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Characteristics of Eating Habits and Nutritional Status among the Hungarian Population – Literature Review
45-55Views:666Obesity is a growing public health problem worldwide: recent research activities have shown that the significance of obesity regarding public health is as much as smoking, which imposes a huge burden on the healthcare system. WHO ranked obesity among the world’s ten most significant health problems. Obesity has an increasing prevalence among both adults and children in our country, which is accompanied by the unhealthy eating habits and low level of physical activity and sports of Hungarian people. In our research, we analyze the national literature which represents the nutritional characteristics and their changes of the Hungarian population, the main issues of healthy eating, the different recommendations as well as the status of the Hungarian population related to obesity and overweight. In our article we introduce the relevant research regarding eating habits in other countries based on the international literature. Besides these, we present best practices that could influence the health behaviour of the population by focusing on lifestyle factors, especially regular exercise and healthy diet.
JEL code: I12
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The Role of Self-Control and Eating Behaviour in Obesity
3-15Views:246The treatment of obesity and related diseases is a global problem today. This is a huge burden not only for the individual, but also for the economy. However, these diseases could be prevented with proper nutrition. The aim of our research is to assess the factors that affect weight control and obesity. In this study, we narrow down our research area to two key factors: eating behaviour and self-control. To investigate these relationships, we created a research model We examined our theoretical model using the partial least squares (PLS) technique, which is one of the most widely used techniques of the model of structural equations (SEM) for latent variable modeling. Our results show that BMI level is influenced by eating behaviour, and self-control affects body weight through eating behaviour.
JEL Codes: I12, M31
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Eating Behaviors of Preschool-Aged Children – Gender-Linked Differences
13-26Views:108A growing popularity in the consumption of foods with low nutritional value is increasing amongst the preschool age groups worldwide, which is partially responsible for the increase of childhood obesity rates globally. Thus, it is vital to examine the eating behavior of preschool aged children, as these are known to effect the daily energy intake. On the contrary, gender differences could possibly also influence the food intake and therefore health-related outcomes in children. In order to investigate the relationship between the children’s eating behavior and their gender, a survey was conducted amongst the parents of children aged between 3-7 in Hungary, which included Wardle et al.’s (2001a) 35-item instrument, the Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire, together with questions concerning possible food allergies and demographics. The sample of size N=365 was then analyzed using SPSS via the INDSCAL method. The initial creators of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire found only one gender difference, namely that the incidence of eating fussiness was slightly higher in boys, the findings of the current study were able to verify this result together with other dissimilarities. The findings indicate that other eating behaviors can be linked to gender, including that girls’ desires to drink, which is generally higher than that of boys and that boys tend to eat slower than girls. Boys also lean towards emotional undereating, while girls have a tendency towards emotional overeating. The information above can be of great use to marketers in the food and beverage industry as well as the healthcare industry.
JEL Codes: I12, M31
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Adaptation Possibilities of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire in the Field of Marketing Research – Differences Based on Gender and Generation
3-20Views:163Overweight and obesity is an endemic that appears in the developed countries of the world. Overweight and obesity means a serious expenditure for the consumers, for the employers and for the national states both in the prevention and in the treatment phases. In the national and international literature more authors deal with the research of the dimensions of healthy lifestyle either in a complex way or focusing on a special area (e. g. smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity or eating behavior). There are more tests investigating food consumption, but the most widely used one is the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). The revised TFEQ (TFEQ 21 and TFEQ 18) scales were validated in Hungary on the population with normal weight and overweight obese individuals and three types of eating behavior were identified, namely (1) emotional eating (EE), (2) cognitive control eating (CR) and (3) uncontrolled eating (UE). The aim of this study is on the one hand to introduce the Hungarian adaptation possibilities of the revised scale (TFEQ 16) measuring eating habits and on the second hand to explore the connections with demographics. In an empirical research 919 adult people were interviewed: 45.2% males and 54.8% females. Based on age the authors defined three generations, the “Baby boomers”, the X and the Y generations. Their ratio in the sample is the following: 14.7, 42.5 and 42.8%. Relying on the results of the empirical research it can be said that the adaptation of TFEQ 16 is possible in Hungary. The former explored factor structure is valid among Hungarian population that is adults can be characterized by emotional, uncontrolled and cognitive control eating. The EE and CR are typical eating styles among women and CR is typical for people belonging to Y generation. In the future the authors plan to extend the research to segment the population based on their eating styles in order to develop an effective marketing program for them.
JEL codes: I12, M30, M39
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Consumer Perception of a Healthy Nutrition – The Results of an Exploratory Study
57-66Views:734Healthy nutrition is becoming increasingly important in the age of endemic non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and various cancers. Moreover, due to modern eating habits, more and more people are experiencing food allergies, sensitivity or intolerance to gluten, lactose, milk protein, soy, or egg, just to mention a few. Healthy eating as prevention has become a possible solution for these problems worldwide. Furthermore, an increasing number of people simply want to pay attention to what they consume. The primary objective of this research is to showcase the attitude of consumers in Debrecen (Hungary) towards a healthy nutrition, as well as to explore the factors that influence it. This paper also aims to reveal consumers’ views on the degree to which a healthy diet can be achieved in their daily lives. Focus group interview was chosen as the method of primary data collection, in which consumers living in Debrecen, with different behaviors towards health (health preventive and health risk) took part. The acquired results from the two groups clearly reflect how consumers with dissimilar attitudes towards healthy nutrition reach differing opinions on the same issues.
