If I think it works, I like it: Towards an increased understanding of consumer opinions about food-related nudging

PhD thesis in Hotel and tourism managementNudging has emerged as an innovative tool to influence consumer decisions within areas ranging from reduction of CO2-emissions, increasing pension savings and facilitating healthy food choice. Nudges aim to guide consumer behavior in pre-decided directions without forbidding the options or changing economic incentives and are part of the behavioral public policy-movement which has arisen throughout the past decade. The increased application of nudges as measures to influence public behavior has however not advanced without controversy, and the current thesis focuses on consumer opinions about the use of nudging in a food-related context. Consumer opinions about nudging have been a largely neglected research area, yet a number of recent studies indicate relatively high support of nudging, despite its somewhat manipulative nature. Perceived effectiveness is identified as an important driver of acceptance of nudging, yet little is known about the underpinnings of this association. In order to provide a deeper theoretical and practical understanding of consumer acceptance of nudging, it is not sufficient to solely focus on identifying factors that are directly associated with acceptance, as it is also crucial to expand the causal chain backward and explore the antecedents behind the main drivers. The overall objective of the current thesis is to increase our understanding of consumer acceptance of food-related nudging. The objective is approached by a two-fold perspective, which aims to shed light on 1) main drivers of acceptance of food-related nudging, and 2) the antecedents of one of the main drivers of acceptance of nudging, namely perceived effectiveness of nudging. The objective is addressed by means of three research papers. The first paper is dedicated to replicating and extending the knowledge about factors that are directly associated with acceptance of food-related nudging, and the two succeeding papers aim to take a step back in the causal chain by exploring how different message designs influence consumers’ perceived effectiveness of food-related nudging. The main logic of inquiry is a quantitative and deductive research approach, and the first study is designed as a cross-sectional survey, while the two succeeding papers are designed as factorial experiments. The current thesis identifies perceived effectiveness and perceived limited freedom of choice to be significant predictors of acceptance of food-related nudging, and furthermore, a number of aspects related to the message, the sender and the receiver are found to be of significant importance when public information about nudging are communicated. The findings of the three papers in this thesis contribute to increase the knowledge of factors that are directly associated with acceptance of food-related nudging and additionally explores the antecedents of one of the most important drivers of acceptance, namely perceived effectiveness. The thesis thus contributes to increase both theoretical, practical and methodological knowledge within the domain of consumer acceptance of nudging, and the findings also hold several implications for policymakers that are planning to implement nudging as part of public policy

What you say and what you do: Exploring the link between consumers’ perception of portion size norms and reported behaviour for consumption of sweets and crisps

Portion size decisions are embedded in a complex system of individual, socio-economic, and environmental factors. The objective of this study was to explore consumers’ descriptive and injunctive portion size norms and how these norms are related to reported behaviour and further to psychological eating attitudes. The study includes data from two consumer samples (n = 1020). Respondents completed four tasks where they chose the portion size they normally eat, the appropriate portion size, the portion size they would like to eat, and the portion size they believed others like them would eat from eight pictures varying in portion sizes. After this, respondents’ psychological eating attitudes were measured. Consumers chose larger portions of both sweets and crisps than they perceive as appropriate, but at the same time they reported to choose smaller portions than they would like to eat or what they believe others at the same age and gender eat. We identified two clusters based on respondents’ psychological eating attitudes. Those with higher versus lower scores on emotional eating and disinhibition reported not only larger portion sizes, but also a higher norm for an appropriate portion size and a higher gap between what they reported to eat and what is appropriate to eat. Interestingly, the chosen portion size for the high scoring cluster did not differ from those they reported other people to choose. This indicates that consumers that are vulnerable to emotional eating or losing control over eating when exposed to food cues have less bias in thinking that they eat less than others like them would eat.publishedVersio

Consumption of ultra-processed foods : an assessment of the literature on determinants of ultra-processed food consumption and an investigation of the potential effect of time scarcity

Masteroppgave folkehelsevitenskap - Universitetet i Agder 2016Background Highly processed foods have been classified as ultra-processed, and consumption of such foodstuffs have expanded rapidly over the last decades. Ultra-processed foods are characterized as being accessible, attractive, palatable and often time-saving. An excess intake of ultra-processed foods has been associated with increased risk of e.g. overweight/obesity and diabetes type II. The aim of this master’s project was to investigate factors influencing consumption of ultra-processed foods. This resulted in one review paper on young adults, and one cross-sectional study where the association between time scarcity and ultra-processed food consumption was investigated. Methods In order to identify relevant material for the review paper, a systematic literature search was conducted in four databases, using a two-folded search string with terms indicative of ultra-processed foods and determinants. The cross-sectional study included 497 participants. A validated score was used as an indicator of time scarcity, and three scores were developed as indicators of ultra-processed food consumption; ultra-processed dinner products, snacks & soft drinks, fast foods. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association between time scarcity and consumption of ultra-processed foods. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic factors. Results In total, 65 studies were included in the review paper, and the majority of these investigated determinants on the individual level. Gender, younger age and more television watching were associated with consumption of ultra-processed foods. The cross-sectional study showed that participants with higher degree of time scarcity had higher odds of being high consumers of fast foods. Regression analyses also showed sociodemographic differences in consumption of ultra-processed foods. Conclusions Future research should further investigate factors influencing consumption of ultra-processed foods, particularly on the environmental level where there is currently a lack of research. Intervention studies and studies with a longitudinal design are needed. Keywords Ultra-processed food, processed food, determinants, time scarcity, young adult

