Regular paperDevelopment of a Measure of the Motives Underlying the Selection of Food: the Food Choice Questionnaire☆,☆☆
Abstract
A number of factors are thought to influence people's dietary choices, including health, cost, convenience and taste, but there are no measures that address health-related and non-health-related factors in a systematic fashion. This paper describes the development of a multidimensional measure of motives related to food choice. The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) was developed through factor analysis of responses from a sample of 358 adults ranging in age from 18 to 87 years. Nine factors emerged, and were labelledhealth,mood,convenience,sensory appeal,natural content,price,weight control,familiarityandethical concern. The questionnaire structure was verified using confirmatory factor analysis in a second sample (n=358), and test–retest reliability over a 2- to 3-week period was satisfactory. Convergent validity was investigated by testing associations between FCQ scales and measures of dietary restraint, eating style, the value of health, health locus of control and personality factors. Differences in motives for food choice associated with sex, age and income were found. The potential uses of this measure in health psychology and other areas are discussed.
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Self-selected diets: Exploring the factors driving food choices and satisfaction with dietary variety among independent adults
2024, Food Quality and PreferenceFood choices determine the nutrients and other substances that build and maintain our bodies as well as consumer demand for food products. People choose specific foods, and those choices are strongly influenced by many factors. Our goal was to examine the reasons participants gave for choosing each of the foods they consumed during a 4-week study, how those influencers differed for different food classes, and whether the influencers predicted satisfaction with their dietary variety.
Participants maintained a 28-day online food diary. Each week, they rated their satisfaction with the variety in their diets and the impact of 13 choice influencers on each of the foods they consumed. We recorded the frequency at which each choice influencer was rated as having high, moderate, low, or no impact on selection. We grouped each food into one of 17 food classes to weigh the importance of each influencer for consuming each of these food classes.
Liking, hunger, and convenience were most frequently selected as having a high impact on food choice. The presence on a menu, only thing served, and special occasion were most frequently selected as having no impact on food choice. Liking was generally the highest rated choice influencer across food classes. Liking had high to moderate impact on the consumption of healthier food classes such as the fruits and vegetable classes at similar proportions as less healthy food classes such as the alcohol and desserts classes.
Satisfaction with weekly variety was best predicted by liking; convenience generally reduced satisfaction.
The mediating role of barriers and trust on the intentions to consume plant-based foods in Europe
2024, Food Quality and PreferencePlant-based food alternatives have increased in popularity, particularly plant-based meat alternatives, while plant-based cheese alternatives less so. However, their acceptance remains low in Europe. Food choice motives (FCM) and trust towards alternative proteins may contribute to purchasing plant-based food alternatives, while other FCM and barriers can hinder this. The present study aimed to investigate whether FCM focused on “Environment & ethics” and “Intrinsic product quality” are associated with behavioural intentions towards plant-based meat and cheese alternatives, and specifically investigating the mediating role of perceived barriers to plant-based food consumption and trust towards plant-based alternative proteins. A survey was conducted in 10 European countries (AT, DE, DK, ES, FR, IT, NL, PL, RO, UK) with quotas on age and gender (N = 7588). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to determine factors associated with behavioural intentions towards plant-based meat and cheese alternatives. Results showed that “environmental & ethical” motives are positively associated with intentions to consume plant-based alternatives to meat (in 6/10 countries) and cheese (in 8/10 countries). “Intrinsic product quality” motives were not directly associated with behavioural intentions towards plant-based meat alternatives. However, country differences were observed for effects of “Intrinsic product quality”. Perceived barriers to plant-based food consumption and trust towards plant-based alternative proteins play a significant mediating role among all 10 countries. The implications are that environmental and ethical motivations could contribute to effectively promoting plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy. High sensory quality for plant-based meat and cheese alternatives is needed to build trust.
A sustainable dietary transition requires knowledge of the drivers and barriers of dietary choices. We investigate the role of preferences for domestic food, as well as environmental and health concerns, as drivers for the consumption of red and white meat, fish, ready-made plant-based food products and self-identification as some type of meat reducer (flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan). A survey of 1102 consumers was conducted in Norway with questions about food attitudes, beliefs and preferences regarding health, the environment and domestic food as well as dietary habits and demographics. The results from interval and logistic regression analyses show that stronger preferences for domestic food are associated with higher consumption of red meat and a lower likelihood of eating plant-based food and identifying as a meat reducer. Health concerns are associated with higher consumption of white meat and fish, and environmental concern is associated with lower consumption of white meat and a higher likelihood of eating plant-based food. The results also confirm previous research results that disbelief regarding the negative health and environmental impacts of meat correlate with higher meat consumption and a lower likelihood of eating plant-based food. In addition, we find that people who believe that Norway is a country primarily suited for livestock production have higher consumption of meat and a lower likelihood of eating plant-based food. We conclude that to make certain consumers transition away from meat, it is important to provide domestically produced, plant-based alternatives and to implement policy measures that will generate positive storylines of improved farmer livelihoods.
