Investigating the consumption status of Functional drinks (fortified) based on the theory of planned behavior and the stages of change model in female employees

Abstract

Introduction:Functional foods are foods that by adding certain components to them reduce the risk of disease or improve the health of the body. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the consumption status of functional (enriched) drinks based on the theory of planned behavior and the stages of change model. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study that was conducted on534 female employees of Birjand offices in 2022 who were selected by stratified sampling method. The data was collected by using the functional food questionnaire, which includes three parts, demographic information, measuring the stages of change, and planned behavior theory constructs regarding the consumption of functional drinks. The data was analyzed using SPSS software through descriptive and analytical statistical tests. The significance level was considered as p <0.05. Results: Most of the participants were married (87.9%) and 7.6% were on a special diet. The majority of the participants (45.5%) made their purchases from chain stores. More than half of the people (74.1%) read food labels. Half of the participants (51%) were familiar with functional food. Based on the structure of the stages of change, the largest number of people consume probiotic drinks (buttermilk, kefir, etc.) were in the maintenance stages (31.2%) and who consume milk fortified with vitamin D were in the contemplation stage (37.3%) and who consume vitamin-enriched juices and fortified milk with iron and fat-free milk and vegetable milk were in the pre-contemplation stage, which consisted 38.4%, 42.5%, 30.8%, and 37.7% of participants, respectively. The mean score of the participants in the subscales of attitude, behavioral control, and subjective norm was 17.69±3.05, 16.83±2.88, 21.73±4.33, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the most drinks that female employees consumed regularly were probiotic drinks, while they did not intend to use functional juices (pre-contemplation stage) and subjective norms had the greatest effect on the intention to use drinks. Therefore, it seems that these theories can be used as a framework in designing educational programs in order to increase the consumption of functional foods and improve women's health.

The The Role of Health Consciousness and Trust on Gen Y and Gen Z Intention to Purchase Functional Beverages

“…Supported by the "hanging out" lifestyle, generation Z prefers sweet beverages, which confirms the findings of Momentum Works and Qlub that Generation Z consumes the sweetest beverages (Hasan, 2017). In addition, the significant skepticism surrounding the efficacy of health-promoting functional foods is identified as a hindrance to consumption (Toorani et al, 2023). Therefore, there is a need for measures to enhance consumer confidence in functional beverages.…”