Promoting Sustainable Lifestyle Habits: “Real Food” and Social Media in Spain

Abstract

Obesity and state of being overweight are beginning to be treated as global epidemics. In this context, health professionals are increasingly acting as expert opinion leaders that use social media to connect with the public, in order to promote healthy lifestyles and provide specific recommendations for different product categories, including fresh, processed, and ultra-processed meat products. This study investigates how exposure to content created by health professionals, and posted on social media, influences consumers’ attitudes. For this purpose, the collaboration of one relevant nutritionist influencer in Spain has been obtained. The online survey created has provided 4.584 responses, received from followers (from May to June 2019). After applying a partial least squares path modeling approach, the results suggest that trust in the content shared, the perceived credibility of the professional sharing the information and the informative value, determine the strength with which consumers acquire more knowledge about endorsed products, develop a favorable predisposition towards them, prefer them over their options, and modify their behaviour by purchasing them, instead of their usual foods. The link is stronger, in the case of trust and influencer’s credibility, than for informative value. However, the latter has an indirect effect on the attitude phases through the former.

Health behavior of Austrian tertiary students focusing on diet type linked to sports and exercise—first glimpse of results from the “sustainably healthy—from science 2 high school and university” study

“…Healthy diet plays a key role in sustainable lifestyle ( 17 ). One of the most appropriate dietary strategies to achieve sustainable lifelong health is adhering to a plant-based diet ( 18–20 ), commonly categorized as a vegetarian or vegan diet ( 21 , 22 ).…”

Sustainability advocacy antecedents: how social media content influences sustainable behaviours among Generation Z

“…By communicating information-rich content consistently, influencers address the lack of awareness that hinders the adoption of green lifestyles. Segovia-Villarreal and Rosa-Díaz (2022) confirmed the influence of the information that can be accessed on social media on consumer decision-making at the cognitive, affective, attitudinal and behavioural levels. This influence seems to be stronger in the early stages of the attitude-phase model, possibly because individuals intuitively acquire new information that is available for free, easy to digest and enticing.…”

Online Reputation for Food Sector Exporters in the B2B Context: The Importance of Sustainability

“…This result contrasts with those of studies in which sentiment analysis was presented as relevant for information published with regard to financial data [83,84] and CSR reports [37,85] of companies operating in B2C markets. As reasons, the difference between the B2B and the B2C contexts can be pointed out, the latter generating a greater number of publications [86], and companies being more exposed to public information [22,87]. In addition, customer profiles vary in both types of markets, with B2B markets characterized by transactions carried out by specialized committees that make professional assessments of available information [35,53].…”

“…For instance, during the COVID-19 crisis, the health safety of imported food became highly relevant on social media, which turned into a key medium for providing information, reducing uncertainty, and channeling customers' emotions [87]. Likewise, social networks, combined with company websites, become decisive in the promotion of eating habits and the acceptance of new foods [86].…”