Consumers' Perceptions of Healthy Food Availability in Online Food Delivery Applications (OFD Apps) and Its Association With Food Choices Among Public University Students in Malaysia

Eu, Elisa Zhen Rong; Sameeha, Mohd Jamil

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.674427

Cited by 24 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…A total of 20,430 valid online questionnaires were collected from undergraduates, graduate students, and other young consumers aged 18–30. The majority of the respondents (87.37%) lived in cities of various sizes, which is consistent with the fact that OFD is more popular in urban than in rural areas in China [ 28 , 43 , 49 ]. Students, company employees, and public institution employees accounted for 34.51%, 30.25%, and 12.92% of the sample, respectively.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 66%

“…On the basis of previous qualitative research [ 9 , 28 , 46 , 48 ], an online questionnaire was designed to evaluate current OFD consumption status, consumers’ perception of OFD food nutritional quality, and how OFD affects consumers’ health. The questionnaire contains two parts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Australia and New Zealand, more than 25% of OFD consumers are young people aged 15–34 [ 27 ]. Examining a Malaysian context, Eu and Sameeha (2021) [ 28 ] reported that OFD consumers were mainly college students aged 19–29. In China, more than 50% of OFD consumers are young people aged 18–30 [ 29 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutritional quality and consumer health perception of online delivery food in the context of China

Dai

2022

BMC Public Health

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Background Today, the popularization of mobile internet technology has enabled the public’s need for food convenience and diversity arising from modern fast-paced lifestyles to be met at a relatively low cost. The digital age of the restaurant industry has arrived. Online food delivery (OFD) is rapidly developing globally. However, the public’s awareness of the nutritional quality of food through OFD and their knowledge of dietary nutrition remain to be investigated. Methods In the context of China, this study attempts to evaluate the nutritional quality of best-selling OFD set meals (i.e., meal combos) based on the current official Chinese dietary guidelines 2022. It accomplishes this by collecting data on popular OFD restaurants among consumers in 115 Chinese universities from the restaurants’ delivery addresses. Moreover, 20,430 valid questionnaires were collected online from undergraduates, graduate students, and other young groups aged 18–30 throughout China for descriptive analysis to investigate consumers’ perceptions of the nutritional quality of food through OFD and its health impact. Results The results of the nutritional quality evaluation of the OFD set meals ranged widely from 15 to 85, with a mean of 36.57 out of a possible maximum score of 100; and 89.56% scored less than 50. The nutritional quality of OFD foods was thus generally low. The nutritional quality of foods was negatively correlated with their popularity among consumers. Conclusions Young OFD consumers generally paid low attention to dietary nutrition knowledge and seldom paid attention to nutritional quality when choosing OFD foods while the nutritional quality of OFD foods was generally low. Respondents subjectively reported that long-term consumption of OFD food caused weight gain, increased blood lipids, and gastrointestinal discomfort. They thought that the reason might be excessive oil, salt, and sugar in the food, while ignoring the balance between different types of food.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutritional quality and consumer health perception of online delivery food in the context of China

Dai

2022

BMC Public Health

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“…Other studies have also shown that MFDAs are often used to order unhealthy foods. A study conducted in Malaysia found that 77.6% of young adult users ordered unhealthy food, with 40.3% using MFDAs 1 to 3 times a month [ 13 ]. In a Singaporean cohort study, MFDA use was found to be associated with a decrease in vegetable orders by 15% and an increase in orders for barbecued or fried food and beverages by 11% and 4%, respectively, during COVID-19 lockdowns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young Adults’ Use of Mobile Food Delivery Apps and the Potential Impacts on Diet During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mixed Methods Study

