Changes in dietary preferences: new challenges for sustainability and innovation

L Casini,C Romano,G Scozzafava,C Contini

doi:10.3920/jcns2014.x013

Abstract

The transformations in dietary habits that have occurred over recent decades draw attention to important issues concerning the relationship between lifestyles, diet and health, and open up new challenges for operators in the agricultural and food sector. This study intends to analyse these evolutions, comparing the dietary preferences of generation X in 2001 with its dietary preferences in 2011, and those of the following generation, the so-called generation Y. The analysis was conducted by applying latent class clustering to the food spending of a representative sample of Italian consumers. It has enabled us to identify the prevalent food patterns in 2001 and 2011 and to analyse their transformations, interpreting them in the light of social, cultural and economic changes. The comparison of food pattern characteristics over this period highlights the emergence of trends that move in two different directions. The first of these is the rise of a new dietary sensitivity towards a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish. The other concerns food patterns that are more vulnerable to diseases related to an unhealthy diet. These trends should draw the attention of public operators to the need for communication campaigns that target specific segments and aim to direct food habits towards healthier behaviours. A change in supply could also help improve the diet, especially if aimed at products with a high level of service provision and at establishments that serve food. Finally, the birth of a niche of consumers particularly drawn towards healthy eating opens the way for the industry to propose a series of innovative products.

Highlights

The cultural, socioeconomic and technological transformations of the past decade have modified our way of living and of relating to others
From 2001 to 2011, the per capita spending for food consumed in the home of Italian generation X families decreases by approximately 13%, while the spending of generation Y families increases by approximately 10%
These two different trends differ from the figure recorded for the entire Italian population, which instead indicates an increase of about 6% in food consumptions in the home (ISTAT, 2013)

Summary

Introduction

The cultural, socioeconomic and technological transformations of the past decade have modified our way of living and of relating to others. The structure of the family represents an element that influences dietary choices In this regard, the preference for healthier foods is associated with the birth of children and is explained by the parents’ awareness of the importance a proper diet assumes in the future state. The study of how ageing, family structure and generational aspects have interacted with the cultural, socioeconomic and technological transformations of the past decade proves to be important in view of understanding the future evolution of food consumption and providing operators of the agri-food system with insights to better respond to demands and orient food habits towards healthy patterns compatible with the new lifestyles

Methods

Results

Discussions