Background
Introduction and research questions
Country differences in usage and sociodemographic characteristics of food supplement users
Health status and health behaviour of supplement users
Health beliefs and potential psychographic characteristics of supplement users
Research on resveratrol and on botanicals in general
Methods
Survey method and measures
Data collection and analysis
“With this survey, we would like to explore your opinion about dietary supplements containing resveratrol, and what their role could be in your daily food and nutrition habits. Resveratrol can be found in various foods but especially in red grapes, and therefore also in red wine, which is often the reason somebody might have heard of it. It appears to have a number of potential benefits for health. Resveratrol is discussed in relation to diseases, such as certain cancer types, cardiac disease, dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity and general aging.”
Variable | Denmark (454) | US (376) | Sample comparison |
---|---|---|---|
Gender, female | 61.0% | 51.1% | χ2(1) = 8.284, p = .004 |
Age, years | 45.7 | 42.0 | t(828) = 3.982, p = .000 |
Education, high | 45.2% | 51.6% | χ2(1) = 3.419, p = .064 |
BMI, M | 25.7 | 27.4 | t(762) = −3.658, p = .000 |
Self-reported fitness and health, M (SD) (2 items) | 4.40 (1.30) | 4.60 (1.20) | t(828) = −2.599, p = .010 |
Health behaviour, M (SD) (14 items) | 4.30 (0.56) | 4.23 (0.67) | t(804) = 1.668, p = .096 |
Health expectation, M (SD) (10 items) | 3.68 (1.06) | 4.38 (1.07) | t(828) = −9.364, p = .000 |
Holistic health belief, M (SD) (4 items) | 5.29 (0.81) | 5.43 (0.92) | t(828) = −2.283, p = .023 |
CAM use, M (SD) | 2.50 (1.50) | 2.10 (1.20) | t(828) = 4.390, p = .000 |
Natural product interest, M (SD) (6 items) | 4.29 (1.20) | 4.17 (1.11) | t(828) = 1.476, p = .140 |
Food indulgence interest, M (SD) (3 items) | 4.50 (1.34) | 4.51 (1.34) | t(828) = −.019, p = .985 |
Mediterranean cuisine interest, M (SD) | 5.37 (1.59) | 4.83 (1.72) | t(828) = 4.633, p = .000 |
Attitude, M (SD) (3 items) | 4.17 (1.21) | 4.99 (1.17) | t(828) = −9.752, p = .000 |
Adoption intention, M (SD) | 2.72 (1.75) | 3.83 (1.78) | t(828) = −9.034, p = .000 |
Measure | Items | Cronbach’s alpha US - DK | |
---|---|---|---|
Self-reported fitness and health | How do you assess your own fitness? | 0.748 | 0.790 |
How do you assess your own health status? | |||
Health behaviour | 14 items from [34]1 | n/a | n/a |
Health expectation | 10 items derived from the literature1 | 0.916 | 0.915 |
Holistic health belief | People sometimes feel worse rather than better after orthodox/conventional medical treatments. | 0.728 | 0.607 |
State of mind is a crucial part of achieving better health—positive thinking can enhance physical health. | |||
The symptoms of an illness can be made worse by depression. | |||
When people are stressed, it is important that they are careful about other aspects of their lifestyle, as their body already has enough to cope with. | |||
CAM use | How often have you used what you would consider alternative or complementary medicine (medicine and/or treatments) during the last year? | - | - |
Natural product interest | 6 items from [36]1 | 0.774 | 0.787 |
Food indulgence interest | I am inspired in my cooking by foreign cuisine and other new ideas. | 0.828 | 0.765 |
