Food-related Attitudes Research Articles

Exploring Effects of Food Shaming on Consumers’ Food-Related Attitudes and Behaviors

Objective To compare attitudes and behaviors of American adults who have experienced food shaming versus those who have not. Design This was an online survey of 2003 US adults, followed by an additional 5 one-on-one in-depth interviews, for a total of 2008. Data were collected between September and November 2022. Participants US adults (n = 2008) recruited via commercial research panels. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence of food shaming, and attitudes and behaviors among adults who have experienced food shaming versus those who have not. Analysis χ 2 and analysis of covariance investigating associations between experience with food shaming and food-related attitudes and behaviors, controlling for body mass index where possible. Results Nearly 3 in 10 American adults report that they have experienced food shame. Experiencing food shame correlates with higher guilt and shame, greater likelihood to engage in regimented eating, and more prevalent, as well as negative, emotions around food and imagined interactions with food and nutrition professionals. Conclusions and Implications Food shaming is a phenomenon with wide-reaching impacts on attitudes and behaviors. We expect that this innovative study will inform registered dietitian nutritionists and other health professionals to help people develop healthy, sustainable relationships with food.

Factors that influence eating disorder tendencies in adolescents: A literature review

Eating disorders are any form of behavioral or habitual eating disorder that results in altered food consumption and absorption, and significantly impairs physical health and psychosocial functioning. Eating disorders are any disorder characterized primarily by pathological disturbances of food-related attitudes and behaviors, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder (Sinurat, 2018). This study aims to determine the factors that influence eating disorder tendencies in adolescents. The research method utilized is literature review, which involves searching for research articles from Research Gate and Google Scholar using keywords such as eating disorder, influencing factors, anorexia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and body image. From the research findings, it can be concluded that the occurrence of eating disorder tendencies in adolescents is caused by several dominant factors such as body image (3 articles), peer influences (3 articles), knowledge (2 articles), also family roles and BMI (2 articles).

Mapping Research on the Influence of Social Media on Consumer Food Behavior a Bibliometric Approach

This study conducts a bibliometric analysis to systematically map the research landscape on the influence of social media on consumer food behavior. The analysis encompasses 1000 scholarly articles published between 1962 and 2024, accumulating 32,394 citations over 62 citation years. Through co-citation and bibliographic coupling analyses, key clusters and trends are identified, revealing the multifaceted nature of social media's impact on food-related attitudes and behaviors. Insights from the analysis offer practical implications for marketers, policymakers, and researchers, guiding strategic decision-making in areas such as marketing communication, public health interventions, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The findings underscore the importance of continued research efforts to address emerging gaps and deepen our understanding of the evolving dynamics between social media and consumer food behavior.

Effect of explicit frames on the sensitivity and acceptance of mealworm in protein shake

Edible insects are a potential sustainable food material. However, lowering the consumers’ perceived barriers to entomophagy is still a challenge. This study aimed to explore the development of an insect-incorporated protein shake and to analyze the impact of frames constructed by different explicit information on the consumers' sensory perception and acceptance of this food. A total of 243 consumers were recruited and randomly assigned to one of the three test groups. “No frame” group evaluated all of the samples in a blind condition. “Healthy frame” group and “sustainable eating frame” group were each exposed to a video clip emphasizing either the importance of healthy eating or sustainable eating, respectively, prior to sensory evaluation. All consumers tasted protein shake samples to measure the mealworm powder detection threshold (DT), consumer rejection threshold (CRT), and taste acceptance for the protein shake, which varied in the concentration of mealworm powder (DT, 2–8%; CRT & Liking, 3–15%). Finally, consumers filled out questionnaires on food-related attitudes. The results showed that the mealworm CRT was identified only in the no frame group (CRT, 14.6%). The other groups preferred samples with mealworms more or equally over control samples in all concentration ranges. DT results suggested that priming with a sustainable eating framework may induce consumers to be less sensitive to mealworm flavor and to view the higher concentration of mealworm powder in protein shakes more positively. FNS-neutral consumers were significantly affected by the explicit information, which was not observed for the consumers who were relatively neophilic or neophobic.

