Background
Methods
Selection of key prompt-terms
Supermarket or brand | Name of product range | Type of product |
---|---|---|
Sainsbury’s | Deliciously Balanced | Healthy option |
My Goodness | Diet range | |
Tesco | Light Choices | Diet range |
Healthy living | Healthy option | |
Waitrose | Love life – you count… | Diet range |
Perfectly balanced (now withdrawn) | Healthy option | |
Marks & Spencer | Delicious & Nutritious | Healthy option |
Fuller for Longer | Diet range | |
Eat Balanced | Nutritionally balanced | Healthy option |
Safeway | Eating right | Diet range |
Asda | Good for you | Diet range |
Morrisons | NuMe | Diet range |
Co-op | Healthier choice | Diet range |
Semi quantitative exploration of public reactions to key terms using word-association
Focus groups and in-depth analysis of public perceptions
Data analysis and statistics
Results
Participants
Research question 1: What do common terms used for health promotion, focusing on diet and foods, mean to consumers?
Most frequent | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
% | n | Cum % | ||
1 | Vegetables | 9 | 121 | 9 |
2 | Fruit | 8 | 114 | 17 |
3 | Protein | 5 | 62 | 22 |
4 | Water | 4 | 60 | 26 |
5 | Fruit & vegetables | 3 | 46 | 29 |
6 | Exercise | 3 | 44 | 32 |
7 | Carbohydrates | 3 | 36 | 35 |
8 | Vitamins | 2 | 32 | 37 |
9 | Salad | 2 | 30 | 39 |
10 | Fish | 2 | 26 | 41 |
11 | Low fat | 2 | 25 | 43 |
12 | Balance | 2 | 25 | 45 |
13 | 5 a day | 2 | 23 | 47 |
14 | Fats | 1 | 20 | 48 |
15 | Low calorie | 1 | 19 | 49 |
16 | Meat | 1 | 18 | 50 |
17 | Healthy | 1 | 17 | 51 |
18 | Portion size | 1 | 14 | 52 |
19 | Fibre | 1 | 12 | 53 |
20 | Food groups | 1 | 12 | 54 |
Total responses | Unique responsesa | By participantb | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | n | % | n | % | n | ||
1 | Foods considered to be healthy | 46 | 639 | 27 | 71 | 86 | 232 |
2 | Foods that should be avoided | 12 | 159 | 15 | 40 | 34 | 91 |
3 | Descriptions of macronutrients | 9 | 119 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 74 |
4 | Characteristics of healthy foods | 7 | 93 | 9 | 22 | 26 | 71 |
5 | Balance and moderation | 6 | 83 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 63 |
6 | The importance of lifestyle | 6 | 80 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 67 |
7 | Benefits of doing it | 3 | 46 | 7 | 19 | 12 | 31 |
8 | Importance of micronutrients | 3 | 44 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
9 | Reasons not to do it | 3 | 41 | 10 | 26 | 10 | 27 |
10 | Diet and weight management | 2 | 31 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 26 |
11 | Food groups | 1 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
12 | Reasons to have to do it | 1 | 14 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 12 |
13 | Nothing came to mind… | 0.5 | 7 | 0.8 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
14 | I don’t do it | 0.4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
15 | It’s just something I do | 0.2 | 3 | 0.8 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
16 | It’s very important | 0.2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Total | 1,386 | 260 | 764 |
Main themes | Sub-themes | Sample focus group quotes |
---|---|---|
1. Health as a consideration when making food choices | • Healthy means low calorie/fat |
A3: “I do so more when I’m on a diet, so I notice things like calories and fat.”
|
• Lack of interest |
D1: “I don’t care about my health, I’m young and want to try new things. I can worry about that in the future.”
| |
A3: “I want something that I really like, I don’t care even if the calories are there or if it’s balanced or not.”
| ||
C5: “You see I never think about that, and I’ve got high blood pressure as well. I just shove salt on everything, I absolutely love salt.”
| ||
• Weight management |
B3: “…and the other reason is not to get fat. I don’t want to get fat, so I try to eat healthily for that reason.”
| |
• Managing an existing condition |
A5: “I think it’s very hard for people to stick to a diet unless they have disease or some problem. Only those people can stick to a certain type of food or healthy food. For normal people I think it is very hard.”
| |
• Depends on circumstances |
A4: “I don’t go out for meals very often but when I do, I’m just going to eat whatever I fancy from the menu…”
| |
D2: “Me, a lot, although I go through phases, like in the last few weeks I’ve not really done it”
| ||
• Financial considerations |
A4: “I’m trying to save my pennies so I wouldn’t chose carrots with the organic label.”
| |
• Impact of culture |
B3: “When I was growing up we didn’t have much choice, we just had to eat whatever was put on the table.”
| |
C2: “The problem is we socialise so much now.”
| ||
• Control |
B3: “I don’t eat things like sweets or cakes, I don’t want to get used to them cause they’re tasty and they’re not healthy.”
| |
C2: “A lot of it’s to do with food, it just seems like every day is a fight.
