دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی عوامل موثر در نگرش مصرف کننده های ایرانی در زمینه مصرف فست فود - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose: Eating patterns around the world have changed considerably, including food choices and preparation. One of these alterations in food consumption patterns is an increase in desire for fast-food consumption, which has been associated with poor diet quality. In order to analyze consumers’ food consumption behaviors, it is necessary to account for psychological factors (e.g., attitudes) that shape behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore influencing factors on the attitudes of consumers in Isfahan City towards fast-food consumption, so as to understand why consumers use fast-food despite widespread knowledge of the negative health consequences. Methodology: The predominant paradigm of the present study was quantitative, in that it was a correlational survey. The population of this study consisted of consumers who lived in Isfahan city in June 2015. A total sample of 350 people were selected using convenience sampling. Data was collected through a face-to-face interview with the consumers using a researcher-made questionnaire. Analysis was conducted using SPSS (V20) and AMOS (V20) software and a set of correlation and differential tests. Findings: The results revealed that ‘health consciousness’ and ‘trust’ are the main effective factors on the attitudes of the respondents. Results also revealed that the elder and married respondents have more positive attitudes towards fast-food consumption. Originality/value: It is worth mentioning that fast-food has become an important part of the Iranian diet. These findings have both academic and policy implications. The results showed that the need for much more consumer education regarding fast-food, and massmedia could effectively be used. Further, the government should support and subsidize fastfood restaurants so that they may produce healthier food options.

4. Discussion and Conclusion

Fast-food consumption is one of the manifestations of poor eating patterns. According to the literature review, attitude towards fast-food consumption is one of the main affecting factors in fast-food consumption behavior. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the main affecting factors on attitudes of consumers towards fast-food in Isfahan city, Iran. The results of this study revealed that subjective norms have no influence on the attitudes of the respondents towards fast-food consumption. This result contradicts the findings of Sharifirad et al. (2013), who conducted research in Isfahan among high school students in 2011, which suggested that subjective norms have an indirect effect on fast-food consumption, as well as those of Stok et al. (2015), which found that predicting eating behavior can be accomplished by subjective norm measurement. The results of this study lead to the conclusion that consumers do not, in fact, rely on their subjective norms when evaluating fast-food consumption. Consumers, instead, rely more on trust and health consciousness. Thus, consumers seek out what they believe to be trustworthy fast-food restaurants that they trust will not result in foodborne illness.

Being that fast-food consumption was also be linked with health consciousness, awareness of the nutritional aspects of the food is important for Isfahanian consumers, and affect their attitudes towards fast-food consumption. This finding is consistent with (Musaiger, 2014), who reported that although consumers considered fast-food harmful to their health, they continued to eat fast-food. In this regards, (Azzurra & Paola, 2009) showed that health consciousness has an effect on the attitudes towards not using functional foods. In this regards, Jun et al. (2014) found that health values and awareness affect attitudes towards a healthy menu, which is in line with the present study. This finding indicates that health information on fast-food affects consumption. Yet, the current education alone is not sufficient. Instead, there may be potential in the use of mass media to expand the dissemination of information, so as to mitigate the negative impacts of widespread fast-food consumption.