How do the interview environment, sociodemographic aspects and risk perception impact attitudes related to food? A survey in the Midwest of Brazil

This study aimed to assess the food-related attitudes through the application of a structured questionnaire to 1,000 individuals applied in three environments (groups) in the Federal District of Brazil (supermarkets, universities and hospitals/clinics) using multivariate logistic regression, with special focus on pesticides and genetically modified (GM) food. Outpatients in hospital/clinic, women and older individuals were significantly more likely to adopt diets or attitudes considered or perceived as healthy (including high consumption of fruits and vegetables, acquiring organic food, and adopting procedures to remove pesticide residues from food). When income and/or education impacted the results, the correlation was negative. Over 60% of the population believe it is possible to produce food without using pesticides, mainly the hospital/clinic group, younger individuals, and women, and 95.3% think that the presence of pesticides in food should be indicated on the labels, mainly the hospital/clinic group and older individuals. High worry about pesticides and GM food was associated with most healthy food-related attitudes. The results of this study are important for food-related communication strategies conducted by health authorities, aiming at driving specific population segments to a healthier and more conscious diet.

Education- and income-related differences in processed meat consumption across Europe: The role of food-related attitudes

PurposeDietary behaviors differ between socio-economic groups and are one key determinant of health inequalities. Psychological factors such as attitudes are assumed to underlie the relation between inequality and dietary behaviors, but this assumption has rarely been tested empirically. We focus on a specific food group shown as detrimental to health: processed meat. MethodsIn two representative international surveys (Survey 1: N = 10,226 participants from nine European countries – Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, UK; Survey 2: N = 9149 participants from the same countries, except not including Austria and the Netherlands), participants reported inequality indicators (education, income), processed meat consumption as well as their attitudes toward nutrition and food. Principal resultsThere were diverging relationships between indicators of inequality and processed meat consumption: the higher the educational attainment, the lower the consumption of processed meat (rSurvey1 = −0.062, p < .001; rSurvey2 = −0.071, p < .001). At the same time, higher income was related to higher processed meat consumption (rSurvey1 = 0.088, p < .001; rSurvey2 = 0.152, p < .001). A path model showed that four of seven attitude factors mediated the relation between education and processed meat consumption (i.e., indifference toward nutrition and food, preference for regional and fresh food, processed food consumption, health efforts); none of the attitude factors mediated the relation between income and overall processed meat consumption. ConclusionsProcessed meats are consumed very frequently across European countries. The relation between inequality and processed meat consumption is heterogeneous and partially mediated by attitudes. More research is needed to better understand how psychological factors explain social inequality in nutrition behaviors and health in general.

US Food Shopper Trends in 2017

This study provides an overview of US food shoppers in 2017 and serves as a benchmark for analyzing consumer trends in the future. A nationwide sample of 5,993 adults, primary food shoppers in the United States completed a survey in 2017 to learn about food-related perspectives and trends. Consumers differ in food shopping outlets, grocery spending, response to food price increases, food-related attitudes, food and beverage consumption patterns, and nutritional perceptions.

"Unhealthy = Tasty": How Does It Affect Consumers' (Un)Healthy Food Expectations?

Consumers having a strong unhealthy = tasty (UT) belief are less likely to choose healthy food even though they recognize its health benefits, because they assume healthy food to be unpalatable. The aim of this study was to profile consumers according to their UT belief and specify the strength of the belief among a demographically representative consumer group. The other aim was to investigate the effect of UT belief on expectations of two food products representing either an unhealthy or a healthy image. A total of 1537 consumers participated in the online survey. The scale-based (1–7) mean for UT belief was 3.27 and related positively to male gender and food pleasure orientation and negatively to general health interest. The results indicate that a strong UT belief correlates with positive expectations of unhealthy food and with negative expectations of healthy food. UT belief seemed to increase expected food-associated guilt, but other strong food-related attitudes (health interest with unhealthy food and pleasure orientation with healthy food) reduced this effect. In practice, understanding the relationship between UT belief and personal factors and attitudes, and the importance of this belief to food expectations can assist in finding the tools to encourage consumers towards healthier food choices.