Tham¹,

Whitton²,

Müller‐Riemenschneider³

et al. 2023

JMIR Form Res

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Background A poor diet contributes substantially to the development of noncommunicable diseases. In Singapore, it is recommended to consume at least 2 servings of fruits and vegetables daily to reduce the risk of developing noncommunicable diseases. However, the adherence rate among young adults is low. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to frequent users of mobile food delivery apps (MFDAs) adopting unhealthy eating habits, including high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, making it crucial to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying factors driving their use patterns. Objective We aimed to examine the use patterns of MFDAs among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic; investigate the association between MFDA use and sociodemographic factors, dietary factors, and BMI; identify the underlying reasons for the observed use patterns of MFDAs among users; and compare the influences of MFDA use between frequent and infrequent users. Methods A sequential mixed methods design was used involving a web-based survey and in-depth interviews with a subset of respondents. Poisson regression and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Results The quantitative results revealed that 41.7% (150/360) of participants reported using MFDAs frequently, defined as at least once a week. Although not substantial, the study found that frequent users were less likely to consume 2 servings of vegetables per day and more likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages. Nineteen individuals who had participated in the quantitative component were selected for and completed the interviews. Qualitative analysis identified 4 primary themes: deliberations about other sources of meals versus meals purchased via MFDAs, convenience is vital, preference for unhealthy meals ordered from MFDAs most of the time, and cost is king. Before making any purchase, MFDA users consider all these themes at the same time, with cost being the most important influential factor. A conceptual framework based on these themes was presented. Lack of culinary skills and COVID-19 restrictions were also found to influence frequent use. Conclusions This study suggests that interventions should focus on promoting healthy dietary patterns in young adults who frequently use MFDAs. Teaching cooking skills, especially among young male individuals, and time management skills could be useful to reduce reliance on MFDAs. This study highlights the need for public health policies that make healthy food options more affordable and accessible. Given the unintended changes in behavior during the pandemic, such as reduced physical activity, sedentary behavior, and altered eating patterns, it is essential to consider behavior change in interventions aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles among young adults who frequently use MFDAs. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions during COVID-19 restrictions and assess the impact of the post–COVID-19 new normal on dietary patterns and physical activity levels.

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“…In recent years, driven by the upsurge of "Internet +" and "platform economy, " the food supply chain closely related to consumer life has been constantly changing, and the marketing mode represented by Internet platform sales has gradually emerged. At present, people's lives are full of various online food trading platforms, such as Meituan Takeout, Eleme, Koubei, and Jingdong To Home from China, Grubhub, Ubers Eats, and DoorDash from United States, Deliveroo and Just Eat from United Kingdom, Delivery Hero from Germany, and Swiggy from India (1). During the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to reduce the spread of the virus, some countries adopted partial or complete blockade measures, such as closing schools, workplaces, entertainment places, restaurants, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pathway towards the development and evolution of consumer behavior: Policy directions for sustainable development and improvement of nutrition

Chang

Zhang

et al. 2022

Front. Nutr.

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IntroductionThe virtuality, concealment, uncertainty and complexity of online trading make the online food trading market have security risks, while the lack of information, information asymmetry and imperfect market system make the “lemon problem” in the market increasingly obvious.MethodsIn order to clearly understand and manage the “lemon problem” in the online food trading market, we built an evolutionary game model involving the seller, buyers and online food trading platform, deeply analyzed the formation process of the “lemon problem” in the online food trading market, and revealed the influencing factors and effects of each subject’s strategy choice from the perspectives of subsidy, punishment, cost, and benefit.ResultsFindings of this study reveal that: (1) In the online food trading market, the strategy of the seller, buyer and platform will be stable in six situations, and the “lemon problem” will emerge with the development and evolution of the online food trading market. (2) The strategy of each subject in the online food trading market will be affected by variables like cost difference between positive performance and negative performance of the seller, punishment from the buyer with positive participation to the seller with negative performance, subsidy from the platform with positive regulation to the seller with positive performance, etc., and different factors have different influence directions and degrees on the subject strategy. (3) In the online food trading market, cost, punishment, subsidy and benefit have different effects on the subject’s strategy. Among them, cost and cost difference have the most significant impact on the subject’s strategy, followed by punishment and benefit difference, and subsidy and additional benefit have less impact on the subject’s strategy.DiscussionBased on our study findings, it is proposed that by constructing a complete and standardized system of online food trading market from the aspects of examination and verification institution, reward and punishment institution, and supervision institution, it will be able to provide reference for managing the “lemon problem” in the online food trading market, promoting the sustainable development of the market, and ensuring the safety of online food.

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Consumers' Perceptions of Healthy Food Availability in Online Food Delivery Applications (OFD Apps) and Its Association With Food Choices Among Public University Students in Malaysia

Cited by 24 publications

References 31 publications

Nutritional quality and consumer health perception of online delivery food in the context of China

Nutritional quality and consumer health perception of online delivery food in the context of China

Young Adults’ Use of Mobile Food Delivery Apps and the Potential Impacts on Diet During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mixed Methods Study

A pathway towards the development and evolution of consumer behavior: Policy directions for sustainable development and improvement of nutrition

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