Food Choice Determinants and Perceptions of a Healthy Diet among Italian Consumers

Wongprawmas, Rungsaran; Mora, Cristina; Pellegrini, Nicoletta; Guiné, Raquel; Carini, Eleonora; Sogari, Giovanni; Vittadini, Elena

doi:10.3390/foods10020318

Cited by 69 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Our results, in terms of health issues regarding TFs, agree with the findings of both reports. Other recent studies found environmental factors, together with health, to be the determinants of choices for Italian consumers [57], and that there is a shift towards healthier diets for Russian adults [58]. These findings were also verified by our results in the case of TFs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Consumers’ Trust in Greek Traditional Foods in the Post COVID-19 Era

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We are entering a new, unprecedented global economic and social era following the COVID-19 pandemic, in which there will be opportunities and threats for the goods and services provided. Traditional foods (TFs) could have their chances in the new food chain which will be developed, as long as they become the food of choice for the consumers of the future. This paper investigates consumers’ trust in Greek TFs, and northwest Greek TFs, in order to assess their potential consumption in the new economy. Trust was tested using the variables of safety, healthiness, sustainability, authenticity and taste, assessing consumers’ confidence and satisfaction with the TFs, their raw materials, and the technologies used for their production. A self-response questionnaire survey was carried out in May and June 2021 on a sample of 548 participants through the Google platform. In order to analyze the data, basic descriptive statistical tools were used, combined with crosstabs and chi-square tests. The results show that the participants trust the Greek TFs because they “strongly agree” by an average of 20%, and “agree” by an average of 50% that they are safe, healthy, sustainable, authentic and tasty. A similar pattern was recorded for the regional northwest Greek TFs as well. These results indicate that TFs could be the food of choice because they bear consumers’ trust in the coming “new normality”, where trust will be a major factor of choice for the purchase of goods and services.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Consumers’ Trust in Greek Traditional Foods in the Post COVID-19 Era

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There is relevant confirmation that specific social norms linked to food consumption have a major effect on people's food choices. On the other hand, the globalization of food supply chains has increased the availability and variety of foods, becoming eventually less sustainable, owing to long distances travelled across the globe and/or being available throughout the entire year and not only in the production season [74][75][76].…”

Section: Discriminant Function Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Issues as Drivers for Food Choice: Study from a Multinational Framework

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This work intended to explore some motivations that influence people’s eating habits towards sustainability. This was an observational, cross-sectional study, carried out by questionnaire survey on a non-probabilistic sample of 10,067 participants from 13 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and United States). Results indicated that people prefer fresh local foods from the season, being important because it allows transportation and storage to be reduced, which in many cases implies refrigeration systems and consequent energy expenditure. Although people avoid food waste at home, the awareness for the waste at restaurants still needs to be improved. Consumers seem to prefer foods that have been produced and packed in sustainable ways but still give importance to the package—understandable for food products. The results also indicated significant differences in the food choice motivations between groups for all sociodemographic variables tested (age, sex, marital status, education, professional area, living environment and country), but the association was high only for variable country. Additionally, a tree classification analysis allowed to identify the relative importance of the influential variables on the sustainable food choices, with country being the most important, followed by age and sex. Additionally, discriminant function analysis allowed establishing a model for the relation between country and six variables accounting for preservation of biodiversity, respect for life, save natural resources, save energy, reduce industrial pollution and minimal packaging. Although with some limitations, this study brings valuable insight into some aspects linked with sustainable food choices on a number of countries and how people shape their food choices according to some sustainability issues.

show abstract

“…The “healthy eaters” are a cluster formulated also by other authors as “health-driven consumers”, who try to follow a healthy and balanced diet and choose products of health-promoting values [ 41 ]. Such consumers may be characterized by increased interest in the energy value of food products [ 42 ], and this approach may be associated with the choice of specific food products, as the health-oriented consumers may consciously choose products presenting higher health-promoting value [ 43 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Preferences and Food Choice Determinants in a Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Food preferences are within the most important determinants of food choices; however, little is known about their complex associations, and no studies were conducted in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between food preferences and food choice determinants in adolescents aged 15–20 years within the Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study. The PLACE-19 Study included a random quota sampling conducted in the whole of Poland and covered a population-based sample of 2448 secondary school students. The food preferences were assessed using a validated Food Preference Questionnaire (FPQ), and the food choices were assessed using a validated Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). The statistical analysis comprised k-means clustering and linear regression adjusted for sex and age. Four homogenous clusters of respondents were defined based on the food choice motives—“healthy eaters” (health as the most important determinant of food choices), “hedonists” (convenience, sensory appeal, and price as the most important determinants), “indifferent consumers” (low significance for all determinants), and “demanding consumers” (high significance for all determinants). The preferences for all food categories differed when comparing between clusters presenting various food choice determinants (p < 0.001). The “healthy eaters” were characterized by the highest preference for vegetables; the “hedonists” preferred meat/fish, dairy, and snacks; the “demanding consumers” had a high preference for all food categories, while “indifferent consumers” had a low preference for all food categories. All preference scores were positively associated with mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, and price (p < 0.05). The results confirmed the association between food preferences and food choice determinants in adolescents, as well as allowed adolescents to be clustered into segments to define various needs and motives among the identified segments. For public health purposes, it may be crucial to educate “hedonists,” with a high preference for meat/fish, dairy and snacks, accompanied by convenience, sensory appeal, and price as the most important determinants of their food choices.

show abstract

Food Choice Determinants and Perceptions of a Healthy Diet among Italian Consumers

Cited by 69 publications

References 38 publications

Consumers’ Trust in Greek Traditional Foods in the Post COVID-19 Era

Consumers’ Trust in Greek Traditional Foods in the Post COVID-19 Era

Environmental Issues as Drivers for Food Choice: Study from a Multinational Framework

Food Preferences and Food Choice Determinants in a Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About