DD Williamson supports development of Fermentalg's natural blue food colorants

The prevalence of unhealthy dietary behaviors among adolescents is high. We examined the effect of having health-oriented food rules at home on the healthiness of adolescents' independent food choices, and the necessity of parental oversight for such rules to be effective.We surveyed a socioeconomically and racially diverse San Francisco Bay Area public high school in May 2017 (N = 1,246). We used ordinal logistic regressions to assess the relationships between adolescent-reported presence of health-oriented food rules at home and the healthiness of snacks selected by adolescents in a raffle, which included a randomized controlled experiment to manipulate the level of parental approval students needed to pick up their snacks.Adolescents reporting at least one health-oriented food rule at home were significantly more likely to choose healthier snacks in the raffle (adjusted odds ratio, 1.85; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41–2.45). Telling adolescents that a parent needed to approve the snacks did not have a significant effect on snack choice healthiness relative to a no-approval baseline condition (adjusted odds ratio, 1.01; 95% CI .55–1.86). Post hoc analyses suggest that rules may affect adolescent food-related attitudes and perceptions of parental reactions; for example, adolescents with rules reported that their parents would be more disappointed (adjusted mean difference on five-point scale, .5; 95% CI .36–.64) if they made an unhealthy food choice.Having health-oriented food rules at home is associated with healthier snack choices. Findings suggest that adolescents with rules also hold beliefs that may correspond to healthier independent dietary choices.

Exploring the Role of the Behavioral Immune System in Acceptability of Entomophagy Using Semantic Associations and Food-Related Attitudes.

Entomophagy refers to eating insects. Insect food, including cooked insects and other processed food with insect-based ingredients, is consumed in many regions of the world as a part of traditional dietary behavior, or as innovative functional food. However, many people especially in western or industrialized societies have shown negative attitudes such as resistance or disgust to entomophagy. In this study, we examined the acceptability of eating insects from the context of the behavioral immune system (BIS), by employing a questionnaire survey and picture-based semantic association experiment. We collected data from 1,369 Japanese participants (581 females and 788 males, mean age = 43.41 years, SD = 10.44 years) by conducting an online survey. The results revealed the influence of the behavioral immune system on entomophagy: The semantic associations between insect food and non-insect food, and between insect food and pathogens were significantly predicted by multiple domains related to the attitudes, concerns, and experience of food and pathogens. The semantic associations between insect food and pathogens were significantly stronger than other associations. People who concentrate on food safety and hygiene revealed fewer associations between insect food and non-insect food. These results indicated that promoting the sanitary and hygienic image of insect food may reduce revulsion at entomophagy and promote uptake.

Promoting healthy eating by enhancing the correspondence betweenattitudes and behavioral intentions.

Healthy eating campaigns are not always successful in changing food-related attitudes. Even when interventions produce the desired outcomes in attitudes, it is often challenging to translate those psychological changes into subsequent behaviors. Previous research has shown that elaboration (amount of thinking) is a critical construct for understanding the ability of attitudes to guide behavior. Instead of looking directly at objective elaboration, this study examined attitude-behavior correspondence as a function of subjective elaboration. Participants were first randomly assigned to generate positive or negative arguments with regard to taxing junk food. After this experimental manipulation, participants reported their subjective elaboration (as an additional predictor), and their attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding the proposal (as dependent measures). As hypothesized, the results showed that the greater perceived elaboration, the larger the ability of attitudes to guide behavioral intentions. That is, attitudes were more predictive of behavioral intentions in participants with higher levels of perceived elaboration compared to those with relatively lower levels of subjective thinking. Health initiatives can benefit from considering the extent to which participants perceive thinking about persuasive proposals.

Eating and Food-Related Attitudes and Behaviors of Emerging Adults with Overweight/Obesity from Different College Environments

Eating and Food-Related Attitudes and Behaviors of Emerging Adults with Overweight/Obesity from Different College Environments

Older Consumers' Readiness to Accept Alternative, More Sustainable Protein Sources in the European Union.

Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is a growing concern on account of an aging population and its negative health consequences. While dietary protein plays a key role in the prevention of PEM, it also plays a pivotal role in the environmental impact of the human diet. In search for sustainable dietary strategies to increase protein intake in older adults, this study investigated the readiness of older adults to accept the consumption of the following alternative, more sustainable protein sources: plant-based protein, insects, single-cell protein, and in vitro meat. Using ordinal logistic regression modeling, the associations of different food-related attitudes and behavior and sociodemographics with older adults’ acceptance to consume such protein sources were assessed. Results were obtained through a consumer survey among 1825 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years or above in five EU countries (United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Finland). Dairy-based protein was generally the most accepted protein source in food products (75% of the respondents found its consumption acceptable or very acceptable). Plant-based protein was the most accepted alternative, more sustainable protein source (58%) followed by single-cell protein (20%), insect-based protein (9%), and in vitro meat-based protein (6%). We found that food fussiness is a barrier to acceptance, whereas green eating behavior and higher educational attainment are facilitators to older adults’ acceptance to eat protein from alternative, more sustainable sources. Health, sensory appeal, and price as food choice motives, as well as gender and country of residence were found to influence acceptance, although not consistently across all the protein sources. Findings suggest that there is a window of opportunity to increase older adults’ acceptance of alternative, more sustainable protein sources and in turn increase protein intake in an environmentally sustainable way in EU older adults.

P164 Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Interactive and Engaging Nutrition Education Curriculum for Children

Objective The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the updated Food, Fun and Reading (FFR) curriculum using parent reported changes in child eating behaviors and food-related attitudes and participants’ recognition of foods in the five MyPlate food groups. Use of Theory or Research Nutrition education for young children is more effective when developmentally appropriate, interactive, and experiential activities are included in the curriculum. Including illustrated stories has also been found to increase engagement and improve information retention. The FFR curriculum utilizes both of these strategies. Target Audience The FFR curriculum was used with children from pre-Kindergarten through 1st grade. Program Description FFR is a six-lesson series that engages participants with an interactive MyPlate lesson, a physical activity game, and a child-friendly healthy recipe tasting. The nutrition topic is reinforced by reading a related food-focused story. The original FFR curriculum was developed by University of Vermont Extension in the late 1990s and has recently been updated. Evaluation Methods A retrospective post-pre evaluation was distributed to parents to assess changes in child eating behaviors and food-related attitudes. Pre and post evaluations were given to participants to assess overall changes in participants’ recognition of foods in the five MyPlate food groups. Results Parent survey data were analyzed using a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The parent surveys (n = 31) indicated a statistically significant increase in the frequency of children talking about healthy foods (P Conclusion The updated FFR curriculum may be an effective tool for improving knowledge and attitudes, and changing food-related behaviors among participants. Funding None.

Self-Rated Health and Lifestyle/Food Habits in Japanese Junior High School Students

Adolescence is a crucial period for health status formation. Adolescence is the period during which health-related behaviours, such as nutrition-related behaviours and physical activities, are developed. Self-rated health (SRH) assessment during adolescence is strongly associated with general well-being and psychosomatic symptoms. The current study investigated the relationship between SRH and lifestyle, eating habits and attitudes toward food among junior high school students. A total of 438 students aged 13&amp;ndash;15 years and their parents in the Hyogo prefecture of Japan participated in this study. Questionnaires were distributed to the students, who attempted them at home with their parents and returned them via Freepost envelopes. The questionnaires comprised the SRH assessment, lifestyle information, an unidentifiable description of the subject and their guardian&amp;rsquo;s SRH, and 39 parameters regarding food-related habits and attitudes. The &amp;chi;2 test or Fisher&amp;rsquo;s exact test were employed to assess any associations between the independent variables and SRH at a 5% level of significance. The differences between the healthy and unhealthy SRH groups were examined for all significant items using a logistic regression analysis after adjusting for sex and age. Of the participants, 188 (42.9%) returned both completed questionnaires. Among the respondents, 53.2% reported feeling very healthy. SRH assessment did not significantly differ with sex, age or school. Eleven parameters were significantly associated with SRH (P &amp;lt; 0.05 by &amp;chi;2 test). The guardians&amp;rsquo; SRH had no association with the students&amp;rsquo; SRH. The excellent SRH group had no headaches [odd&amp;rsquo;s ratio (OR): 1.68; confidence interval (CI): 1.29&amp;ndash;2.18], went to bed early [OR: 1.88; CI: 1.17&amp;ndash;3.02], liked home-cooked meals to a greater extent [OR: 2.55; CI: 1.54&amp;ndash;4.22], and had good exercise habits [OR: 2.98; CI: 1.27&amp;ndash;6.99] compared with the very good to poor SRH group. High SRH was strongly associated with going to bed early, not having headaches, liking home-cooked meals, and having good exercise habits among Japanese junior high school students.

