Abstract
This study measured the effect of media exposure on grapefruit/grapefruit juice consumption changes, in particular grapefruit-medicine interaction. Respondents’ attitudes about health news on television and the internet were measured to account for consumers exposed versus not exposed to such information. Results of a sample selection model show that consumer attitudes toward health news were significantly related to exposure to media information. Also, news exposure about grapefruit-medicine interaction has a tendency to result in reduced grapefruit consumption. Consumers who are directly affected by the medication interaction significantly react to the news, and the effect varies by age. Even though consumer’s age was positively related to the probability of increased grapefruit consumption, when consumers took the medication, consumer’s age was negatively related to the probability of increased grapefruit consumption.
Highlights
There is an extensive literature examining the role of media information and coverage on influencing consumer perception and behavior, with respect to food choices
Sample characteristics The data for measuring the effect of media coverage on grapefruit/grapefruit consumption changes were collected using an online survey between 10 and 17 December 2012, approximately two weeks after the news about the grapefruit-medication interaction was released
Descriptive statistics for variables that are only associated with respondents who have been exposed to grapefruit news are summarized in the lower level of Table 1
Summary
There is an extensive literature examining the role of media information and coverage on influencing consumer perception and behavior, with respect to food choices. Consumer response to media information on food-medicine interactions has yet to be examined. Interactions between medicine intake and nutrient intake from food consumption can result in unintentional side-effects involving treatment failure or toxicity. Most food-medicine interactions are caused by changes in the bioavailability of the medicine and can lead to lengthened treatment time, hospitalization, increased morbidity, and in some cases mortality [9]. A number of food-medicine interactions have been documented in the medical literature, interactions with grapefruit and grapefruit juice have received considerable attention [10]. Regardless of the accuracy, such information may lead to consumption changes
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