The Association of Demographic Characteristics and Food Choice Motives with the Consumption of Functional Foods in Emerging Adults.

Lieke Vorage,Joana Graca,Nicola Wiseman,Neil Harris

doi:10.3390/nu12092582

Abstract

The functional food market is one of the fastest growing segments of the global food industry. The aims of this study were to understand the association of demographic characteristics and food choice motives (FCMs) with (a) attitudes toward functional foods and (b) consumption of functional foods in Australian emerging adults. Data were collected through a paper-based and online questionnaire completed by 370 young adults aged between 17 and 29 years. A binomial logistic regression was used to determine the association between demographic characteristics and FCMs with attitudes towards functional foods. The logistic regression model was statistically significant at χ2(11) = 48.310 (p < 0.001) and explained 18.1% of the variance in attitude towards functional food. Of the several predictors, only the FCMs natural content and weight control were statistically significant. A binomial logistic regression was also used to determine the association between demographic characteristics and FCMs with the consumption of functional foods. The logistic regression model was statistically significant at χ2(9) = 37.499 (p < 0.001) and explained 14.1% of the variance in functional food consumption. Of the eight predictors, three were statistically significant: living situation, natural content and health. Findings highlight that when targeting emerging adults, functional food companies could benefit from promoting the natural and health properties of their products. Furthermore, consumption can be increased by targeting the parents of emerging adults and by designing functional foods that attract emerging adults interested in controlling weight.

Highlights

The term ‘functional foods’ was first introduced in 1984 in Japan [1]
The two binomial logistic regression models performed in this study showed that demographic characteristics and food choice motives (FCMs) are associated with attitudes towards and the consumption of functional foods
A general concern that functional foods could be perceived as less natural compared to conventional products has emerged in the literature [65,66] the results of the current study suggest that functional foods are not perceived as unnatural, as participants who value natural content were more likely to have a positive attitude towards and were more likely to have a high consumption of functional food

Summary

Introduction

The term ‘functional foods’ was first introduced in 1984 in Japan [1]. there are a number of ways to define the term ‘functional food’ [2], to date, there is no universally accepted definition for this group of foods [3]. The American Dietetic Association defines functional foods as ‘foods that provide additional health benefits that may reduce disease risk and/or promote optimal health’ [6] The EU Project ‘Functional Food Science in Europe’ specifies functional foods as ‘foods that are satisfactorily demonstrated to affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate nutritional effects, in a way that is relevant to either an improved state of health and well-being and/or reduction of risk of disease’. In 2017, the sale of functional foods was valued at US$247 billion [9] and it is expected that the market will continue to grow [10] Several factors, such as the increased awareness of the connection between nutrition and health [1], the rise in chronic diseases [11] and the aging population, have contributed to the growing demand for functional foods [12]. A growing body of research suggests that certain functional foods are effective in decreasing morbidity and increasing quality of life within the population [13,14,15,16,17]

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Conclusion