Measuring consumers attitudes towards health and taste and their association with food-related life-styles and preferences

The purpose of the current study, was to apply and validate the factor structure of the Health and Taste Attitude Scales in an Italian adult sample of 1224 subjects, recruited on a national basis in order to characterise consumers’ food-related attitudes with weak and strong connotations of health and taste. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the factor structure of the three sub-scales of Health (General health interest, Light product interest, Natural product interest) and three sub-scales of Taste (Craving for sweet foods, Using foods as a reward, Pleasure). Results showed that the internal structure was similar to the theoretical proposal, with two exceptions for the Taste scale. The Pleasure sub-scale presented strong problematic loadings and consequently was removed from the model. The Craving for sweet foods sub-scale was split into two new underlying constructs describing attitudes towards craving for sweet food based on their own experience and attitudes towards other-people’s craving.The three Health sub-scales were used as a basis for the derivation of consumers clusters. Three groups of subjects with different interest in food-related health (Low, Medium, and High Interest) were identified. This segmentation confirmed an association between positive attitudes towards health and liking and familiarity with selected food groups. People more convenience-oriented and less interested in product information and food quality had higher probability to have a lower interest in food-related health. Subjects with higher positive attitudes towards using foods as a reward had a higher probability to belong to the cluster with lower interest in food-related health.

Valence, arousal and sentiment meanings of 33 facial emoji: Insights for the use of emoji in consumer research

Emoji are increasingly used for emotional expression in computer-mediated communications and represent a relevant source of information for consumer companies about consumer’s food-related attitudes and behaviours. However, given that emoji convey a wide range of meanings an in-depth understanding of how consumers interpret them is necessary to enable their use in food-related consumer research. The purpose of this research was to explore consumers' interpretations of facial emoji. In an online survey with 1084 adults from the USA, an open-ended question was used to uncover meanings associated to 33 common facial emoji (in Apple platform rendition iOS 6.0). Participants also evaluated the emotional valence and arousal of the emoji using Self-Assessment Manikins (SAM). The latter confirmed that facial emoji can span broad ranges of emotional valence and arousal and convey a corresponding range of different emotions. Although emoji conveyed their unique and intended meaning, semantic meanings were multiple and bestowed by associations of varying strength depending on the specific emoji being considered. This emphasised that emoji interpretation and use can be flexible, as also seen in internet resources dedicated to emoji meaning. Implications for food-related consumer research are discussed.

How Food Rules at Home Influence Independent Adolescent Food Choices

PurposeThe prevalence of unhealthy dietary behaviors among adolescents is high. We examined the effect of having health-oriented food rules at home on the healthiness of adolescents' independent food choices, and the necessity of parental oversight for such rules to be effective. MethodsWe surveyed a socioeconomically and racially diverse San Francisco Bay Area public high school in May 2017 (N = 1,246). We used ordinal logistic regressions to assess the relationships between adolescent-reported presence of health-oriented food rules at home and the healthiness of snacks selected by adolescents in a raffle, which included a randomized controlled experiment to manipulate the level of parental approval students needed to pick up their snacks. ResultsAdolescents reporting at least one health-oriented food rule at home were significantly more likely to choose healthier snacks in the raffle (adjusted odds ratio, 1.85; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41–2.45). Telling adolescents that a parent needed to approve the snacks did not have a significant effect on snack choice healthiness relative to a no-approval baseline condition (adjusted odds ratio, 1.01; 95% CI .55–1.86). Post hoc analyses suggest that rules may affect adolescent food-related attitudes and perceptions of parental reactions; for example, adolescents with rules reported that their parents would be more disappointed (adjusted mean difference on five-point scale, .5; 95% CI .36–.64) if they made an unhealthy food choice. ConclusionsHaving health-oriented food rules at home is associated with healthier snack choices. Findings suggest that adolescents with rules also hold beliefs that may correspond to healthier independent dietary choices.

