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Perceived relevance and information needs regarding food topics and preferred information sources among Dutch adults: results of a quantitative consumer study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 58, pages 1306–1313 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: For more effective nutrition communication, it is crucial to identify sources from which consumers seek information. Our purpose was to assess perceived relevance and information needs regarding food topics, and preferred information sources by means of quantitative consumer research.

Design: Based on qualitative studies, a quantitative questionnaire was developed and administered in face-to-face interviews.

Subjects: The study population consisted of Dutch adults aged 18–80 y. A stratified sample of 923 adults was taken from the GfK ScriptPanel; 603 respondents completed the questionnaire.

Results: Despite high perceived relevance of food topics regarding dietary guidelines (55–78%), most respondents indicated that they did not want more information about these topics (71–74%). Furthermore, our study revealed information needs regarding safety- and health-related food topics (up to 77% in some subgroups). Differences in perceived relevance and information needs were found in subgroups based on gender, age, perceived weight and socioeconomic status. Education offices of the food sector and the family doctor were mentioned for most food topics, who ranked among the highest regarding perceived reliability, perceived expertise, clearness and accessibility.

Conclusions: With respect to five food topics (losing weight, sports and nutrition, lowering cholesterol, carbohydrates and food composition), interested subgroups should receive tailored information. For other groups and food topics, a population-wide strategy should suffice, utilising the preferred information source. If people who are not yet interested become interested through a life event, information on demand can be put into action.

Sponsorship: Dutch Dairy Association.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the market research office GfK (Lianne van der Wijst and Kamieke van de Riet) for their collaboration in this research. Finally, we thank the participants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Communication Management, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    S M E van Dillen, G J Hiddink, M A Koelen & C M J van Woerkum

  2. Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    C de Graaf

Authors
  1. S M E van Dillen
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  2. G J Hiddink
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  3. M A Koelen
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  4. C de Graaf
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  5. C M J van Woerkum
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Contributions

Guarantor: SME van Dillen.

Contributors: All authors were participants of the project group of the project called ‘Nutrition Education through Health Professionals’. They were all involved in the design of the study, including the development of the questionnaire. GJH and SMEvD organised the data collection in cooperation with market research office GfK. SMEvD was responsible for data analysis and MK helped to analyse the data. Furthermore, all authors contributed to the discussion of the results. Finally, SMEvD wrote the manuscript and the other authors critically revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to S M E van Dillen.

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van Dillen, S., Hiddink, G., Koelen, M. et al. Perceived relevance and information needs regarding food topics and preferred information sources among Dutch adults: results of a quantitative consumer study. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 1306–1313 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601966

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