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1 – 10 of over 8000The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of elementary school teachers’ psychological factors on their behavioral intentions for healthy nutrition in their daily life…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of elementary school teachers’ psychological factors on their behavioral intentions for healthy nutrition in their daily life within an extended version of the theory of planned behavior (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach
The design of the study is correlation study.
Findings
Constructs in the proposal model formed accounted for of variance of intentions and behaviors successfully. Considering the entire proposed model, while personal norm is the most influential factor on intention, self-identity is the most consistent effects on teachers’ behavior. However, among the constructs of TPB, perceived behavioral control is the strongest influence on both intention and behavior.
Originality/value
In the literature, factors affecting healthy behaviors by using TPB focused on mainly children (8–10 year old) and adolescents (11–16 year old) all over the world. However, in some countries, several studies were conducted on adults (e.g. Astrøsm and Rise, 2001; Brouwer and Mosack, 2015), to the best of our knowledge, while there is no study conducted on adults including teachers in Turkey. In addition, recently, two meta-analysis studies were published: Riebl et al. (2015) and Mcdermott et al. (2015). These studies suggested that future studies related to healthy nutrition in the scope of TPB should be continued to investigate.
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Eating behaviors of children and adolescents are important in establishing adults’ preferences and behaviors. Nutrition knowledge is one of the factors that could influence an…
Abstract
Eating behaviors of children and adolescents are important in establishing adults’ preferences and behaviors. Nutrition knowledge is one of the factors that could influence an adolescent’s eating behavior. Therefore the relationship between nutrition knowledge and eating behaviors of adolescents was examined in this research project. The participants were students from a middle school in Ohio. The students were asked to answer a questionnaire CANKAP (Comprehensive Assessment of Nutrition Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices), which measured nutrition knowledge and eating behavior. The results indicated that the relationship between nutrition knowledge and eating behavior was insignificant for sixth grade students, but significant for seventh and eighth grade students. The students were not able to identify the food sources of nutrients or nutrient functions, and they did not use a daily food guide to choose foods, although they were aware of the importance of milk and vegetable consumption. The findings in this study will add to the limited research data currently defining the relationship between nutrition knowledge and the eating behaviors of middle school students.
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Young Hoon Kim, Sangyung Lee and Nelson Barber
With dining out increasing globally, policy making and research have been on menu labeling as a source for meaningful nutrition information. Yet, despite attempts to mandate menu…
Abstract
Purpose
With dining out increasing globally, policy making and research have been on menu labeling as a source for meaningful nutrition information. Yet, despite attempts to mandate menu labeling and the studies examining consumer's perception of menu nutritional information and how this perception impacts dining behavior and intention to consume, concerns for obesity and malnutrition continue to be at the forefront of public health discussions. This study attempts to comprehend consumers' nutritional goals, intention and food choice behavior, thereby suggesting how to leverage this information for change.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data and a proposed and validated theoretical model, the study identified the different aspects of consumer's food choice by analyzing the relationship of consumer's perceived importance toward nutrition information, food choice and healthy daily behavior, and intention to improve health.
Findings
Consumers who perceive higher importance of nutrition information are more likely to choose healthy food when dining out and have stronger health improvement intention. The results also suggested healthy food choice and healthy daily behavior positively influenced health improvement intention.
Originality/value
Despite the previous studies on menu labeling and the numerous policy mandates, there is still concern about the food choice behavior of consumers while eating out. No serious effort exists to regulate food service providers similar to the regulation of other consumer products, whereby consumers are generally protected from harm. This study suggests through education, promotional marketing and industry partnerships, motivating and leveraging consumers' desire for healthy food choices could move food service providers and policy makers to change what information is provided.
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Stojan Kostanjevec, Janez Jerman and Verena Koch
Children's eating habits are influenced by numerous social and individual factors. The present study aimed to evaluate the connection between nutrition knowledge of children and…
Abstract
Purpose
Children's eating habits are influenced by numerous social and individual factors. The present study aimed to evaluate the connection between nutrition knowledge of children and their eating habits as well as their attitudes towards healthy eating habits.
