How People Interpret Healthy Eating: Contributions of Qualitative Research

Promoting Healthy Choices in Workplace Cafeterias: A Qualitative Study

“…This suggests that effective prompting campaigns require 2 elements: information before the choice is encountered and a simple uncomplicated sign that prompts behavior at the time the choice is made. Consistent with the findings of Bisogni et al, 23 participants in this study categorized healthy eating in terms of specific foods, food components, and those requiring restriction. It is encouraging that participants' understanding of healthy eating conformed to United Kingdom government dietary guidelines 33 and that they were knowledgeable about issues regarding food and health.…”

“…Individuals consider specific foods, components such as fat within food, the way food is produced, those foods for which intake should be restricted, and dietary goals. 23 They also show that people have limited knowledge of dietary fats 24 and that although participants are familiar with the notion of calories, they do not always understand how to apply it. 25 As outlined earlier, this study aimed to develop campaigns and associated point-of-choice prompts to influence food choice in workplace cafeterias.…”

Healthy food is nutritious, but organic food is healthy because it is pure: The negotiation of healthy food choices by Danish consumers of organic food

“…This is surprising, as the concept of health can hardly be said to be free of ambiguity (cf. Bisogni, Jastran, Seligson, & Thompson, 2012). As a result of this lack of clarity of how consumers understand healthiness, researchers working on organic consumption risk misinterpreting the health claims being made by those who participate in their studies.…”

Consumers’ practical understanding of healthy food choices: a fake food experiment

“…For instance, fruits and vegetables are perceived as healthy, whereas consumers usually associate foods containing high amounts of fat, sugar and salt with unhealthy eating (1) . Although consumers have some ideas about the healthiness of specific foods, they also have conceptions about production and preparation methods, as well as knowledge about the concepts of balance, variety and moderation, as suggested by dietary guidelines (1)(2)(3) .…”

“…For instance, fruits and vegetables are perceived as healthy, whereas consumers usually associate foods containing high amounts of fat, sugar and salt with unhealthy eating (1) . Although consumers have some ideas about the healthiness of specific foods, they also have conceptions about production and preparation methods, as well as knowledge about the concepts of balance, variety and moderation, as suggested by dietary guidelines (1)(2)(3) .However, in Switzerland, adherence to dietary recommendations is low for most food categories and has not significantly improved over the past decade (4,5) . A healthy diet is correlated with higher education and a healthier overall lifestyle (6) , and adherence to dietary guidelines has been associated with reduced all-cause mortality (7,8) .…”