Association between nutrition self-efficacy, health locus of control and food choice motives in consumers in nine European countries

We investigated associations between food choice motives and psychological determinants of dietary health behaviour change (nutrition self-efficacy, NS-E, and health locus of control, HLoC) among 9381 participants (18 to 65 years, 49.4% females) from nine European countries. Price was the highest rated food choice motive. Higher importance of all motives was associated with higher NS-E and with higher Internal HLoC. Relationships between food choice motives and External HLoC were also in the expected direction in showing negative associations with Health, Natural Content, Weight Control, Mood and Sensory Appeal. Higher External HLoC was also associated with perceived greater importance of ‘external’ motives Ethical Concern, Familiarity and Convenience. Relationships between External HLoC and food choice motives were not all in the expected direction. Price was unrelated to External HLoC. Females rated the importance of all motives higher than males. People with less education ascribed greater importance to Price in motivating food choices. Together, these findings imply that self-efficacy and health locus of control should be considered along with motivations for food choice in dietary health promotion

Providing personalised nutrition: Consumers’ trust and preferences regarding sources of information, service providers and regulators, and communication channels

yesBackground/Aims: Personalised nutrition has potential to revolutionise dietary health promotion if accepted by the general public. We studied trust and preferences regarding personalised nutrition services, how they influence intention to adopt these services, and cultural and social differences therein. Methods: A total of 9381 participants were quota sampled to be representative for each of nine EU countries (Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, UK, Norway) and surveyed by questionnaire assessing their intention to adopt personalised nutrition, trust in service regulators and information sources, and preferences for service providers and information channels. Results: Trust and preferences significantly predicted intention to adopt personalised nutrition. Higher trust in the local department of healthcare was associated with lower intention to adopt personalised nutrition. General practitioners were the most trusted of service regulators, except for in Portugal, where consumer organisations and universities were most trusted. In all countries, family doctors were the most trusted information providers. Trust in the National Health Service as service regulator and information source showed high variability across countries. Despite its highest variability across countries, personal meeting was the preferred communication channel except in Spain (where an automated internet service was preferred). General practitioners were the preferred service providers, except in Poland, where dietitians and nutritionists were preferred. The preference for dietitians and nutritionists as service providers highly varied across countries. Conclusion: These results may assist in informing local initiatives to encourage acceptance and adoption of country specific tailored personalised nutrition services therefore benefiting individual and public health

Sex and age differences in attitudes and intention to adopt personalised nutrition in a UK sample

YesThere has been an increase in development of technologies that can deliver personalised dietary advice. Devising healthy, sustainable dietary plans will mean taking consideration of extrinsic factors such as individual social circumstances. The aim of this study was to identify societal groups more or less receptive to and likely to engage with digitally delivered personalised nutrition initiatives. Sample and Methods: Volunteers were recruited via a social research agency from within the UK. The resultant sample (N=1061) was 49% female, aged 18-65 years. Results: MANOVA (Tukey HSD applied) indicated that females and younger people (aged 18-29 years) had more favourable attitudes and were more likely to intend to adopt personalised nutrition. There were no differences in attitude toward or intention to adopt personalised nutrition between different education levels, income brackets or occupational groups. Conclusion: These results imply that females and younger people may be most likely to adopt personalised nutrition in the future. Initiatives to promote personalised nutrition should target males and older people.The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 14 Dec 2022