Food Choice Values and Food Literacy in a Nationwide Sample of Japanese Adults: Associations with Sex, Age, and Body Mass Index

Abstract

This cross-sectional study of 2231 Japanese adults described food choice values and food literacy in relation to sex, age, and body mass index. We assessed eight food choice values (accessibility, convenience, health/weight control, tradition, sensory appeal, organic, comfort, and safety, using a 25-item scale), as well as food literacy, which was characterized by nutrition knowledge (using a validated 143-item questionnaire), cooking and food skills (using 14- and 19-item scales, respectively), and eight eating behaviors (hunger, food responsiveness, emotional overeating, enjoyment of food, satiety responsiveness, emotional undereating, food fussiness, and slowness in eating, using the 35-item Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire). Females had higher means of all the variables than males, except for food fussiness. Compared to participants aged 19–39 and/or 40–59 years, those aged 60–80 years had low means of some food choice values (accessibility, convenience, sensory appeal, and comfort), nutrition knowledge, and all the food approach behaviors (hunger, food responsiveness, emotional overeating, and enjoyment of food) and high means of other food choice values (tradition, organic, and safety) and slowness in eating. Age was inversely associated with cooking and food skills in males, whereas the opposite was observed in females. The associations with body mass index were generally weak. These findings serve as both a reference and an indication for future research.

Associations of food choice values and food literacy with overall diet quality: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japanese adults

“…For each item, the correct response was assigned 1 point, whereas an incorrect or missing response was assigned https://doi.org/10.1017/S000711452300082X Published online by Cambridge University Press higher level of nutrition knowledge. In the present sample, the Cronbach's alpha for the 143 items was 0.96 [29], which was comparable to that observed in the development process of the JGNKQ (0.95) [32].…”

Prospects for Plant-Based Meat: Current Standing, Consumer Perceptions, and Shifting Trends

“…The ability to manage, choose, prepare, and consume healthy foods to fulfill needs and determine intake is known as food literacy. It is a modern idea that gives a framework for comprehending the connection between food related knowledge, skills, and dietary consumption [ 41 , 82 ]. Nutritionists have long been interested about how people go about feeding themselves.…”

“…Since cooking expertise is thought to be learned through practice, a consumer’s level of sensory discrimination may vary depending on their level of culinary ability. Consumers with less or no cooking skills may pay less attention to a food’s intrinsic characteristics than consumers with better skills, which could be a result of a lower level of interest in food [ 3 , 41 ]. According to Hellwig et al [ 48 ], it could be helpful to use recipes from traditional food-cooking cultures while preparing new products.…”

“…Despite becoming more popular, the market for plant-based meat substitutes still has a small market share compared to animal meat [ 29 ]. Negative perceptions, animal meat attachments, reduced sensory quality, dietary habits, and the lack of familiarity with these products may cause lower acceptability [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Several studies have reported that higher intake of animal meat has been associated with the pathogenesis of non-infectious diseases [ 42 , 43 , 44 ].…”

Effect of Mid-Adolescent Dietary Practices on Eating Behaviors and Attitudes in Adulthood

“…As observed in other countries, previous empirical cross-sectional studies in Japan have pointed out many factors affecting adult eating behaviors. These include differences in dietary awareness, and food choices, sex [ 16 , 17 , 18 ], age [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], family structure [ 16 , 18 , 19 ], socioeconomic status [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ], eating with family [ 18 ], mental stress [ 24 ], mindfulness [ 25 ], food/eating literacy [ 26 ], accessibility to food outlets [ 27 , 28 ], and mobility restriction due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic [ 29 , 30 ].…”