumption have a statistically significant impact on the preference for organic vegetable chips. The obtained results can contribute to a better understanding of Romanian consumers' preferences, acting as a knowledge stage in the adoption of a healthy eating style.

Is the Theory of Planned Behavior a good model for predicting salt consumption behavior in pregnant women? A structural equation modeling approach

BACKGROUND

Non-communicable illnesses are the leading reason for wide-reaching death. Reducing the burden of these illnesses is one of the significant objectives of the World Health Organization's action plan. In this respect, reducing salt consumption is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions. The present study aimed to adjust the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in expecting salt consumption behavior in pregnant women visiting the health centers in Birjand.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 273 pregnant women who visited the health centers in Birjand were selected through Quota sampling method. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire based on the TPB constructs. The data analysis was done in SPSS 19 and AMOS 24.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 27.33 ± 5.77 years, and their mean gestational age was 12.67 ± 4.11 weeks. The mean score of attitude construct was 86.54 ± 8.50, subjective norm construct 36.59 ± 4.47, perceived behavioral control construct 41.63 ± 7.01, intention construct 16.01 ± 2.65 and behavior construct 19.86 ± 2.57. There was a statistically significant relationship between attitude construct (p < 0.001), perceived behavioral control (p < 0.001), and intention (p < 0.001) with salt consumption behavior (p < 0.05). The goodness of fit indices showed a proper fit of data (χ2/df = 1.94, PNFI = 0.6, TLI = 0.9, CFI = 0.9 and RMSE = 0.06).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed that the TPB is an appropriate model for reviewing the behavior of salt consumption. Hence, this model offers a suitable basis for designing an educational intervention to regulate the quantity of salt consumed by pregnant women and; thus, its usage in health promotion programs is suggested.

Do Peers Matter? Unhealthy Food and Beverages Preferences among Children in a Selected Rural Province in China

With the growing problem of childhood obesity, unhealthy dietary preferences among children have become an issue of worldwide concern. This article examines the class-peer effect of these preferences using random class assignment data from a field survey. The results show significant positive peer effects for both unhealthy food and beverages preference. These results remained robust after controlling for endogeneity issues using instrumental variables. Further analysis of the mechanism of peer effect shows that the better the relationship between classmates, the greater the influence peers have on unhealthy diet preferences among rural children. The same peer effect is found in situations where it is easy for children to obtain unhealthy food and beverages. The analysis of heterogeneity finds that the peer effects of unhealthy dietary preferences are stronger for girls, older students, and obese students. This paper also discusses the role of parents and schools in mitigating the peer effect. This paper proposes policy recommendations for rural areas in China to improve dietary preferences in children. These results may also provide useful guidelines for policy in other developing countries.

Research on Influencing Factors of Food Choice and Food Consumption

Nowadays, most consumers are well aware of what makes up a healthy and sustainable diet [...].

Food consumption and the Covid-19 pandemic: The role of sustainability in purchasing choices

The paper addresses the consumption issue in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era, finding a possible interpretative model in the theory of planned behaviour. To this end, a sample was selected, and multivariate statistical analysis showed that the aspects of sustainability, health and well-living represent possible keys to understanding purchasing and consumption behaviour in the recovery and return to "normality". The mass media, the advice of experts, and the optimism of small things (from an emotional and social point of view) also have a correlated effect on the purchase of food, health and the environment, as well as production methods, origin and supply chain, packaging and ethical and social responsibility, in line with the much desired ecological transition.

Bi-dimensional values and attitudes toward online fast food-buying intention during the COVID-19 pandemic: An application of VAB model

The purpose of the study is to determine the factors of online fast food-buying intention among Bangladeshi Millennials during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted the Value-Attitude-Behavior (VAB) model and designed it as a higher-order constructs model to predict buying intention. Using a quantitative method (i.e., cross-sectional survey), data was collected from 325 respondents via a structured questionnaire and subsequently analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through AMOS software. The findings of the study revealed that convenience and food quality generate utilitarian values, while subjective norms and novelty-seeking form hedonic values. Also, utilitarian and hedonic values significantly affect cognitive and affective attitudes. As opposed to food quality, the cognitive attitude, affective attitude, self-identity, and subjective norms were observed to affect behavioral intention, with affective attitude producing the strongest association, albeit with the high explanatory power of the model. Consequently, this study offers a number of theoretical and policy implications to design better interventions that address public health regarding fast food consumption.

