Exploring Meal and Snacking Behaviour of Older Adults in Australia and China

Abstract

Sensory perception and food preferences change as we age. This paper encompassed two studies with the aim being to investigate meal and snacking behaviour of older adults towards food, especially meat products, and understand the desirable characteristics of those products. A qualitative multivariate analysis (QMA) focus group with Australian and Chinese older (60–81 years old) adults was conducted. A conjoint concept database was used to determine older consumers’ wants and needs for food in Australia and China. The QMA suggested that Australian consumers are not eating a proper breakfast or dinner but are ‘snacking’ throughout the day. In contrast, Chinese consumers are eating three regular meals through the day and occasionally snacks. For both groups, texture and flavour were key drivers for food choice. Difficulty in eating meat products was evident, e.g., beef jerky was found too dry and hard. Older consumers in China and Australia differed in responses to the four food categories investigated in terms of product traits and segmentation. Both the conjoint analysis and QMA showed that demographics have an impact on consumer preferences towards food. This research suggested that there is an opportunity to create ready-to-eat, nutrient dense products to enhance the wellness of older consumers.

Sensory and Physical Characteristics of M. biceps femoris from Older Cows Using Ginger Powder (Zingibain) and Sous Vide Cooking

“…Hence, in contrast to our previous study [21], we achieved tender meat with lower cooking time of 8 h, with the use of GP-injection. However, the soft texture or over-tenderisation may be suitable for some specialised markets, for instance, the elderly population [50]. There are papers showing that people vary in their liking for tenderness and texture of the meat [47].…”

Developing a Messaging Graphic for Storage Times of Refrigerated Ready to Eat (RTE) Foods for a Consumer Food Safety Health Campaign

“…The “part worth utility value” is the regression coefficient for that particular attribute or the “level” that the attribute increases. or decreases the overall score [ 72 ]. In the regression modeling based on a dummy variables process, each individual “attribute” is included as a component in the model; the overall category is not part of the model.…”

Consumers’ Motives for Eating and Choosing Sweet Baked Products: A Cross-Cultural Segmentation Study

“…For example, in the case of unnecessary snacking, a non-habitual snacker lacks a biological motivation for eating snack foods, therefore snacking without hunger will elevate the amount of energy consumed, which can result in consequent weight gain [32,33]. Using a qualitative multivariate analysis (QMA) map, researchers investigated the snacking behavior of adults towards food from Australia and China and found that sweet biscuits were ranked as likely to eat everyday [34]. A study determined how often Swiss respondents usually ate breakfast [35].…”