Design/methodology/approach
The research study included 630 11-year-old children from 27 randomly selected Slovenian schools. During the research, children attended the sixth grade of the nine-year elementary school and on average were subject to 38.6 h of mandatory nutritional contents, which are planned in the curriculum of home economics. At the end of the school year, nutrition knowledge was checked with a knowledge test consisting of 27 questions. Considering the achieved results, children were classified into three knowledge categories: low, fairly good, and good nutrition knowledge. Children's eating habits were assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire, while the five-degree Likert scale was used to assess their attitudes to healthy eating habits. Differences in children's eating habits and attitudes in reference to the category of knowledge were determined through analysis of variance.
Findings
The results demonstrated that children with better nutrition knowledge have healthier eating habits and a more positive attitude towards them than children with poor nutrition knowledge.
Originality/value
The study results demonstrate the link between children's nutrition knowledge and attitudes on the one hand and eating habits on the other which justifies the importance of providing formal and informal nutrition education to children.
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Mojisola D. Kupolati, Una E. MacIntyre and Gerda J. Gericke
The aim of this review is to critically assess published articles on school-based nutrition education (NE) intervention to identify factors hindering or contributing to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this review is to critically assess published articles on school-based nutrition education (NE) intervention to identify factors hindering or contributing to the success of interventions. School-based NE possesses the capacity to influence learners’ nutrition behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
An electronic search of articles was conducted in Medline, PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases, Google and snowballing. Included in the review were school-based studies with classroom NE with or without nutrition services and studies published between 2000 and 2013. School-based non-intervention studies and interventions that did not include a nutrition teaching component were excluded in the review.
Findings
Thirty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Features of successful NE interventions included the use of behavioural theories, especially the social cognitive theory and the involvement of trained teachers in the implementation of interventions. Capacity development for teachers, time constraints, school policies and implementation problems of multicomponent interventions were some of the identified challenges encountered in the studies reviewed.
Originality/value
Trained teachers are invaluable assets in interventions to improve nutrition behaviours of learners. Challenges associated with teacher-oriented school-based NE intervention can be overcome by properly designed and implemented interventions based on behavioural theory.
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Arthur Meidan and Thabet A. Edris
Analysis of British consumers′ actual usage of nutrition labelsraises critical questions regarding public policy decisions to provideconsumers with nutrition information. Multiple…
Abstract
Analysis of British consumers′ actual usage of nutrition labels raises critical questions regarding public policy decisions to provide consumers with nutrition information. Multiple Discriminant Analysis reveals that consumers vary significantly in their use of nutrition labels in food choice. On the basis of psychographic and sociodemographic characteristics, three district consumer segments (i.e. heavy users, light users and non‐users) were identified. The results indicate that 55 per cent of British consumers are likely to be non‐users of nutrition labels. Non‐users are less educated, have lower family incomes and can be either younger or older than users. They are oriented to price and bargain rather than quality and nutrition. The implications of these findings for public policy are discussed.
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The purpose of this study is: to examine how the nutrient ad disclosures (i.e. absolute and evaluative disclosure) of fast food menu items influence consumers' evaluation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is: to examine how the nutrient ad disclosures (i.e. absolute and evaluative disclosure) of fast food menu items influence consumers' evaluation behaviors of those foods; to investigate how consumers' subjective nutrition knowledge and BMI influence their evaluation behaviors of fast food meals with nutrient ad disclosures.
Design/methodology/approach
Two 2×2 experiment designs were used to investigate the influences of nutrient ad disclosures, subjective nutrition knowledge, and BMI on consumers' evaluation behavior.
Findings
The findings indicate that: the evaluative disclosure led to significantly less favorable consumer evaluations of selected fast food menu items than did the absolute disclosure; consumers who had high subjective nutrition knowledge and who were low BMI (i.e. people who have normal BMI) conducted significantly more critical evaluations of focal fast food meals with nutrient ad disclosures than did their counterparts.
Practical implications
Those findings imply that policy makers should develop a new format of nutrition information on fast food meals based on the evaluative disclosure in order to help consumers choose healthful foods.
Originality/value
Even though the effectiveness of the new menu-labeling regulation of the fast food industry is still controversial, only a few studies have been conducted to find a more effective nutrition information format than the current format. Thus, this study provides valuable implications to policy makers in terms of developing a more effective nutrition information format.
