Food choice motives, attitude towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition

Abstract

Objective: The present study explored associations between food choice motives, attitudes towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition, to inform communication strategies based on consumer priorities and concerns.Design/SettingA survey was administered online which included the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) and items assessing attitudes towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition.

Subjects: Nationally representative samples were recruited in nine EU countries (n 9381).

Results: Structural equation modelling indicated that the food choice motives 'weight control', 'mood', 'health' and 'ethical concern' had a positive association and 'price' had a negative association with attitude towards, and intention to adopt, personalised nutrition. 'Health' was positively associated and 'familiarity' negatively associated with attitude towards personalised nutrition. The effects of 'weight control', 'ethical concern', 'mood' and 'price' on intention to adopt personalised nutrition were partially mediated by attitude. The effects of 'health' and 'familiarity' were fully mediated by attitude. 'Sensory appeal' was negatively and directly associated with intention to adopt personalised nutrition.

Conclusions: Personalised nutrition providers may benefit from taking into consideration the importance of underlying determinants of food choice in potential users, particularly weight control, mood and price, when promoting services and in tailoring communications that are motivationally relevant.

Keywords: Attitudes; Food Choices Questionnaire; Food choice motives; Food4Me; Intention; Nutrigenomics; Personalised nutrition; Survey.

Fig. 1

Standardised path coefficients for direct associations of food choice motives with attitude towards personalised nutrition (PN) and intention to adopt PN (Model VI) in Poland. *P<0·01, **P<0·001 (SA, sensory appeal; WC, weight control; Fam, familiarity; EC, ethical concern)