Perceptions from Member-Consumers of a University Community for Sustainable and Healthy Eating: Evidence from Greece
1. Introduction
This research investigates the member-consumers of a Greek academic community’s understanding of healthy eating perceptions and campaigns. It will inform us and provide us with information primarily about the young with high educational levels, their perceptions of the term “healthy eating”, and whom they trust for healthy eating campaigns. The advertising sector is required to develop and deliver improved healthy eating messages to encourage better food choices and as a result, improve the nutritional status of the community. The paper continues with a literature review and sections on methodology, results, and discussion following.
Literature Review
In this study, we evaluate and analyze Greek consumers’ responses about their perceptions on healthy eating and the effect that healthy eating advertisements and campaigns have on them. To elaborate this research, based on the literature of different sources of health perceptions and ‘healthy eating’ messages, seven factors assessing consumers’ opinions were examined:
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Attitudes towards health;
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Definition of healthy eating;
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Influences of healthy eating;
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Sources of information about healthy eating;
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Objectives of advertisers;
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Proper organizations for developing and running healthy eating campaigns;
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Responsible organizations for regulating healthy eating campaigns.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Collection and Characterization
2.2. Data Analysis
3. Results
On consumers’ perception of “health definition”:
For most of the participants, it is quite or very important (more than 90%) to have no physical health problems (94.9%), have emotional wellbeing and feel good mentally (91.9%) and have the energy to do their activities (92.6%). In contrast, looking good was the least prioritized (56%), and keeping the body in good condition was moderately important at 88.1%.
On consumers’ definition of “healthy eating”:
For most of the participants, it is quite or very important to follow a balanced diet that involves foods from all the five groups (95.3%), with decreasing importance to eating for staying healthy (84.7%), eating foods with vitamins (80.1%), proteins (76.1%), vegetables and fresh fruits (77.3%), and not eating junk food (60.8%).
On consumers’ influences on “healthy eating”:
The consumers of this study reported that they are influenced by more than 50% by their doctor or health care provider (72.1%) and family and friends (55.17%), while they reported being less than 50% influenced in decreasing order by food manufacturers (35.1%), food packaging (29.8%), supermarkets (28.8%), fast-food restaurants (19.2%), and the government (12.9%).
On consumers’ sources of information about “healthy eating”:
For the participants in this study, they assess as quite or very important sources commonsense/upbringing (75.6%), school/university (74.5%) and the internet (63.9%), and to less extent professionals (45%), and books and magazines (26.3%). Only 5.2% reported that they do not use any sources for their information.
On “healthy food” campaigns:
Most of the participants’ opinions (answering quite and very important) about the advertisers’ objectives are that they are primarily concerned with making money (90.2%), to a much lesser extent serving the consumers’ best interests (58%), and only to inform the consumers (24.1%) or to provide essential information as required (18.6%).
On organizations running “healthy eating” campaigns:
Participants believe moderately or low (answering quite and very important) that food manufacturers first (57.6%), the government second (48.3%), and non-governmental organizations third (44.4%) are suitable for running healthy eating campaigns. Supermarkets (35.2%) and fast-food retailers are low in their perception.
On organizations regulating “healthy eating” campaigns
Participants believe by far (answering quite and very important) that health organizations first (90.5%) and medical professionals second (88.9%) are the proper bodies for regulating healthy eating campaigns. Their opinion is moderate to low on the government (58.7%) and independent bodies (56%) undertaking this role.
The groups were named based on the answers they gave to the questions about their behavior as follows: (a) approachable and (b) conservative, in order to further distinguish them. The name of the groups is artificial and results from the overall behavior of the people belonging to each group.
For the definition of healthy eating, Cluster 1 consumers emphasize both the concept of a complete health diet regarding mean values for “balanced diet/eating food from all five food groups” and “eating to stay healthy” of 4.76 and 4.40, respectively, as well as the individual actions to achieve it, such as the consumption of “vegetables and fresh fruit” (M = 4.14), “eating vitamins” (M = 4.33), and “eating proteins” (M = 4.18). Therefore, this cluster group can be characterized as “approachables” in regard to modern healthy eating concepts. On the contrary, Cluster 2 consumers, are characterized as “conservatives” or “old-fashioned” since they are focused mainly on the global dimension of healthy eating emphasizing all five food groups for a balanced diet and maintaining health; in this group, M = 4.58 for a balanced diet, and M = 4.14 for eating to stay healthy. However, the consumption of “vegetables and fresh fruit” (M = 3.86), vitamins (M = 3.99), and proteins (M = 3.90) seems not to be priority for them. Furthermore, avoiding fast food is secondary to both groups of consumers, with values for Cluster 1 of M = 3.85 and Cluster 2 of M = 3.60.
The influences on healthy eating results also noted some differences between the two clusters. Cluster 1 individuals, characterized as “approachables”, are clearly more influenced by health professionals (M = 4.17), with the family environment (M = 3.75), food manufacturers (M = 3.19), and supermarkets (M = 3.03) following on a second level. It is also evident that fast-food restaurants (M = 2.52) and the government (M = 2.23) do not cater to this group of consumers. Also noteworthy is the low confidence shown by these consumers in food packaging (M = 2.99). Contrarily, Cluster 2 individuals are more strict or even “absolute” consumers influenced by no one for their choices; this is seen as an old-fashioned perspective, hence their characterization as “conservatives”. They are moderately influenced by doctors and nutritionists (M = 3.75) and their family environment (M = 3.20), while showing the least trust in food producers (M = 2.70), supermarkets (M = 2.42), food packaging (M = 2.49), and fast-food restaurants (M = 2.07). The government’s information campaigns appear to be disregarded according to their responses to the lower selection of the questionnaire scale (M = 1.75).