JEL Classification: I12, M31
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Production, Trade and Consumption of Functional Foods in Hungary
3-6Views:239Functional food is a specific food which fulfills the original aim of being a nutrient and an energy-carrier, but promotes better health and well-being. During the last decades new and healthier foods were designed to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses and conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, some cancers and obesity. However, functional foods are traditional foods expected to be consumed in the diet, but modified in such a way that promotes better health. In Hungary about 16% of the consumers are interested in buying functional foods for health improvements. Dairy products are most often the target products for reducing the risk of osteoporosis in the elderly and increasing gut function. In recent years the market of plant products, especially of fruits and vegetables was rapidly growing due to their high antioxidant capacity. Enhancement metabolism of polyphenols, and flavonoids formed in fruits and vegetables during traditional breeding and processing is not clarified yet and little is known about the effects of the extensive or intensive breeding and of the most economic harvesting time. The functional food science deals with the scientific substantiation of the influences of specific food components (biological active materials) as well as production and formulation of foods and food ingredients. Some of those components are obtained from natural sources, some others are artificial products of the organic synthesis in the industry. The term „functional foods” has never achieved an official definition, but most experts would agree on its benificially target functions in the body beyond adequate nutritional effects. Moderate consumption of vitamines and antioxidants in the diet carried in functional foods are belived to decrease the risk of chronic diseases. According to some market surveys the market of these designed foods is very large and rapidly expanding because of a growing interest among body-builders and other sportsmen with higher physical activities.
JEL code: D12
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Role and Importance of Healthy Eating
49-63Views:1883Healthy nutrition and a regular exercise are two important pillars of healthy lifestyle. Several researches point out that significant part of the population has incomplete knowledge regarding these topics. The Hungarian population is characterized by unhealthy eating habits and low level of regular exercise, which together result in a high obesity rate and poor health status among the Hungarians. Besides these, another unfavourable fact is the sedentary lifestyle: adults spend more than 5 hours a day in sitting position on average. The Hungarians’ daily physical activity is only 70% of the recommendations, and we only spend 10 minutes a day doing sports. Vegetables and fruits are important ingredients of a healthy and balanced diet, the consumption rate of which is quite low in several European countries including Hungary. In our article we present the main characteristics and contexts of healthy nutrition and physical activity. In addition, we analyze a nutrition research activity which can be an important basis for integrative strategies. Based on secondary research, we present research results that demonstrate the protective effects of vegetable and fruit consumption connected to various diseases. Furthermore, we present the unfavorable tendencies of vegetable and fruit consumption of the European and Hungarian population, and we make suggestions in order to improve the unfavourable circumstances and indicators. We also focus on the socio-ecological model of the nutrition guideline, the levels of which significantly affect our habits related to nutrition and physical activity.
JEL code: I12
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Connection of Food Waste and Consumer Awareness
61-80Views:845One of the most significant problems of developed countries is the food waste and the efficient consumption of food. The developed countries struggle with the overweight and obesity while the other part of the world fight with the starvation. Nowadays, the number of overweight people exceeds the number of hungry people. The consumer asserts that his decisions are consistent and rational. In my research (size of the sample is 918 people) I have to distinguish between the real and presumed awareness in case of food consumption. Real awareness is rooted in the knowledge and behavior of consumer which manifest in a low level of waste, while the presumed awareness exists only in the consumer belief in himself. According to my results, the food waste is significant in Hungary and the proportion of waste is related to the consumer’s income. I can state that the presumed awareness is stronger than the real awareness.
JEL Codes: I30, M31, Q18
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Parental Health Conciousness and Examination of Eating Preferences in Reflection of Childhood Obesity
27-38Views:501One of the 21st century’s well-known megatrend is the healthy lifestyle and eating which is the basis of this research. We have already known some aspects of this topic, but the parental health consciousness and the examination of eating preferences is not as well known as it has to be, so this makes this study relevant. The goal of this exploratory research was to get to know more about the parental health consciousness, their eating preferences and attitudes, so Hungarian parents were asked who have children under 14 years old to tell more about their habits and lifestyle. In the primer research an online questionnaire was used which reaches 206 people so we could make some consequences about the lifestyle and the preferences of the families in Hungary. The main parts of this research were: the importance of health and the healthy lifestyle, the form of the parental research about the topic, which sources they find the most relevant and authentic, the parental eating habits, family health, the responsibility of the parents. During the statistical analysis some segments of people could be separated whose different attitudes and preferences were shown very clearly. It reveals of the results for example that the groups have different eating habits and researching systems.
JEL Codes: I12, M31
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Hungarian The Prominent Role of Diet and Exercise in the Healthy Lifestyle
49-60Views:1318Lifestyle-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular or stress-related diseases, or osteoporosis, are well-known to everyone, in the prevention or development of which lifestyle elements such as diet or exercise play a key role. In order to prevent the development of these diseases mentioned above, we should pay enough attention to a healthy lifestyle and prevention. In today’s modern world, we already have a wealth of knowledge that contributes largely to the prevention of said diseases, however, many people still struggle with them. An important factor is that regular exercise and a healthy diet help to create a healthier lifestyle and play a protective role against a wide range of diseases.
JEL Codes: I10, I12, I19