Investigation of consumer knowledge concerning skim milk and experience of consuming skim milk

Abstract

Skim milk is one of the foods recommended to provide calcium and protein without increasing fat and energy intake. In this study, we investigated consumer knowledge concerning skim milk and experience of consuming skim milk.A self-completed questionnaire survey was conducted among 594 students, 86 younger adults excluding students (under 40 years old), and 77 middle-aged adults (40-59 years old). A significantly higher percentage of middle-aged adults (90.9%) were aware “Skim milk” compared to that of students (51.2%) and younger adults (63.2%) (p<0.001). The percentages of middle-aged adults who knew that “skim milk is made by skimming fat and moisture from milk”, and “skim milk is rich in protein and calcium” were significantly higher than that of students and younger adults (p<0.01, p<0.05, respectively). Moreover, a significantly higher percentage of middle-aged adults had experienced drinking skim milk compared to that of students and younger adults (p<0.01). These results indicated that students and younger adults do not know very much about the positive features of skim milk and have little experience consuming it. Our findings suggest that it is important to focus on educating youth about the advantages of adding skim milk to their dietary lifestyle.