Health-consciousness of working female consumers in relation to their perceived healthiness and selection of packaged foods

Abstract

Health-consciousness and healthy food choices coincide with healthier lifestyles and improved physical and mental health. Health-conscious consumers are knowledgeable about health-related issues, are aware of their own health status and regularly engage in health-related activities to realise favourable health outcomes. International research profiles women as health-conscious consumers who are positively orientated towards health-related nutrition information and healthier diets. However, working female consumers' levels of health-consciousness in a South African food context remain under-explored. The high prevalence of non-communicable diseases among South African women, often fulfilling a key role in household food decision making, also necessitate further investigation on this topic.This study aimed to describe the health-consciousness of working female consumers in relation to their perceived healthiness and selection of packaged foods. Accordingly, purposive sampling and a cross-sectional online survey were used to collect data from a diverse group of working female consumers across South Africa (N = 416). On average, respondents regarded themselves as relatively health-conscious, corresponding with their health perceptions of packaged foods based on several health-related criteria. These outcomes recognise these health-conscious respondents' appreciation of diverse types of health-related food label information and their cognition of the food-health link.Despite their medium to high degree of health-consciousness, some of the respondents could not identify the healthier food product across all four product categories (fat spread, peanut butter, oats and yoghurt) included in the questionnaire. This imbalance suggests that confusion regarding food label information counters consumers' efforts to demonstrate their health-related interests during the food decision-making process. Consumers can only make more informed and healthier food decisions if they understand health-related label information informing their health perceptions of packaged foods. Access to more affordable packaged foods with uniform food labels emphasising their nutritional value, coupled with health-related consumer education initiatives, may encourage consumers to purposefully select healthier food products. A concerted effort involving consumers, the food industry and policymakers, may foster a culture of health consciousness among South African consumers, ultimately improving the health status of the population