Package Attributes and Nutrition Knowledge Influencing Health Food Purchase Behaviors Among Urban Women.

Abstract

Worldwide, unhealthy diet and lifestyles are impacting lives due to spiraling health care costs, resulting in impoverishment. Nutrition has been identified as a major modifiable determinant of chronic non-communicable diseases and health gains can be achieved by incorporating behavioral and lifestyle changes, involving healthy food consumption practices. As obesity is a large public health concern, there is greater interest to find ways to guide consumers‟ food choices to be more beneficial for their long-term health. Consumers are looking for functional foods that can reduce the risk of disease and promote good health. They are willing to pay more for foods with healthy attributes. Given this, primary research was done to investigate the factors which influence consumer decision making process and product purchase with respect to packaging attributes, which itself has a dual role of product communication, health education with increased compliance to consumption of health promoting foods. Whilst it is appreciated by consumers to have details printed on the package, readability is an issue. Also, technical and scientific product language is not conversant to the lay man, thus the role of advertising and communications is important to provide clear understanding of the product at a mass level. Consumers need to become more knowledgeable about what foods do & they can make the choices they like based on the ingredients.