Aspects Of Food Choice Research Articles

Exploring subjective risk-benefit perception as an integral component in risk communication

Abstract Consumer health protection involves assessing and communicating risks. One-way risk communication may cover information on food safety regulations, food handling practices, and contaminants in food, as well as concerns related to food recalls, outbreaks, or other safety issues. This approach is legitimate if the aim is simply to share information. However, adequate risk communication needs to reach people with the information they need, in a form they can use, and overcome discrepancies between scientific risk assessment and risk perception of laypersons. Often risks that are low from a scientific point of view are overestimated by the public (e.g., pesticide residues, genetically modified food), or the opposite (e.g., foodborne pathogens). Furthermore, foods also have health benefits, and the balance between adverse and beneficial effects is difficult to perceive. Communication related to food should consider all aspects of food choices, including health beliefs, cultural practices, and personal preferences that influence choices and perception of risk and benefits. In this presentation, we will explain how an institute for risk assessment with a mandate for risk communication can apply quantitative and qualitative methods to identify patterns of perception and behaviour. Quantitative methods are used to measure risk perception and communication, qualitative methods to investigate psychological aspects and motivations, and media analyses to reveal topics that are prioritized in the media, which can influence risk perception. We will show how social science methods can be used to understand how consumers respond to risk-benefit information and discuss how common metrics for assessing both risks and benefits are expected to facilitate communication of results of RBA. The challenges that these metrics pose for risk-benefit communication and whether it is to be expected that consumers will be able to accurately weigh between risks and benefits will also be discussed.

Understanding the Patterns and Trends of Food Consumption in a Developing Country Context: The Case of Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

BackgroundFood and nutrition security continued to be a significant concern in the global food system. However, this system is not delivering optimal nutrition and health outcomes. Most low- and middle-income countries are burdened by persistent undernutrition and recently growing overweight and diet-related non-communicable diseases. One of the mechanisms for addressing this nutrition paradox is understanding consumers’ food choices and preferences. Thus, this study’s objective was to assess the patterns and trends of food consumption in a developing country context: the case of Amhara region, Ethiopia, and to identify market-based interventions involving specific foods and groups.MethodsA household-based cross-sectional study and multistage sampling technique were used to select study participants and collect data. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection, and the study adopted a descriptive research approach and a mix of complementary qualitative and quantitative methods in its analysis. A Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) to describe the respondents’ food consumption pattern was used in the study.ResultsFollowing FAO (2010)’s guideline, the HDDS score was calculated based on the intake of 12 food groups using a week recall data. The average HDDS was 8.5 out of 12 food groups. The average HDDS was relatively high, which might be related to the week recall in our data measurement period.ConclusionThis report seeks to understand consumers’ behavior by investigating several aspects of food choices, including household dietary diversity and food expenditures. The study also provides insights for researchers to further investigate the issue by adding other scientific databases and methods to draw more meaningful and implementable conclusions.LimitationsAlthough the sampling procedure was random, it might not be representative to study the patterns and trends of food consumption at a country or broad level due to its small size.

‘Don't give us an assignment where we have to use spinach!’: food choice and discourse in home and consumer studies

AbstractThe aim of the study was to describe classroom Discourses about vegetables during the planning, cooking, eating and evaluation of meals in the Swedish school subject Home and Consumer Studies. Fifty‐nine students and five teachers were recruited from five northern Swedish villages and towns, and then observed, recorded and in some cases video‐taped during lessons that took place between 2010 and 2012. Based on 56 instances of talk about vegetables, four Discourses were identified and related to the three aspects of Belasco's culinary triangle of contradictions: identity, responsibility and convenience. The results indicated that the identity‐basedsensoryandculturalDiscourses sometimes clashed with the more responsibility‐orientedhealthandevaluationDiscourses. ThehealthDiscourse was only used when there was an element ofevaluation, with assignments connected to grades. In all other cases, thesensoryandculturalDiscourses guided vegetable use. Sometimes different sensory or cultural assumptions could clash with each other, for example when the teacher insisted on the use of a specific recipe regardless of a student's taste preferences. Since these preferences did not always harmonize with curricular demands for responsibility, there might be a risk of basing grades on aspects of students’ identity. Alternatively, students might feel constrained to argue against their own identity in order to be favourably evaluated. Then again, if teachers always bow to student tastes, this limits their chances of learning about food and physical health. Viewing the dilemma through the lens of the culinary triangle of contradictions may help teachers and researchers develop teaching methods that take all aspects of food choice into account.

Experiences of people of Acadian descent receiving hemodialysis in southwest Nova Scotia.