Indulgent, Practical or Balanced? Exploring mothers’ food choices for their children in low- and middle-income households
2024, Food Quality and PreferenceChildhood obesity remains a pressing concern in public health and nutrition research, with implications for children's health and well-being. Understanding parents’ food choice criteria is critical to designing interventions that promote healthier diets. The current study explores low- to medium-income families’ food choices by profiling Italian mothers (N = 809) based on their core shopping drivers. Applying hierarchical cluster analysis, three distinct groups are identified: indulgent mothers (27 %), who prioritize children’s food preferences; practical mothers (45 %), who value convenience the most; and balanced mothers (28 %), who consider both health and convenience in their food shopping. The findings offer insights for policymakers to implement ad hoc interventions that can aid vulnerable mothers – already compromised in family management – in making healthier food choices for their child.
Greek primary school students’ moral judgments and motives about sustainable food consumption
2024, Cleaner and Responsible ConsumptionModern dietary habits pose large threats to the global vision for a sustainable food system transition, intensifying discussions around the urgency for educational initiatives that can promote more sustainable food consumption practices. However, research has not sufficiently studied food consumers' moral background, despite its strong influence on food choices, while relevant research on school-aged consumers is even scarcer. This study focuses on two individual ethical decision-making processes regarding food sustainability: moral judgments and moral motives. Data was selected using non-probability, opportunity sampling from 587 students attending the last two grades of primary school in the Region of Western Macedonia, Greece. Participants completed a Likert-scale questionnaire, which adopted a holistic approach towards food sustainability, incorporating the following 12 variables associated with all three domains of sustainability (environmental, societal, economic): Biodiversity, Carbon footprint, Soil, water and air conservation, (Food) loss and waste, Water footprint, Nutrition and health, Animal welfare, Workers' rights and safety, Cultural traditions, Food supply, Tax revenues and Profits, Jobs/incomes. In the moral motives scale, additional variables associated with non-moral considerations were also assessed: Sensory Appeal, Mood, Promotion, Social influence, Convenience and Familiarity. For the moral judgments scale, findings revealed low to medium scores for all the domains and among the variables associated with a sustainable food system, the lowest mean scores being recorded in those linked to the social dimension of sustainability. Regarding food consumption motives, results indicate that non-moral considerations prevail remarkably over moral ones and are linked to all three domains of sustainability. Statistical testing identified grade level, gender, place of residence and participation in environmental, health or food education school programs as factors influencing certain aspects of students’ moral thinking at a statistically significant level. Insights gained from this study can contribute to educational and other agendas aiming to promote sustainable food consumption.
Understanding consumers’ emotional responses towards extreme foodporn contents in social media: Case of whole oven baked camel
2024, International Journal of Gastronomy and Food ScienceThis study aims to understand emotional responses towards extreme FoodPorn content in social media. In line with this purpose, this research seeks answers to the following two questions: (1) What type of food-related emotional responses could reveal from the comments on FoodPorn contents? Moreover, (2) how do locals and non-locals differ in their food-related emotional response to FoodPorn contents?
In this study, qualitative study approach and case study design were adopted. A total of 401 online comments left under an extreme FoodPorn content were included in the dataset through the convenience sampling method. To analyze qualitative data, deductive content analysis and Chi-Square test were performed.
The findings of this study revealed that the visual and auditory stimuli in the FoodPorn content caused positive and negative emotional responses that led consumers to food acceptance or rejection. These findings supported the functionality of the S-O-R theoretical model. Findings suggest that cultural differences cause diverse emotional responses regarding food acceptance. Individuals with high food and cultural familiarity are more likely to respond cognition based emotional responses to FoodPorn posts. In contrast, the emotional responses of those with lower food and cultural familiarity are hedonic-based.
This study presents new ways of looking at the food-related emotions within the frame of extreme FoodPorn contents in social media. This study adds to novel insights into what is already known through the S-O-R theoretical model.
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This research was supported by Grant L209 25 2013 from the Economic and Social Research Council, U.K. We are grateful to Emma Winstanley for her assistance in data collection.
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Address correspondence to: Dr A. Steptoe, Department of Psychology, St George's Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, U.K.