Abstract
Inadequate dietary intakes are a key modifiable risk factor to reduce the risk of developing non-communicable diseases. To encourage healthy eating and behaviour change, innovative public health interventions are required. Social marketing, in particular segmentation, can be used to understand and target specific population groups. However, segmentation often uses demographic factors, ignoring the reasons behind why people behave the way they do. This review aims to explore the food and nutrition related research that has utilised psycho-behavioural segmentation. Six databases from were searched in June 2020. Inclusion criteria were: published 2010 onwards, segmentation by psycho-behavioural variables, outcome related to food or nutrition, and healthy adult population over 18 years. 30 studies were included; most were quantitative (n = 28) and all studies used post-hoc segmentation methods, with the tools used to segment the population varying. None of the segments generated were targeted in future research. Psycho-behavioural factors are key in understanding people’s behaviour. However, when used in post-hoc segmentation, do not allow for effective targeting as there is no prior understanding of behaviours that need to change within each segment. In future, we should move towards hybrid segmentation to assist with the design of interventions that target behaviours such as healthy eating.
Highlights
Suboptimal diets are a significant risk factor for non-communicable diseases, with TheGlobal Burden of Disease study finding that mortality rates from suboptimal diets led to an estimated 11 million deaths and 255 million disability-adjusted life-years in 2017 alone [1].Contemporary living environments contribute to poor dietary choices by increasing the accessibility and exposure to inexpensive, energy dense, nutrient poor but highly palatable food and beverages [2,3]
There are a limited number of studies applying psycho-behavioural segmentation in the context of food and nutrition. The objective of this scoping review is to explore the food and nutrition related research that has used psycho-behavioural segmentation in adults, by asking the research question “How is psycho-behavioural segmentation used in food and nutrition-related research?” The overarching aim of this paper is to provide formative research to determine the breadth and scope of segmentation within the contemporary food and nutrition environment
Inclusion criteria were: segmentation by psycho-behavioural variables, outcome related to food or nutrition, and healthy adult populations over 18 years old
Summary
Contemporary living environments contribute to poor dietary choices by increasing the accessibility and exposure to inexpensive, energy dense, nutrient poor but highly palatable food and beverages [2,3]. These environments, paired with technology advances, transport, and community structures that decrease physical activity have further contributed to poor health outcomes [3,4]. To reduce non-communicable diseases and their associated modifiable risk factors, strategies that support healthy eating and encourage sustained behaviour change are required. In terms of social marketing interventions designed to change behaviours, segmentation has been shown to be valuable in understanding how to influence healthy eating behaviours [9,10]
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