| ||
• Use of supplements |
C1: “I don’t look at the vitamin or mineral content of food, but I would take a supplement, I just think it’s your insurance policy – you just take one and you know you’ve got it covered.”
| |
2. Influence of branding products as ‘healthy options’ on food choices | Confusion with diet products |
A1: “I think that sometimes food packages say low calories and people equate that with healthy eating.”
|
C5: “So if I wanted to buy something like that, I would be thinking that was a kind of low fat option.”
| ||
• ‘Healthy’ options are tasteless |
A2: “No I don’t, I’ve tried low calorie, and low fat and I’ve just found them tasteless. I’d rather have a decent meal that fills me up.”
| |
• ’Healthy’ options are no healthier |
C1: “The ‘good’ ones are no better than the other ones they sell. When they test them, they find they’re not all that.”
| |
C4: “Yes I would go for the healthier option, if it really was healthier.”
| ||
Views on government policies designed to promote health via the diet and foods (information leaflets, dietary guidelines and reformulation) | • Awareness |
A2: “I’ve never seen it no. It's not something, even if I had noticed it, I might have glanced at it maybe, but I wouldn't pay any attention to it. It’s just not of interest.”
|
D3: “Maybe I’m not as curious as I should be about finding out about what a balanced diet is.”
| ||
• Usefulness |
A3: “Even if you explained it to me I’d be like, oh that’s very nice, but I wouldn't do anything about it.”
| |
C2: “How would you work out a third, is it by weight?”
| ||
D2: “I’m browsing through it and there’s too much text, I think it needs more graphics.”
| ||
• Nutritional labelling |
B4: “Nope, I don’t look at them.”
| |
C1: “Occasionally I will look, to make sure it’s not too fattening.”
| ||
• Reformulation |
D2: “I think free choice is a good argument but at the same time people aren’t actually that strong, or they want their small pleasures and don’t care what happens to them.”
| |
C2: “Then we’d eat two biscuits instead of one cause there’s less calories!”
| ||
A1: “It would depend on price, if I walked into the supermarket and it was the most expensive thing I wouldn’t get it.”
| ||
3. Views on the terminology used to communicate concepts linking health, food and the diet | • Perceived differences |
B4: “They all mean the same thing, if you’re having a balanced diet then you’re eating healthily and you’re eating for your health and it’s all nutrients isn't it?”
|
C5: “All the same, it’s much of a muchness isn't it?”
| ||
• Eating for health |
A1: “No I actually think they are different. Eating for health would give you the idea that you had some kind of condition and you’d researched what you should eat for that condition.”
| |
D2: I don't know, that one sounds kind of weird to me.”
| ||
D3: “… that one has a negative feel to me, it just feels like too much hard work.”
| ||
• Healthy eating |
A4: “I don’t know, healthy eating is more passive somehow.”
| |
D1: “Healthy eating is also like a general thing, it’s just about what you’re eating.”
| ||
• Balanced diet |
B1: “This one is good for me, if I want to lose weight.”
| |
A3: “Balanced diet means that I do eat nutritionally balanced food but the portions are smaller.”
| ||
• Nutritional balance |
C3: “For me that is more for like sport, who need nutritional balance to make sure they obtain optimum performance.”
| |
D2: “…you’d aim it at the market that’s interested is sport and going to the gym.”
| ||
• Suggestions for other terminology | No other suggestions made |
Research question 2: Do these terms convey different meanings, and are there other terms that would communicate the concepts linking diet, food and health more clearly?
Prompt-term used a | Gender | Deprivation level b | Age | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Healthy eating | Eating for health | Balanced diet | Nutritional balance |
χ
2
| Male | Female |
χ
2
| L 1-3 | L 4-7 |
χ
2
| Less than 45 | 45 and older |
χ
2
| ||
n | n | n | n |
(df =3)
| n | n |
(df =1)
| n | n |
(df =1)
| n | n |
(df =1)
| ||
1 | Foods considered to be healthy | 166c (157) | 169 (172) | 176 (163) | 128 (148) |
8*
| 315 (335) | 324 (304) |
5*
| 219 (222) | 420 (417) |
0
| 377 (396) | 262 (243) |
4*
|
