Food choices and health evaluation

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Abstract
The role of health considerations in food choices was evaluated in a sample of 86 family members who had volunteered to participate in a study of family health beliefs. The aim of the investigation was to explore the use of individually-based methods of assessing health motivation in food choices. An index of health-motivation was derived by correlating consumption frequency and healthiness ratings of 31 foods within each individual. This index was then compared with global ratings of motivations in food choice and with data on dietary quality. There was great variation in the health-motivation index and it was higher in mothers than sons, with daughters falling between the two. It was significantly associated with frequency of fat and fruit intake and with global ratings of health motivation. The results suggested that this individually-based method can generate a meaningful index of the extent to which health considerations play a part in food choices.