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Drawing on a socio-cognitive model, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the aim of this paper is to investigate whether the effects of social cognition on intention to consume dietary supplements moderate by health motivation.

This study was carried out using a cross-sectional survey approach. Subjects comprised 438 undergraduate students from six universities in Malaysia.

Given strong support for the extended TPB's application to dietary supplements consumption provided by the study, it seems feasible that desirable changes in attitude, social norms, and perceptions of control might lead to corresponding changes in behavioural intention. The empirical findings, which are based on multi-group analysis, show that the strength of the relationships between informational influence, consumer attitude, and their intention to consume dietary supplements are strongly influenced by health motivation.

This research sets the ground for stakeholders in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors to improve their understanding of what drives dietary supplements consumption. Armed with this knowledge, marketers and health professionals could plan and execute their marketing strategies and health interventions more effectively.

The core contribution lies in an important extension of social cognitive model by incorporating the moderating effect of health motivation. This study demonstrates the measurement validity and predictive efficacy of the proposed integrative model which can be used as a promising framework to examine other preventive health behaviours.

This paper aims to evaluate the dietary advice for cardiovascular health in UK running magazines.

A qualitative and quantitative content analysis was carried out on 12 issues (2014/2015) of Men’s Running (MR), Runner’s World (RW) and Women’s Running (WR). Coding of content took place into three themes: diet information, format and cardiovascular health.

Dietary advice comprised 17, 18 and 21 per cent of content in MR, RW and WR, respectively. A Mediterranean dietary pattern (e.g. fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, wholegrains and legumes, oily fish) was recommended for cardiovascular health and lowering of BP and plasma cholesterol. Single components of this dietary pattern were emphasised combined with advice to alter fat intake and increase intake of antioxidant nutrients and polyphenols, while advice to restrict salt was scarce. There was minimal emphasis on weight control. Information was often presented as single-page compilations of multiple headlines and snippets. Lexical imperatives and magisterial vocabulary connoted learned expertise and citation of experts and journals was common.

Future research may qualitatively investigate how readers interpret and make use of the nutrition information and dietary advice provided in these magazines. A critical question would be to address whether these dietary messages lead to cardio-protective dietary behaviour.

Improved journalistic reporting of emerging nutritional science is also needed. Magazine editors and journalists need to follow reporting guidelines for science and provide more nuanced information.

This research is the first to describe the content and style of dietary content for cardiovascular health in running magazines.

Dietary supplements have been subject to considerable criticism because of their lack of regulation and questionable claims; yet, research indicates that consumers who are more health conscious are more likely to use supplements because the products are associated with preventive health behaviors. This research aims to examine whether consumers’ familiarity with supplement advertising or their level of health consciousness significantly affects their attitudes toward three different types of dietary supplements. It also assesses whether advertising familiarity and health consciousness are related to perceptions of supplement price.

This paper used a point-of-purchase approach and collected data at a nationwide supplement retail store in a major metropolitan area in the southeast, resulting in a final sample of 136 consumers. In addition to the survey items, data were collected on a number of demographic factors, including gender, age, marital status, race and education.

Results suggest that health consciousness is significantly related to attitudes toward different supplement types and perceptions of supplement price, but familiarity with supplement advertising is not related.

The results suggest that health consciousness is a significant predictor of attitudes toward different nutritional supplements and the perceived price of supplements, but familiarity with advertising is not a predictor. Implications for marketers and public policy are provided.

While this research informs public policy, it is especially useful for marketers and advertisers of dietary supplements.

The objectives of this study were: to investigate Irish consumers' attitudes to diet, health and health‐enhancing foods; to determine Irish consumers' knowledge and awareness of the health benefits of health‐enhancing foods; to examine the health‐related factors perceived to be most important in food choice; and to examine the relationships between attitudes, beliefs and dietary behaviour.

A total of 340 questionnaires were distributed to consumers using a multi‐stage cluster‐sampling technique.

The key variables that accounted for the variation in dietary behaviour were attitudes to healthy food behaviours, perceived influence of diet on health, and nutrition knowledge. Differences were observed between attitudes and awareness of health‐enhancing foods across gender, age and social grouping.

The results and conclusions of this research are derived from a study conducted in Dublin only and, therefore, it is not possible to generalise about the Irish population from these results. It would prove beneficial to conduct further consumer research on determinants of consumers' dietary behaviour for health‐enhancing foods at different urban and rural centres in Ireland, as well as across European states for a cross‐cultural perspective.

Market segmentation, accompanied by appropriate carefully targeted educational messages, and addressing the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of the target group can help to close the gap between actual and healthful diets for the entire population.

This research can assist health policy makers implement promotional strategies to improve the nutritional status of at‐risk groups while supporting efforts by the food industry in identifying appropriate marketing strategies within the healthy foods sector.

There is a clear link between dietary behavior and a range of chronic diseases, and overweight and obesity constitute an indirect risk in relation to these diseases. The worksite is a central venue for influencing dietary behavior. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of workplace influences on workers' dietary patterns.

The paper reviews the evidence of the effectiveness of dietary health promotion, and provides a brief overview of appropriate theoretical frameworks to guide intervention design and evaluation. The findings are illustrated through research examples.

