South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey
Evidence indicates that whole-grain food consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and some cancers. Increasing whole-grain consumption in developing countries is likely to significantly benefit the health of the population. However, there is very limited information o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/16/3522 |
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| author | John R. N. Taylor Colin D. Rehm Henriëtte L. de Kock Suné Donoghue Andrew Johnson Chanelle Thompson Yulia Berezhnaya |
| author_facet | John R. N. Taylor Colin D. Rehm Henriëtte L. de Kock Suné Donoghue Andrew Johnson Chanelle Thompson Yulia Berezhnaya |
| author_sort | John R. N. Taylor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Evidence indicates that whole-grain food consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and some cancers. Increasing whole-grain consumption in developing countries is likely to significantly benefit the health of the population. However, there is very limited information on consumer whole-grain knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in developing countries. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1000 South African consumers with sufficient income to make food purchase choices and who were generally representative in terms of gender, age, and ethnicity. Most respondents (64%) were confident of their whole-grain knowledge. However, 60% of all participants selected incorrect definitions of whole grains. Whilst most correctly identified common cereals as whole grains, at most 50% of participants correctly identified common whole-grain foods. Also, whilst most (67%) thought that they were consuming enough whole grains, the majority (62%) underestimated the recommended level of consumption. Furthermore, respondent knowledge regarding whole-grain food attributes and the health benefits of whole-grain consumption was generally poor. Clearly, consumer-focused strategies are needed in developing countries to increase whole-grain food consumption to help the broader population achieve a healthy and sustainable diet. Actions proposed include: simple-to-understand information on whole-grain content relative to recommendations on food product labels, the provision of whole-grain foods in school nutrition schemes, and coordinated social and behavior change communication initiatives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:41:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f78d5d86161e43ea83df931e0d7cba2d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:41:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-f78d5d86161e43ea83df931e0d7cba2d2023-11-19T02:29:04ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432023-08-011516352210.3390/nu15163522South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online SurveyJohn R. N. Taylor0Colin D. Rehm1Henriëtte L. de Kock2Suné Donoghue3Andrew Johnson4Chanelle Thompson5Yulia Berezhnaya6Department of Consumer and Food Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaPepsiCo Global Research & Development, Life Sciences, PepsiCo, Purchase, NY 10577, USADepartment of Consumer and Food Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaDepartment of Consumer and Food Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaBeyond Insights, Durban North 4051, South AfricaPepsiCo South Africa, Consumer Insights, PepsiCo, Cape Town 7530, South AfricaPepsiCo Global Research & Development, Life Sciences, PepsiCo, Cape Town 7530, South AfricaEvidence indicates that whole-grain food consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and some cancers. Increasing whole-grain consumption in developing countries is likely to significantly benefit the health of the population. However, there is very limited information on consumer whole-grain knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in developing countries. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1000 South African consumers with sufficient income to make food purchase choices and who were generally representative in terms of gender, age, and ethnicity. Most respondents (64%) were confident of their whole-grain knowledge. However, 60% of all participants selected incorrect definitions of whole grains. Whilst most correctly identified common cereals as whole grains, at most 50% of participants correctly identified common whole-grain foods. Also, whilst most (67%) thought that they were consuming enough whole grains, the majority (62%) underestimated the recommended level of consumption. Furthermore, respondent knowledge regarding whole-grain food attributes and the health benefits of whole-grain consumption was generally poor. Clearly, consumer-focused strategies are needed in developing countries to increase whole-grain food consumption to help the broader population achieve a healthy and sustainable diet. Actions proposed include: simple-to-understand information on whole-grain content relative to recommendations on food product labels, the provision of whole-grain foods in school nutrition schemes, and coordinated social and behavior change communication initiatives.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/16/3522whole grainshealth benefitsconsumersSouth Africasocio-demographicsobjective knowledge |
| spellingShingle | John R. N. Taylor Colin D. Rehm Henriëtte L. de Kock Suné Donoghue Andrew Johnson Chanelle Thompson Yulia Berezhnaya South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey Nutrients whole grains health benefits consumers South Africa socio-demographics objective knowledge |
| title | South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey |
| title_full | South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey |
| title_fullStr | South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey |
| title_short | South African Consumers’ Knowledge, Opinions and Awareness of Whole Grains and Their Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey |
| title_sort | south african consumers knowledge opinions and awareness of whole grains and their health benefits a cross sectional online survey |
| topic | whole grains health benefits consumers South Africa socio-demographics objective knowledge |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/16/3522 |
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