Both cluster groups agree in the field of “Who should be responsible for regulating healthy eating campaigns”; both “approachable” and “conservative” consumers attribute as more important the actions of medical professionals (M1 = 4.61, M2 = 4.22) and health organizations (M1 = 4.67, M2 = 4.33) than those of the government (M1 = 3.89, M2 = 3.24) and independent bodies (M1 = 3.82, M2 = 3.29). However, there is also in this area a greater tendency from Cluster 2 for responses towards the lower rung of the scale.
4. Discussion
Based on the seven factors identified as part of the study’s specific goal presented above at the introduction, the findings of the results for each factor are as follows:
Attitudes towards health:
Definition of healthy eating habits:
Influences of healthy eating:
Source of information about healthy eating:
Objectives of advertisers:
Participants believe by far that it is the profit for the interested party implementing the advertising campaigns.
Proper organizations for developing and running healthy eating campaigns:
Participants in this study believe that food manufacturers, the government, and non -governmental health organizations should run such campaigns.
Responsible organizations for regulating healthy eating campaigns:
“Approachable” vs. “conservatives”: the two cluster groups identified in this study:
The results of the cluster analysis provided two cluster focus groups with some similarities, but differences on health and healthy eating based on the mean values for each item of the variables. The first cluster group is defined as “approachable” because they are approachable to today’s healthy eating perceptions of the synchronous consumers. Contrarily, the second cluster group is defined as “conservatives” since they are old-fashioned with low prestige and belief in modern healthy eating consumers’ attitudes.
Both cluster groups exhibited similar attitudes to the definition of health, with the highest importance placed on the good condition of the body, with no physical and mental health problems, and adequate energy for pleasant life. This is expected since the definition of health has not changed throughout the last few years.
However, the attitudes of the two cluster groups concerning healthy eating differ in many ways. Approachables recognize, in addition to the importance of the balanced diet, the importance of vegetables, fresh fruits, vitamins, proteins, and eating to stay healthy as well. Contrarily, conservatives, even though they recognize the balanced diet as such, do not pay much attention to the other parameters.
Approachables are influenced by external providers, such as health professionals/doctors, family, and food manufacturers on healthy eating. However. conservatives are less influenced by all these providers, showing low confidence and trust in these major sources of information. This is an old-fashioned approach from when food and health sciences had not yet made significant progress in the field, ensuring the accuracy of the provided data. It is remarkable that both groups, but especially the conservatives, consider the government, as a source of information about a healthier diet, insignificant.
Both groups, approachables and conservatives, equally agree that medical professionals and health organizations should be responsible for regulating healthy eating campaigns. However, even though approachables also trust independent bodies and the government for the same job, conservatives do not trust these bodies, which is also an old-fashioned opinion on the efficiency of these bodies.
5. Conclusions
This research aimed to explore consumers’ perception from a university community on health and healthy eating in the context of the concept and of the sources that influence their formation. Most of the participants were young consumers, mainly college students.
The answers given by the participants in the study, presented above, indicate that their interest, influence, and sources of information on their health and healthy eating are on a holistic, rather than superficial, one-sided level approach. They are well informed on the subject, so they have a critical opinion for each item. The consumers who participated in the study consider healthy eating campaigns to be mainly a source of income for the advertisers, with medical professionals and health organizations as the most appropriate bodies for regulating such campaigns. The study indicates that fast-food restaurants and the government do not cater to consumers, having failed to realise the goal of their campaigns; additionally, it seems that the food industry’s main objective to communicate with consumers through its products is not achieved effectively.
The statistical treatment applied to the data obtained through the questionnaire showed that the consumers who participated are divided into two distinctive cluster groups. The first consists of consumers who pay attention to details, as can be assumed by the whole range of their responses, defined therefore as “approachable”. Their choices are strongly influenced by qualified health professionals, and they want campaigns about healthy eating to be controlled and regulated by them. Family and friends, as another source, can influence their food choices as well. On the other hand, in the second group are consumers that have more stable and strict opinions, defined therefore as “conservatives”. For them, a healthy diet is achieved by a balanced diet only. They may be influenced by doctors and their environment, but any other source leaves them indifferent. In an equal way of thinking, both groups prefer experts, rather than the government or independent bodies, to regulate healthy eating campaigns.
The results of this study can contribute to the feedback of information to the responsible bodies, expanding from food manufacturers to government and health providers, on the effectiveness of their actions to inform the public about a healthier diet. Providing information is a simple process, but creating trust between transmitter and receiver and the assimilation of this information are more complicated processes that needs time to be achieved. Young adults with university education seem to care about their health and nutrition, but the abundance of information provided creates a confusing environment at all levels. Therefore, coordinated actions to be carried out should be authoritative, valid, and clear in order to achieve their purpose.
This study has limitations, mainly due to the sample of the participating consumers being within a university college and mostly female; however, this is also the case for many other related studies. Furthermore, the restriction to the Greek consumers only is a limitation and the next study should be expanded to other countries as well in order to assess the global validity of these findings.