Influence of Food Safety Concerns and Satisfaction with Government Regulation on Organic Food Consumption of Chinese Urban Residents

In order to study the impact of food safety concerns and government regulation on Chinese urban residents’ organic food consumption willingness and behavior, an “online + offline” survey of 799 urban residents in Beijing has been conducted. Based on the theory of planned behavior, a structural equation model (SEM) was established and the government’s food production support regulation (GP) and sales guarantee regulation (GC) were incorporated separately into the SEM as moderator variables. The path influence coefficients of respondents’ food safety concerns, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on organic food consumption willingness were 0.065 (p < 0.05), 0.174 (p < 0.01) and 0.574 (p < 0.01), respectively. The influence of GP on organic food consumption willingness was 0.243 (p < 0.01), but its moderating effect on the promotion effect of food safety concerns and attitude to organic food consumption willingness was −0.001 (p < 0.01). The moderating effect of GC on the transformation from consumption willingness to behavior was 0.083 (p < 0.05). The results show that respondents attach the most importance to the comparison of costs and the benefits of organic food. Although the government’s food production regulation will weaken the driving effect of food safety concern and benefit perception of organic food consumption willingness, it will still promote organic food consumption willingness on the whole. The government’s supervision of food processing and sales is conducive to the occurrence of organic food consumption behavior.

Win Big with Small: The Influence of Organic Food Packaging Size on Purchase Intention

People pay much attention to food and health issues, more so these days. Organic food brings its own “organic” aura as soon as it is produced. Despite the many studies on organic food packaging at present, they mainly focus on packaging design, materials, and colors and pay less attention to packaging size. In view of this gap in the literature, this study explores the influence of organic food packaging size on consumer purchase intention. This article conducted two experiments with 755 participants to examine the effect of organic food packaging size on purchase intention. The results show that the packaging size of organic food has a significant influence on consumer purchase intention. Specifically, the small size of organic food packaging (vs. large) can improve consumer purchase intention, and the green perceived value plays an intermediary role (Study 1). In addition, the consumers’ construal level moderates the influence of organic food packaging size on their purchase intention. For consumers with a high construal level, the small size of organic food packaging (vs. large) can improve their purchase intention. For consumers with a low construal level, large packaging size (vs. small) of organic food can improve their purchase intention (Study 2). This study reveals the psychological mechanism and boundary conditions of organic food packaging size on consumer purchase intention and provides practical enlightenment for enterprises in formulating the size of organic food packaging.

Environmental, Health or Social Impacts? Investigating Ethical Food Consumption Behavior in the Case of Palm Oil-Free Foods

Environmental consciousness, health consciousness, social consciousness—today, all three terms have become buzzwords that influence food consumer behavior and reach many consumers. A number of consumer trends have emerged, which manufacturers have responded to, giving consumers the opportunity to make purchasing decisions that reflect any or all of these three buzzwords. In the context of palm oil, all three of these buzzwords may be associated with a consumer-perceived problem. They may be aware of the social (e.g., child labor), environmental (e.g., burning of rainforests) or potential health impacts communicated by the media. Today, more and more products claim to be palm oil free. Related to this the main question of the research is “why do consumers choose palm oil-free foods?” The results of our model using the theory of planned behavior show that the factor most influencing purchase intention is consumer attitude towards palm oil. The only significant effect on this factor is the environmental impact. Neither the perceived health-, nor the social effect had a significant effect on shaping attitudes among the respondents. A further result of the model is that perceived behavioral control only directly affects actual behavior, but does not influence intention, indicating that although there is a possibility for respondents to purchase palm oil-free products, it was not necessarily a conscious, intentional purchase.

The association between fast-food consumption and job-related factors among Russian adults

Time constraints contribute to individuals' dietary choices along with incomes, prices, and preferences. As fast food is prepared and served quickly, it is often preferred to other food options, especially when individuals are under time pressure. This paper focuses on a set of job-related characteristics that could potentially contribute to fast-food consumption choice, and controls for standard socio-demographic, economic, and lifestyle factors. This study uses data from a quantitative household survey on health behavior and medicine of Russian adults conducted in 2017 (n = 4006). The study applies simple probit, ordered probit, and zero-inflated ordered probit models to examine how job-related characteristics are connected to the probability and frequency of fast-food consumption among Russian adults. The results shows that employment is positively associated with both probability and frequency of fast-food consumption. However, for working adults, the decisions to eat fast food, and how frequently it is eaten, are affected by different factors. For example, working part time decreases the probability of fast-food consumption; having more than one job increases the frequency of its intake for fast-food consumers; having canteens with hot meals at work decreases the frequency of fast-food intake. Although job-related factors are significant in all models, marginal effects show that living in large cities, especially Moscow and Saint Petersburg, plays a larger role in the probability and frequency of fast-food consumption because access to various fast-food outlets increases in relation to the size of the settlement.