We conducted a group interview with five hemodialysis patients of Acadian descent. Our purpose was to learn about their intakes of Acadian foods so we could tailor our advice for other Acadian patients receiving hemodialysis. This approach builds on evidence that addressing cultural aspects of food choice and aligning dietary recommendations with usual intakes create optimal conditions for diet adherence while preserving personal habits and heritage. In this study, "the Acadian diet" held multiple meanings for different participants, participants varied in their intakes of traditional Acadian foods, intakes of traditional Acadian foods were decreasing in younger generations, and the desire to preserve kidney function had priority over eating much-loved traditional foods. These findings support the practices of individualized nutritional and dialysis care and discourage generalized nutrition messages based on assumptions of homogeneity of all people within a cultural group.

Motivations for fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK Women's Cohort Study.

Despite recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption within the UK population, intakes are still too low. In order to stimulate dietary behaviour change the determinants of food choice need to be explored. To investigate how the priorities of high consumers of fruit and vegetables differ from those of low consumers, with respect to food choice motivations, and to identify what value high and low consumers place on different aspects of food choice behaviour. A 4-day food diary and a questionnaire, including The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) and a measure of Stage of Change (SOC) for fruit and vegetable consumption, were administered to subjects. Motivation scores from the FCQ were compared with fruit and vegetable intake and SOC data. Nine hundred and ninety-eight females, aged 35-69 years, participating in the UK Women's Cohort Study. In a multiple linear regression model, including age, education level and all FCQ motivations, the strongest motivations specifically affecting fruit and vegetable intake were health and natural content. It was found that, for a one point increase (measured on a scale of 0-4) in health and natural content scores, fruit and vegetable consumption increased by 1.11 portions (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5-1.7) and 0.84 portions (95% CI 0.4-1.3), respectively The SOC evaluation showed significant associations with portions of fruit and vegetables consumed Women whose SOC was classed as maintenance phase were found to score higher on health, natural content, weight control and ethical concern factors These women also scored lower on convenience questions In this particular group of women the most important motivating factors for food choice, within the high fruit and vegetable consumers, were health and natural content of the food.

Planning for Urban Food: The Experience of Two UK Cities

Despite a surge of interest in all things related to food production and consumption, with a few exceptions, there has been a noticeable silence from planning researchers and practitioners concerning the land-use implications of urban food-growing actvities. Consideration of this and the factors detailed above prompted the following question—what are the implications of urban agriculture initiatives for the UK planning system? In attempting to answer this question this paper sets out to explore the nature of the relationship between urban agriculture and planning. This paper initially highlights the rise in interest in food issues; it then considers why urban food production should be considered within the remit of planning before detailing two case studies in an attempt to further unpack this relationship. Following a discussion of the research Ž ndings, the penultimate section attempts to make suggestions about how planning can contribute to urban agriculture. There has been much social and political debate about growing food in recent years (Shaw, 1999). This debate has been mirrored by a surge of academic interest in food. The UK-government-funded Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) ‘The Nation’s Diet’ programme (1992–1997) illustrates the growing concern with social aspects of food choice, the results of which are reported in Murcott’s edited collection (Murcott, 1998). Indeed, the emerging international engagement by academics with issues of food is re ected in a number of key texts (see, for example, Mennell et al., 1992; Lupman & Chapman, 1995; Lupton, 1996; Beardsworth & Keil, 1997; Keane, 1997; Macintyre et al., 1998). However, much of this research has tended to focus on rural agriculture, bypassing or perhaps even ignoring food that is grown within urban areas. Urban food production is central to the existence of many poorer cities across the globe (Ellis & Sunberg, 1998; Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 1998; Tewari, 2000; Bakker et al., 2001). It is only recently, however, that the richer industrial nations of the world have begun to consider the possibilities of urban agriculture and its potential beneŽ ts to relevant policy makers (Garnett,

Talking pictures in working school lunches – Investigating food choice with children and adolescents

With influences on aspects of food choice originating from a number of sources and investigation requiring multidisciplinary considerations, more qualitative methods have proved effective in offering some insight into the changing role of food. These methods are particularly useful when considering food encounters and diet of both children and adolescents, as they can provide more personalised accounts of food use and social interactions than more quantitative alternatives. Pictures have previously been used to assist in food related studies, but with limitations. This paper considers the effectiveness of using pictorial prompts to initiate unstructured interviews with two sample groups of children and adolescents, highlighting an increased potential for their use in future research. Other considerations include the restrictions that are often imposed on the independent researcher in terms of time resources and limited access.

Some aspects of food choice and availability today.

Some aspects of food choice and availability today.

“Men are taro” (they cannot be rice): Political aspects of food choices in Wamira, Papua New Guinea

(1988). “Men are taro” (they cannot be rice): Political aspects of food choices in Wamira, Papua New Guinea. Food and Foodways: Vol. 3, Continuity and Change in Pacific Foodways, pp. 41-57.