The motivations that define eating patterns in some Mediterranean countries

Abstract

Purpose This study to investigate several issues related to food choice and consumption patterns in different countries, including health-related factors; economic and availability aspects; emotional determinants; social, cultural and religious influences; marketing and advertising campaigns; and finally environmental concerns. Design/methodology/approach The present study was based on a questionnaire that was exclusively prepared for the project, and which was applied to collect data in different countries, in particular Croatia, Egypt, Italy, Greece and Portugal, which are typically associated with the Mediterranean diet (MD). Findings The results obtained allowed, in general, to conclude that in all five countries the motivations related to health as well as environment and politics were the more relevant to determine people’s eating habits (scores varying from 0.3 to 0.7). Women were more influenced by eating motivations than men, and people with moderate exercise were more susceptible to health and environmental motivations and less to emotional, social or marketing motivations (p < 0.001 in all cases). It was also observed that people who adopted a special diet were more prone to eating motivations and that the emotional motivations were more pronounced in people with eating disorders (p < 0.001). Finally, people without chronic diseases or allergies were even more influenced by health motivations than those who actually suffered from these health problems (p < 0.001 in both cases). Originality/value This work is important because of the multinational coverage, thus allowing to evaluate the most relevant factors that influenced the food choices of the populations around the Mediterranean Sea, sharing the common link to the MD. The study allowed concluding that, in general, the food choices were primarily determined by health factors and also by concerns related to the environment and sustainability as well as by political influences.

Perceptions about Healthy Eating and Emotional Factors Conditioning Eating Behaviour: A Study Involving Portugal, Brazil and Argentina

“…These results are, to some extent, in line with those of the research by Bartkiene et al [ 48 ], which indicated that age, education level and sex are associated with emotional motivations for eating. The works by Bennett et al [ 46 ] and Guiné et al [ 49 ] also reported gender differences in the emotional factors driving eating behaviour.…”

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

“…Eertmans et al (2006) conducted a survey using the food choice questionnaire (FCQ) in different countries and found that in Italy, health and nature content, convenience and mood were the most important issues Italian consumer concerned in making their food choices [ 11 ]. Guiné et al (2019) studied food choice determinants in Mediterranean countries and found that, in Italy, the food choices were influenced by environmental and political motivation, following by health and emotional reasons [ 12 ].…”

“…In order to determine the eating patterns of individuals in relation to their choices, particularly in the Mediterranean region, a large project entitled “Psycho-social motivations associated with food choices and eating practices” (EATMOT) was carried out. In this framework, a questionnaire was developed to define food choices, according to six types of conditioning motivations (health, emotional, economic and availability, social and culture, environment and politics, and marketing and commercial) [ 12 ]. This study was part of the project and its purpose was twofold: (1) To evaluate the food choice motivations in a sample in Italy; and (2) to segment consumer groups and provide consumer profiling, according to their food choice motivations.…”

Food choice motivations and perception of a healthy diet in a developing Mediterranean country

“…One of the domains that greatly influences food choices is culture and accounts for wide differences in food preferences across countries and cultures. Indeed, food habits are closely associated with the society surrounding the individuals, also contributing for their identity as a member of a group (Kaya 2016; Barauskaite et al 2018;Stasi et al 2018;Guiné et al 2019bGuiné et al , 2019aFerrão et al 2020).…”

“…The MD has been linked with many beneficial health effects, but some people are driving away from the traditional MD, consuming higher convenience and readily available fast, but unhealthier, foods The information about Lebanese eating habits is limited, and therefore, it is very important to develop studies in this area, to become aware of Lebanese eating practices and also to promote efficient health strategies. This study is an extension of the multinational project entitled "Psycho-social motivations associated with food choices and eating practices (EATMOT)," carried out in different countries to study some psychic and social motivations that influence people's food choices and eating behaviors (Ferrão et al 2019b;Guiné et al 2019aGuiné et al , 2019b. The main objective of this specific study was to evaluate whether Lebanese people were motivated toward a healthy diet and in what way their sociodemographic differences could influence their perception on it.…”