Through case studies and published research, it is found that workplace dietary interventions are generally effective, especially fruit and vegetable interventions. There is less consistent evidence on the long‐term effectiveness of workplace weight management interventions, underscoring the need for further research in this area. This paper also reports evidence that changes in the work environment, including through health and safety programs, may contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of workplace health promotion, including dietary interventions. Organizational factors such as work schedule may also influence dietary patterns. The social ecological model, the social contextual model and political process approach are presented as exemplar conceptual models that may be useful when designing or assessing the effects of workplace health promotion.

The paper shows that using the worksite as a setting for influencing health by influencing dietary patterns holds considerable promise and may be instrumental in reducing workers' risk of developing chronic diseases.

The perceived relationships between diet and health amongst a sample of working‐class women in North‐east England are examined, highlighting the impact of “food scares” current at the time of the research fieldwork on dietary beliefs and practice. Economic constraints are a major barrier to “healthier eating” in certain working‐class subcultures, but social conceptions of “good” food also often conflict with dietary advice. The findings of the research presented here demonstrate that this conflict may be heightened by the confusion and controversy attendant on “food scares”, causing anger and resentment amongst women, the principle recipients of dietary information.

This research aims to identify malnutrition risk and perception of malnourished and at-risk elderly individuals on their dietary practices.

In Phase 1, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 413 elderly individuals aged 60 years and above in agricultural settlements in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. Malnutrition risk was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF). In Phase 2, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted among 21 elderly individuals identified in Phase 1. The interviews ceased when data saturation was achieved.

25.7 per cent (n = 106) of elderly individuals were identified as malnourished and at-risk (MNA-SF score = <12). Age, smoking, income and living status were significantly associated with malnutrition risk (p < 0.05). Thematic analysis revealed four themes that represent elderly individuals’ perception on their dietary practices: the impact of aging on dietary intake; food restriction according to health condition; poor dietary intake due to feeling of loneliness; and perceived benefits of foods for health.

Strategies from multidisciplinary healthcare professionals to eliminate improper dietary practice are required for the maintenance of health, functional independence and quality of life among the elderly.

This research is at the forefront in reporting the elderly individuals’ perception on dietary practice in agricultural settlement. Attention to individual’s health issues and the associated factors that may influence their dietary practices is essential to provide appropriate interventions to achieve optimum nutritional status and healthy aging.

Because dietary fibre has been recognized as a major ally to the maintenance of a healthy body as well as to help against the development of some chronic diseases, this paper aims to study the level of knowledge of a relatively wide range of people about the health effects related to the ingestion of dietary fibre in appropriate dosages.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 6,010 participants. The data were collected from 10 countries in three different continents (Europe, Africa and America) and measured the level of knowledge regarding different health benefits from dietary fibre. The questionnaires were applied by direct interview after verbal informed consent.

The results obtained considering the general level of knowledge revealed a considerable degree of information about the benefits of fibre (average score of 3.54 ± 0.5, on a scale from 1 to 5). There were significant differences between genders (p < 0.001), with higher average score for women, and also for level of education (p < 0.001), with higher score for university level. The living environment also showed significant differences (p < 0.001), with people living in urban areas showing a higher degree of knowledge. Also for countries the differences were significant (p < 0.001), with the highest score obtained for Portugal (3.7), and the lowest for Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia and Romania (3.5). However, despite these differences, the results showed that for all the countries the degree of knowledge was good (above 3.5), corresponding to a minimum level of knowledge of 70 per cent.

This work is considered important due to the wide coverage, including so many countries inclusive with different social and cultural settings. The study allowed concluding that, in general, the participants in the study were quite well informed about the benefits of dietary fibre for the improvement of human health, regardless of gender, level of education, living environment or country. This finding is very relevant considering the diversity of people that composed the sample and reinforces the necessity of continuing with educational policies aimed at providing the general population with the knowledge that might help them make appropriate food choices.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the latest mounting evidence reporting associations between the important role of whole grains and fibre in lowering the risk of chronic diseases and health.

A general systematic review was conducted to locate and summarise up-to-date published studies within the field. A Medline search identified human-controlled trials and observational studies published in the past five years.

A total of 49 studies were identified. In observational studies, higher intakes of whole grain and dietary fibre were associated with a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, abdominal adiposity and certain cancers. This was further supported by human intervention trials, which reported benefits for appetite control, blood lipid levels, glycaemic control, digestive health and secondary cancer prevention. Mechanisms may relate to the micronutrients and phytonutrients present in high fibre foods.

Practical advice is needed to help people identify foods rich in whole grains, e.g. breakfast cereals. UK fibre recommendations should be aligned with European guidelines and food labelling regulations, and a whole grain dietary recommendation, e.g. similar to the US guideline of three portions a day, could be introduced. Government and industry should play a role in communicating dietary fibre guidelines and the health benefits associated with whole grain and fibre, particularly insoluble fibre.

This paper develops knowledge about whole grains, health and the importance of establishing whole-grain dietary recommendations.

Reports new research into stability and change in contemporary foodways. Uses survey and in‐depth interviews to uncover familiar features which could be described as traditional, as well as more novel patterns. Highlights the ways in which the two are interwoven. The picture is characterized by a number of serious nutritional concerns, including health, weight control, food safety and food ethics. There is also familiarity with official nutritional guidelines, despite a widespread perception of contradictory and confusing nutritional messages. Finds mistrust of farmers, food companies and the government as far as the provision of safe food for the public is concerned. Such negative findings by no means represent the whole picture, however. Shows that, in the midst of such perceived contradiction and mistrust of external agencies, there is a personal confidence in dietary decision making and pleasure in food and eating.