I am willing to spend extra time on my daily food consumption for the sake of culinary pleasure. | |||
I am willing to spend extra money on my daily food consumption for the sake of culinary pleasure. | |||
Mediterranean cuisine interest | To what extent do you like the following cuisines/cooking styles? [Mediterranean-inspired] | - | - |
Measure | Items | Cronbach’s alpha US - DK | |
---|---|---|---|
Attitude | Taking this product is … | 0.908 | 0.905 |
1 = extremely bad, 7 = extremely good | |||
I am [strongly against/strongly for] taking this product. | |||
1 = strongly against,7 = strongly for | |||
I [dislike/like] taking this product. | |||
1 = dislike, 7 = like | |||
Adoption intention | How likely is it that you will take resveratrol supplements during the coming year? | - | - |
Results and discussion
Independent variables |
B
|
t
|
p
|
B
|
t
|
p
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DK: | US: | |||||
R2 = .401 (adjusted .383); | R2 = .409 (adjusted .387); | |||||
F (12) = 22.118, p = .000 | F (12) = 18.420, p = .000 | |||||
Gender | .116 | 1.110 | .268 | -.047 | -.450 | .653 |
Age | -.004 | −1.112 | .267 | .005 | 1.329 | .185 |
Education | .118 | 1.191 | .234 | -.328 | −3.061 | .002 |
R2 = .004 (−.003), F(3) = .531 | R2 = .025 (.017), F(3) = 3.199 | |||||
BMI | .001 | .067 | .947 | .013 | 1.525 | .128 |
Reported fitness & health | -.001 | -.027 | .979 | .048 | .912 | .363 |
Health behaviour | -.013 | −1.809 | .071 | -.010 | −1.587 | .114 |
R2 = .015 (.007), F(3) = 2.011 | R2 = .004 (−.005), F(3) = .401 | |||||
Health expectation | .683 | 14.479 | .000 | .567 | 11.065 | .000 |
Holistic health beliefs | .065 | 1.033 | .302 | .113 | 1.781 | .076 |
CAM use | .087 | 2.649 | .008 | .125 | 2.837 | .005 |
R2 = .364 (.360), F(3) = 85.788 | R2 = .350 (.345), F(3) = 66.746 | |||||
Natural product interest | -.003 | -.061 | .951 | -.090 | −1.685 | .093 |
Food indulgence interest | .002 | .040 | .968 | .139 | 3.131 | .002 |
Mediterranean cuisine | .065 | 1.845 | .066 | .032 | .979 | .328 |
R2 = .022 (.016), F(3) = 3.404 | R2 = .062 (.054), F(3) = 8.132 |
Independent variables |
B
|
t
|
p
|
B
|
t
|
p
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DK: | US: | |||||
R2 = .322 (adjusted .301); | R2 = .411 (adjusted .389); | |||||
F (12) = 15.685, p = .000 | F (12) = 18.539, p = .000 | |||||
Gender | .235 | 1.489 | .137 | .070 | .436 | .663 |
Age | .009 | 1.493 | .136 | .005 | .767 | .444 |
Education | .216 | 1.446 | .149 | -.360 | −2.194 | .029 |
R2 = .008 (.002), F(3) = 1.280 | R2 = .012 (.004), F(3) = 1.447 | |||||
BMI | .013 | .861 | .390 | .008 | .637 | .525 |
Reported fitness & health | -.083 | −1.188 | .236 | -.121 | −1.508 | .132 |
Health behaviour | -.017 | −1.468 | .143 | .007 | .742 | .459 |
R2 = .025 (.018), F(3) = 3.437 | R2 = .018 (.009), F(3) = 2.003 | |||||
Health expectation | .792 | 11.091 | .000 | .828 | 10.567 | .000 |
Holistic health beliefs | .057 | .603 | .547 | -.130 | −1.333 | .183 |
CAM use | .201 | 4.022 | .000 | .266 | 3.966 | .000 |
R2 = .283 (.278), F(3) = 59.150 | R2 = .323 (.317), F(3) = 59.105 | |||||
Natural product interest | -.052 | -.755 | .451 | -.025 | -.311 | .756 |
Food indulgence interest | .127 | 2.044 | .042 | .348 | 5.135 | .000 |
Mediterranean cuisine | .009 | .165 | .869 | -.067 | −1.312 | .191 |
R2 = .018 (.012), F(3) = 2.796 | R2 = .104 (.096), F(3) = 14.332 |