The association between time scarcity, sociodemographic correlates and consumption of ultra-processed foods among parents in Norway: a cross-sectional study

Background: Use of ultra-processed foods has expanded rapidly over the last decades and high consumption has been positively associated with risk of e.g. overweight, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Ultra-processed foods offer convenience as they require minimal time for preparation. It is therefore reasonable to assume that such foods are consumed more often among people who experience time scarcity. The main aim of this study was to investigate the association between time scarcity and consumption of ultra-processed foods among parents of 2-year olds in Norway. A secondary aim was to investigate the association between sociodemographic correlates, weight status and consumption of ultra-processed foods. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 497 participants. Chi-square and cross tabulations were used to calculate proportions of high vs. low consumption of ultra-processed foods in relation to time scarcity, sociodemographic correlates and weight status. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to test the relationship between independent variables and consumption of ultra-processed foods. Results: Participants reporting medium and high time scarcity were more likely to have a high consumption of ultra-processed dinner products (OR = 3. 68, 95% CI = 2. 32–5.84 and OR = 3.10, 1.80–5.35, respectively) and fast foods (OR = 2.60, 1.62–4.18 and OR = 1.90, 1.08–3.32, respectively) compared to those with low time scarcity. Further, participants with medium time scarcity were more likely to have a high consumption of snacks and soft drinks compared to participants with low time scarcity (OR = 1.63, 1.06–2.49). Finally, gender, ethnicity, educational level, number of children in the household and weight status were identified as important factors associated with the consumption of certain types of ultra-processed foods. Conclusions: Results from the present study showed that time scarcity, various sociodemographic factors and weight status was associated with consumption of processed foods. Future studies with a longitudinal design are needed to further explore these patterns over a longer period of time. Keywords: Ultra-processed foods, Processed foods, Time scarcity, Convenience, Adults, ParentspublishedVersionnivå

Consumption of ultra-processed foods : an assessment of the literature on determinants of ultra-processed food consumption and an investigation of the potential effect of time scarcity

Masteroppgave folkehelsevitenskap - Universitetet i Agder 2016Background Highly processed foods have been classified as ultra-processed, and consumption of such foodstuffs have expanded rapidly over the last decades. Ultra-processed foods are characterized as being accessible, attractive, palatable and often time-saving. An excess intake of ultra-processed foods has been associated with increased risk of e.g. overweight/obesity and diabetes type II. The aim of this master’s project was to investigate factors influencing consumption of ultra-processed foods. This resulted in one review paper on young adults, and one cross-sectional study where the association between time scarcity and ultra-processed food consumption was investigated. Methods In order to identify relevant material for the review paper, a systematic literature search was conducted in four databases, using a two-folded search string with terms indicative of ultra-processed foods and determinants. The cross-sectional study included 497 participants. A validated score was used as an indicator of time scarcity, and three scores were developed as indicators of ultra-processed food consumption; ultra-processed dinner products, snacks & soft drinks, fast foods. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association between time scarcity and consumption of ultra-processed foods. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic factors. Results In total, 65 studies were included in the review paper, and the majority of these investigated determinants on the individual level. Gender, younger age and more television watching were associated with consumption of ultra-processed foods. The cross-sectional study showed that participants with higher degree of time scarcity had higher odds of being high consumers of fast foods. Regression analyses also showed sociodemographic differences in consumption of ultra-processed foods. Conclusions Future research should further investigate factors influencing consumption of ultra-processed foods, particularly on the environmental level where there is currently a lack of research. Intervention studies and studies with a longitudinal design are needed. Keywords Ultra-processed food, processed food, determinants, time scarcity, young adult

What you say and what you do: Exploring the link between consumers’ perception of portion size norms and reported behaviour for consumption of sweets and crisps

Portion size decisions are embedded in a complex system of individual, socio-economic, and environmental factors. The objective of this study was to explore consumers’ descriptive and injunctive portion size norms and how these norms are related to reported behaviour and further to psychological eating attitudes. The study includes data from two consumer samples (n = 1020). Respondents completed four tasks where they chose the portion size they normally eat, the appropriate portion size, the portion size they would like to eat, and the portion size they believed others like them would eat from eight pictures varying in portion sizes. After this, respondents’ psychological eating attitudes were measured. Consumers chose larger portions of both sweets and crisps than they perceive as appropriate, but at the same time they reported to choose smaller portions than they would like to eat or what they believe others at the same age and gender eat. We identified two clusters based on respondents’ psychological eating attitudes. Those with higher versus lower scores on emotional eating and disinhibition reported not only larger portion sizes, but also a higher norm for an appropriate portion size and a higher gap between what they reported to eat and what is appropriate to eat. Interestingly, the chosen portion size for the high scoring cluster did not differ from those they reported other people to choose. This indicates that consumers that are vulnerable to emotional eating or losing control over eating when exposed to food cues have less bias in thinking that they eat less than others like them would eat