2 | Foods that should be avoided | 53 (39) | 55 (43) | 33 (41) | 18 (37) |
22***
| 95 (83) | 64 (76) |
4+
| 38 (55) | 121 (104) |
9**
| 77 (98) | 82 (61) |
14***
|
3 | Descriptions of macronutrients | 14 (29) | 16 (32) | 46 (30) | 43 (28) |
36***
| 56 (62) | 63 (57) |
2
| 51 (41) | 68 (78) |
4
| 83 (74) | 36 (45) |
3
|
4 | Characteristics of healthy foods | 19 (23) | 26 (25) | 22 (24) | 26 (22) |
2
| 58 (49) | 35 (44) |
4*
| 42 (32) | 51 (61) |
5*
| 65 (58) | 28 (35) |
3
|
5 | Balance and moderation | 22 (20) | 21 (22) | 17 (21) | 23 (19) |
2
| 41 (44) | 42 (40) |
0
| 29 (29) | 54 (54) |
0
| 54 (51) | 29 (32) |
0
|
6 | The importance of lifestyle | 24 (20) | 18 (22) | 22 (20) | 16 (19) |
2
| 47 (42) | 33 (38) |
1
| 29 (28) | 51 (52) |
0
| 57 (50) | 23 (31) |
3
|
7 | Benefits of doing it | 7 (11) | 21 (12) | 5 (12) | 13 (11) |
12**
| 21 (24) | 25 (22) |
1
| 26 (16) | 20 (30) |
10**
| 30 (29) | 16 (18) |
0
|
8 | Importance of micronutrients | 8 (11) | 14 (12) | 8 (11) | 14 (10) |
4
| 20 (23) | 24 (21) |
1
| 14 (15) | 30 (29) |
0
| 30 (27) | 14 (17) |
1
|
9 | Reasons not to do it | 13 (10) | 10 (11) | 10 (10) | 8 (10) |
1
| 21 (22) | 20 (20) |
0
| 8 (14) | 33 (27) |
4*
| 27 (25) | 14 (16) |
0
|
10 | Diet and weight management | 7 (8) | 9 (8) | 4 (8) | 11 (7) |
4
| 18 (16) | 13 (15) |
0
| 10 (11) | 21 (20) |
0
| 24 (19) | 7 (12) |
3
|
11 | Food groups | 1 (4) | 1 (5) | 3 (5) | 13 (4) |
-†d
| 10 (9) | 8 (9) |
0
| 4 (6) | 14 (12) |
1
| 16 (11) | 2 (7) |
6*
|
12 | Reasons to have to do it | 3 (3) | 3 (4) | 5 (4) | 3 (3) |
-†d
| 9 (7) | 5 (7) |
1
| 5 (5) | 9 (9) |
0†e
| 10 (9) | 4 (5) |
1
|
13 | Nothing came to mind… | 1 (2) | 2 (2) | 1 (2) | 3 (2) |
-†d
| 5 (4) | 2 (3) |
1†e
| 2 (2) | 5 (5) |
0†e
| 4 (4) | 3 (3) |
0†e
|
14 | I don’t do it | 0 (2) | 5 (2) | 0 (2) | 0 (1) |
-†d
| 6 (3) | 0 (3) |
6†e *
| 3 (2) | 3 (4) |
1†e
| 1 (4) | 5 (2) |
5†e *
|
15 | It’s just something I do | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 0 (1) | 1 (1) |
-†d
| 2 (2) | 1 (1) |
0†e
| 1 (1) | 2 (2) |
0†e
| 1 (2) | 2 (1) |
1†e
|
16 | It’s very important | 1 (1) | 2 (1) | 0 (1) | 0 (1) |
-†d
| 3 (2) | 0 (1) |
3 e
| 1 (1) | 2 (2) |
0†e
| 2 (2) | 1 (1) |
0†e
|
Research question 3: What are public perceptions of government policies designed to promote health via the diet and foods, including product reformulation?
FSA 8 tips for eating well | Word-association related responses | Frequency | |
---|---|---|---|
% |
n
| ||
Base your meals of starchy foods | Carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, pasta, cereals, whole grains, bread, wholemeal bread, brown bread | 5 | 67 |
Eat lots of fruit and vegetables | Fruit, vegetables, fruit and vegetables, 5-a-day | 22 | 304 |
Eat more fish, including one portion of oily fish per week | Fish, oily fish sardines | 2 | 28 |
Cut down on saturated fat and sugar | Low fat, unsaturated fat, no fat, low sugar, no sugar | 3 | 44 |
Try to eat less salt | Low salt, no salt | 1 | 7 |
Get active and try to be a healthy weight | Exercise, diet and weight management | 5 | 75 |
Drink plenty of water | Water, hydration | 4 | 60 |
Don’t skip breakfast | Breakfast | 1 | 6 |
Total | 43 | 591 |
Discussion
What do common terms used for health promotion, focusing on diet and foods, mean to consumers?
Do these terms convey different meanings, and are there other terms that would communicate the concepts linking diet, food and health more clearly?
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | |
---|---|---|---|
Pilot phase | Word-associationa, b | Focus groupsc | |
Healthy eating | A lifestyle choice – you chose to make a long term commitment | ↑ Foods thought healthy * | A general term, passive (24 %) |
↑ Foods to avoid *** | |||
Eating for health | You have to do it, for a medical condition or to lose weight | ↑ Foods to avoid *** | A proactive decision, due to medical condition (41 %) |
↑ Benefits of doing it ** | Hard work and worthy | ||
Balance diet | Everything in moderation – can have a treat today if you’re good tomorrow | ↑ Foods thought healthy * | Old fashioned |
↑ Macronutrients *** | More about dieting and weight loss (30 %) | ||
Nutritional balance | Technical term, boring and uninteresting | ↓ Foods thought healthy * | More modern |
↓ Foods to avoid *** | Specifically for people involved in sports (12 %) | ||
↓ Macronutrients *** |