Factors predicting meat and meat products consumption among middle-aged and elderly people: evidence from a consumer survey in Switzerland.

Background: An adequate diet contributes to health and wellbeing in older age. This is nowadays more important than ever since in industrialised countries the elderly population is growing continually. However, information regarding the consumption behaviour of older persons in Switzerland is limited. Objective: The objective of this investigation was to explore how middle-aged and elderly Swiss view animal products in relation to diet and health, and what factors predict consumption frequency. Design: A representative consumer survey among 632 people over the age of 50 years, living in the German-, French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland was conducted. Results: This paper presents the results related to meat and meat products consumption. Most participants consumed meat and meat products regularly. The majority of participants with low meat intake indicated that eating small amounts would be enough. Respondents judged fresh meat (except pork) to be healthier than meat products, and poultry to be the healthiest meat. Overall meat consumption frequency was predicted by language region, gender, household size, and BMI. Furthermore, participants' opinion about healthiness, taste and safety of meat but not their adherence to the Swiss food pyramid was found to be correlated to the consumption frequency of individual types of meat. Conclusion: Several factors have an impact on consumption frequency of meat and meat products in the middle-aged and elderly Swiss population and the importance varies according to the individual types of meat and meat products. The results show that the traditional food pyramid is not one of these factors for which reason new tools must be explored to support elderly people in regard to a healthy dietary behaviour.

Nutrition behavior of the middle-aged and elderly: Compliance with dietary recommendations of the food pyramid.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: During the aging process, human physiology changes noticeably, mostly to the disadvantage of the individual. A healthy lifestyle that includes sufficient physical activity as well as a balanced and diverse diet contributes to healthy aging. One key factor that elderly people need to be aware of is compliance with nutritional recommendations. There is very little data concerning eating patterns, consumption behavior, and compliance with food guides (food pyramid) and nutritional recommendations among the Swiss, particularly for the middle-aged and elderly. The objective of this study was to gather new and representative information about these issues, concentrating on people aged 50+ and living in Switzerland. METHODS: A questionnaire in online and written form was distributed to a representative sample of middle-aged and elderly people living in Switzerland. RESULTS: In total, 632 people returned the survey. Of those respondents, 71% knew the Swiss Food Pyramid but only 38% said they comply with it. Based on self-reports, only a few participants met the recommendations for the different food groups listed in the food pyramid, whether in the pyramid-comply or pyramid-non-comply group. CONCLUSION: The survey shows that the middle-aged and elderly living in Switzerland need more nutritional guidance to help them to meet dietary recommendations. As usage and understanding of food guides seem limited among this population group, new tools must be explored for transfer of recommendations to real applications.

Conscientiousness and (un)healthy eating: the role of impulsive eating and age in the consumption of daily main meals.

The present study aims to explore the relationship between conscientiousness and the consumption of healthy versus unhealthy main meals. Impulsive eating was tested as a mediator in this relationship, as well as direct effects of age on those constructs. A nationwide representative sample of 1,006 Norwegian adults (18-70 years) within a prospective design was used to test a theoretical model. The structural equation model (SEM), in combination with bootstrapping procedures in AMOS, was the principal analytical method. Conscientiousness was negatively associated with unhealthy and impulsive eating. Impulsive eating was a partial mediator between conscientiousness and unhealthy eating and a full mediator between conscientiousness and healthy eating. Age was positively correlated with conscientiousness and this relationship had an inverted U-shape form. Finally, age was negatively associated with unhealthy and impulsive eating, and positively associated with healthy eating. This study confirmed the relevance of conscientiousness for healthy, unhealthy, and impulsive eating.

The role of family communication and parents' feeding practices in children's food preferences.