P77 - Nutrition-Related Beliefs, Behaviors and Needs Among Individuals with Cancer and Their Caregivers

Background (Background, Rationale, Prior Research, and/or Theory): Programs to help individuals with cancer and their caregivers address nutrition-related behaviors must reflect the needs, interests, and preferences of these unique populations. Objective: To characterize nutrition-related beliefs, experiences, and behaviors among individuals with cancer and their caregivers, a critical step in development of effective nutrition interventions; and to identify preferences, barriers, and facilitators of engagement in lifestyle modification strategies. Study Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention: A convergent mixed methods study design was used. Individuals with cancer and their caregivers were recruited from American Cancer Society's Philadelphia Hope Lodge to complete surveys and in-depth interviews. NCI's Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey was used to assess food-related attitudes, preferences, beliefs and behaviors. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Thirty-nine individuals with cancer (n = 19, 67% male, 73% > 55 yrs) and their caregivers (n = 20, 31% male, 63% > 55 yrs) completed study activities. Three themes emerged: challenges managing treatment side effects, uncertainty regarding “healthy” foods, and desire for nutrition support for healthy survivorship. Caregivers reported lower nutrition-related self-efficacy compared to patients. Fewer than 20% of caregivers and 33% of patients felt they understood government nutrition recommendations. Sixty-seven percent of patients and 75% of caregivers reported they believed what they eat affects their health, yet there was disagreement among participants regarding what comprises “poor” vs. “good” nutrition. Barriers to eating fruits and vegetables among patients included lack of satiation, availability, and preparation time; and among caregivers included spoilage and availability. Participants reported interest levels in nutrition and cooking classes and therapeutic gardening. Conclusions and Implications: Nutrition intervention programs should be tailored for cancer survivors and caregivers who are experiencing risks associated with management of treatment side effects, need to improve their understanding of healthy foods to eating during recovery, and for those who are more comfortable with a program that can address specific concerns related to the cancer experience. Funding: Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The Effect on Children’s Attitudes Towards Food Associated With Their Non-Cognitive Skills, and With the Nutrition Knowledge of Their Parents

Early childhood is the most important time for establishing healthy eating habits, and of course during this period a mother can have a great influence in this regard. In this study explored what major factors influence the development children’s food habits and whether the level of nutrition knowledge of parents has a material impact. This study involved 219 students (age renge, 3–5 years) and their parents in Osaka prefecture in Japan. Mothers were administered questionnaires that contained uestions pertaining to lifestyle, unidentifiable description of the children and their guardian’s SRH along with 39 questions to assess the food-related habits and attitudes. The correlates of the nutrition-related knowledge level of mothers and the children’s concern and respect for healthy eating were assessed using the Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test and the Mann-Whitney U test. The differences between high and low amount of parental knowledge and high and low non-cognitive skills towards food groups were also examined. Completed questionnaires were returned by 219 of the participants. Among the respondents, 50.7% were male, and 92.2% of the parents indicated that they get nutrition information from the Internet. We remarkably found that the level of mother’s knowledge about nutrition had no statistically significant influence on how the children in this study understood food. However, chilren’s concern and respect for food were significantly associated with their participation in various aspects of food preparation (help with washing and cooking of food) and presentation (help with setting up the table) (P &amp;lt; 0.05, Mann–Whitney U test). Participation of Japanese kindergarten children in such activities was significantly associated with high level of food-related non-cognitive skills. Of note, the nutrition-related knowledge level of the mother showed no significant association with the attitude of their children towasds food.