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Anthony R. Dissen, Peggy Policastro, Virginia Quick and Carol Byrd‐Bredbenner
Little is known about interrelationships among nutrition knowledge, attitude, dietary intake, and body satisfaction, which are important variables that play a role in nutrition…
Abstract
Purpose
Little is known about interrelationships among nutrition knowledge, attitude, dietary intake, and body satisfaction, which are important variables that play a role in nutrition education interventions. This paper aims to focus on these interrelationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Students (n=279; 20.12±1.75SD years) enrolled at a large northeastern US university took an online survey. The survey contained a nutrition knowledge scale, attitude scale, food frequency scales, body areas satisfaction subscale, and demographic characteristics questions. To determine relationships, correlation coefficients were computed, along with forward stepwise regression to identify predictors of each study measure.
Research limitations/implications
Data were collected from a non‐probability sample in one geographical area at one time point.
Findings
In males, significant positive correlations were found between fruit/vegetable servings and attitudes, knowledge, body satisfaction; and between knowledge and attitudes. Stepwise multiple regression analysis found fruit/vegetable servings and percent calories from fat significantly predicted attitudes, while in females attitude was a significant predictor variable for knowledge, fruit/vegetable servings, and percent of calories from fat. Among females, significant positive correlations occurred between attitudes and knowledge, and fruit/vegetable servings and attitudes.
Practical implications
Nutrition and health interventions should incorporate lessons that work to improve one's attitudes toward nutrition. Interventions targeted to males should aim to increase nutrition knowledge, while interventions targeted to females should focus on nutrition knowledge and attitudes.
Originality/value
This paper expands on what is known about young adults and key cognitive factors that influence their nutrition knowledge, attitudes, dietary intake, and body satisfaction. Nutrition educators can utilize the study findings to inform future nutrition interventions.
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Terhi Junkkari, Maija Kantola, Leena Arjanne, Harri Luomala and Anu Hopia
This study aims to increase knowledge of the ability of nutrition labels to guide consumer choices in real-life environments.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to increase knowledge of the ability of nutrition labels to guide consumer choices in real-life environments.
Design/methodology/approach
Food consumption and plate waste data were collected from two self-service restaurants (SSR) with different customer groups over six observation days: three control and three intervention (with nutrition labelling) periods. Study Group 1 consisted of vocational school students, mostly late adolescents (N = 1,710), and Group 2 consisted of spa hotel customers, mostly elderly (N = 1,807). In the experimental restaurants, the same food was served to the buffets during the control and intervention periods.
Findings
The nutrition label in the lunch buffet guides customers to eat fewer main foods and salads and to select healthier choices. Increased consumption of taste enhancers (salt and ketchup) was observed in the study restaurants after nutritional labelling. Nutrition labelling was associated with a reduction in plate waste among the elderly, whereas the opposite was observed among adolescents.
Originality/value
The results provide public policymakers and marketers with a better understanding of the effects of nutrition labelling on consumer behaviour. Future studies should further evaluate the effects of nutrition labelling on the overall quality of customer diets and the complex environmental, social, and psychological factors affecting food choices and plate waste accumulation in various study groups.
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Pi-Chuan Sun, Hsien-Long Huang and Fang-Yi Chu
The purpose of this paper is to examine how health consciousness and nutrition self-efficacy influence attitudes towards and use of nutrition labels, the moderating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how health consciousness and nutrition self-efficacy influence attitudes towards and use of nutrition labels, the moderating effect of nutrition knowledge between health consciousness and nutrition label attitude, and the impact of the consumer’s ethical evaluation of a business on nutrition label use.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes an integrative model that includes health consciousness, nutrition self-efficacy, nutrition knowledge, nutrition label attitude, ethical evaluation, and nutrition label use. Empirical data were collected from a famous website in Taiwan by a non-ordered questionnaire to decrease the priming effect, and 306 valid questionnaires were collected. The collected data were analysed using SPSS and AMOS software.
Findings
The results show that both health consciousness and nutrition self-efficacy have direct effects on nutrition label attitude, and this attitude will influence label use. There is a moderating effect of nutrition knowledge, in terms of both subjective and objective nutrition label knowledge, between health consciousness and nutrition label attitude. However, the moderating effect in the low nutrition label knowledge group is slightly greater than in the high nutrition label knowledge group. The consumer’s ethical evaluation of businesses affects nutrition label use.
Originality/value
This study is the first to indicate that nutrition label knowledge, both subjective and objective, will moderate the relationship between consumers’ health consciousness and their attitude towards nutrition labels. Furthermore, this study affirms the relationship between the consumer’s ethical evaluation of a firm and nutrition label use.
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