Milk consumption patterns and perceptions in Korean adolescents, adults, and the elderly

Abstract

Milk intake has steadily declined over the past decade; milk consumption patterns and perceptions in Korean adolescents, adults, and the elderly (n = 918) were therefore investigated. Demographic characteristics and milk consumption patterns and attitudes were recorded. An importance-performance analysis was firstly applied to identify marketing priorities of milk across age groups. The main reasons for consuming milk by age groups were ‘height growth’ (30.7%) for adolescents, ‘as a meal substitute’ (34.8%) and ‘bone health’ (25.7%) for adults, and ‘bone health’ (59.6%) for the elderly. The most important criterion for milk selection across all age groups was ‘brand or manufacturer’. Adults rated price as the only ‘highly important and not satisfactory’ variable. Common ‘highly important and satisfactory’ variables across participants were ‘hygiene’, ‘nutrition’, and ‘health’. These results can be used as basic data to improve nutritional status via milk intake; a well-designed large study is necessary to confirm our findings.