This study used Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT) to explore how family-dinner-related communication takes place and how parents' feeding practices may be associated with children's preferences for dinner meals. The sample consisted of 12 dyads with seven- and eight-year-old Norwegian children and their parents. In-depth photo interviews were used for collecting data. Interview transcripts and photographs were examined through content analysis. Results indicated that most families were conversation oriented, and communication tended to shift from consensual during weekdays to pluralistic at weekends. On weekdays, the dinner menu was often a compromise between children's preferences and parents' intentions to provide quick, healthy dinner options for the family. To a greater extent at weekends, children were allowed to choose dinner alternatives for the entire family. Restriction of unhealthy dinner alternatives was the practice most used to control children's diets and, in fact, might explain children's high preferences for unhealthy dinner alternatives. Results underline the importance of giving children control of what they eat and being responsive to children's preferences while guiding them towards healthy dinner alternatives rather than using force and restriction. From a more theoretical perspective, this study explored how FCPT could be combined with theories about parents' feeding practices to understand meal preferences and choices among young children and their families, and how time and situation (context) influence families' communication patterns and feeding practices in their homes.

Reflective and impulsive influences on unhealthy snacking. The moderating effects of food related self-control.

This study proposes that snacking behaviour may be either reflective and deliberate or impulsive, thus following a dual-process account. We hypothesised that chronic individual differences in food related self-control would moderate the relationships between reflective and impulsive processes. The reflective route was represented by an attitude toward unhealthy snacking, while the impulsive route was represented by the tendency to buy snack on impulse. A web survey was conducted with 207 students and employees at a Norwegian university, and a moderated hierarchical regression analysis using structural equation modelling was used to estimate the theoretical model. The findings showed that both attitudes towards unhealthy snacking and impulsive snack buying tendency were positively related to snack consumption. Food related self-control moderated the relation between attitude and behaviour, as well as the relation between impulsive snack buying tendency and behaviour. The effect of attitude on consumption was relatively strong when food related self-control was strong, while the effect of impulsive snack buying on consumption was relatively strong when food related self-control was weak. The results thus suggest that while weak self-control exposes individuals vulnerable to impulsive tendencies, strong self-control does not necessarily lead to less unhealthy snacking, but this depends on the valence of an individual's attitude.

Perceptions of health risks and benefits associated with fish consumption among Russian consumers.

Knowledge about differences in consumer perceptions of health risks and benefits related to fish consumption is important for the development of targeted health interventions associated with dietary choice. The purpose of this study is to identify individual differences in Russian consumers according to their perceptions of health risks and benefits associated with fish consumption. By application of a cluster analysis on perceptions of personal risks and benefits associated with the consumption of fish, four groups of Russian consumers were classified as: very positive; positive; moderately positive; and 'high risk-high benefit' about the healthiness of fish consumption. Differences in perceptions of personal risks and benefits across consumers were related to self-reported fish consumption, optimism about personal risks and benefits, and optimism about personal knowledge about risks and benefits. Implications for the development of targeted health interventions to influence perceptions of risks and benefits associated with fish consumption, and ultimately fish consumption, are discussed. It is concluded that optimism regarding perceptions and knowledge of health risks, and health benefits should be taken into account when developing interventions aimed at consumer health.

Russian consumers' motives for food choice.

Knowledge about food choice motives which have potential to influence consumer consumption decisions is important when designing food and health policies, as well as marketing strategies. Russian consumers' food choice motives were studied in a survey (1081 respondents across four cities), with the purpose of identifying consumer segments based on these motives. These segments were then profiled using consumption, attitudinal and demographic variables. Face-to-face interviews were used to sample the data, which were analysed with two-step cluster analysis (SPSS). Three clusters emerged, representing 21.5%, 45.8% and 32.7% of the sample. The clusters were similar in terms of the order of motivations, but differed in motivational level. Sensory factors and availability were the most important motives for food choice in all three clusters, followed by price. This may reflect the turbulence which Russia has recently experienced politically and economically. Cluster profiles differed in relation to socio-demographic factors, consumption patterns and attitudes towards health and healthy food.

Intention to consume seafood--the importance of habit.

The role of habit strength and past behaviour were studied in order to gain a better understanding of seafood consumption behaviour. A sample of Norwegian adults (N=1579) responded to a self-administered questionnaire about seafood consumption habits, past frequency of seafood consumption, and attitude towards and intention to eat seafood. Structural equation modelling revealed that past behaviour and habit, rather than attitudes, were found to explain differences in intention, indicating that forming intention does not necessarily have to be reasoned. The results also indicated that when a strong habit is present, the expression of an intention might be guided by the salience of past behaviour rather than by attitudes. The findings of this study might thus have consequences for dietary interventions.