Adding flavours can encourage food intake in older adults for health benefits. The use and attitudes of 22 community-dwelling UK older adults (15 females, aged 65–83 years) towards foods and products that add flavour, e.g., sauces and seasonings, were investigated. Participants used foods/products to add flavour when cooking and eating from 0 to 17 times/day. Taste and flavour were important, and foods/products could add flavour, make foods more pleasant and did not cause discomfort. There were concerns, however, over the healthiness of some foods/products, while consuming a healthy diet and one’s health were important. Reasons for adding flavours largely centred around ‘meal enhancement’, reasons for not adding flavours focused on ‘the product itself’ and ‘characteristics of the meal’, but there was ‘variation’ and many ‘individual differences’. Our findings highlight the benefits of adding flavours for food intakes, particularly the use of naturally flavoursome foods, such as herbs, spices, onion and garlic.

Background Three studies investigated ‘achievable’ and ‘relevant’ elements of a fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption goal. Study 1 compared more/less achievable goals (Eat 1 more … vs Eat 5 …) and no goal on FV outcomes and potential mechanisms. Study 2 investigated more/less achievable and more/less relevant goals (for current benefit vs future benefit) on FV outcomes and potential mechanisms. Study 3 examined the goals of Study 2 in a real-world setting. Methods Studies 1 and 2 used independent-groups designs, involving 92 and 226 participants, respectively. FV outcomes were intentions to consume FV, immediate FV selection and subsequent FV consumption. Variables studied as possible mechanisms, included perceived ease of goal, individual motivations, effort applied, attitudes and self-efficacy. Study 3 used a mixed design involving 10 canteens and 21 4-week FV purchasing assessment periods. Results In Study 1, FV consumption was greater after both goals compared to no goal. No differences were found between goals, but FV consumption was positively associated with perceived ease of goal. In Study 2, FV selection and consumption were greater following the more achievable (Eat 1 more …) goals. Several additional variables were also associated with FV outcomes. In Study 3, FV purchasing was greater during goal display, with no differences between goals. No effects of goal relevance were found. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate increased FV consumption when goals are provided compared to no goal. When goals were compared, small benefit was also found for goals that were more achievable or perceived to be easy.