Balanced Diet And Daily Calorie Consumption: Consumer Attitude During The COVID-19 Pandemic From An Emerging Economy Ⅱ
Jun 28, 2023
Various methodologies such as projective techniques, questionnaires, focus groups, and images of food are used by researchers to study the attitude and perception of respondents toward a healthy diet and daily calorie intake in the literature [44]. Focus groups and questionnaires are also used for pilot studies in the literature. This study is empirical. As this study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, physical data collection was not possible due to the lockdown. However, using an online questionnaire prepared for the sole purpose of measuring consumer attitudes towards a balanced diet and monitoring daily calorie intake, we were able to collect data in India between March 2020 and May 2021. The pilot study involved sending the questionnaire to 20 people to refine the constructs for the study. A structured questionnaire [25] was then prepared and used to collect data from respondents. Researchers explained through a write-up to each respondent that the purpose of the survey was to find out how they feel about a balanced diet and monitor daily calorie intake. Consent was obtained from each respondent before asking him or her to fill out the questionnaire. The convenience sampling method was used to collect the data from respondents.
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The questions were structured on the tri-component attitude model to take into account attitudes such as cognition, affection, and conation [30]. The scales used by various authors like [28, 51, 52] were considered to develop a holistic scale to understand the attitude towards a balanced diet and daily calorie intake. Measurement of 3 components (constructs) was carried out by 12 items (see Table 1). The 5-point ordinal Likert scale was used to measure the 3 components with: Strongly agree (1) to Strongly disagree (5). Items F1-F4 were used to measure cognition (beliefs), items F5-F8 were used to measure affection (feelings), and items F9-F12 were used to measure the conation (intentions) of the consumer.
The terminology adopted is based on work done to quantify customer beliefs in a balanced diet and daily calorie consumption [52]. Consumer emotion measurement is based on the work of Bruner and his co-authors [51]. To measure consumer intentions, the recommendations of [52] were followed. An online questionnaire using Google Forms was sent to more than 2,000 respondents via E-Mail and WhatsApp, out of which 412 responded to the questionnaire. 12 responses were not considered due to inadequate data from the respondents. A sample of 400 was considered for this study as per the statistical formula for calculating sample sizes for online surveys. Only respondents above the age of 25 years were selected for this survey. The purpose of this selection was to investigate the attitude of the working population toward a balanced diet and daily calorie intake. The study uses the tri-component attitude model to study the attitude and perception of respondents towards a balanced diet and monitoring daily calorie intake.
H10: Recommendation to others to monitor daily calorie intake is positively associated with intentions due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic
4. Data analysis and results
Data cleaning was executed and then coded in JASP software [53] and entered. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted in JASP software to confirm the elements underlying the customer attitude construct. The reliability of the three components’ measurement scales was checked using Cronbach’s alpha. Finally, the JASP program conducted a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.
4.1 Sample profile
4.2 Declarative knowledge
To check declarative knowledge, we used a trichotomous scale [28]. 239 respondents do not know their daily calorie consumption, 88 are not sure and only 73 are aware of their calorie intake. 285 are not aware of their recommended daily calorie intake. This shows that the majority working population lacks declarative knowledge about the calorie intake of food consumed daily. Regarding a balanced diet, 221 are aware of a balanced diet, 103 know something about a balanced diet, and 76 are not aware of a balanced diet. This shows that people have a declarative knowledge about a balanced diet but, when digging deeper into a balanced diet’s five food groups, the results were different. 195 do not know five food groups.74 know something and only 131 were aware of 5 food groups in a balanced diet. Again, in the case of nutrients in a balanced diet, 128 know the nutrients in a balanced diet, 94 know something and 182 do not know anything about nutrients. 157 were able to able to write the name of nutrients. 243 did not know anything about nutrients in a balanced diet. This shows people in India lack declarative knowledge about a balanced diet and daily calorie intake.
4.3 Exploratory factor analysis (EFA)
An exploratory factor analysis was executed to verify the factors underlying the consumer’s attitude. The adequacy of the sample was tested and also tested whether the data permitted factor analysis. A Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Sample Adequacy Measurement was used to test the adequacy of the sample. The figure for the KMO was 0.73. This shows that the sample was appropriate [58]. The Bartlett-Sphericity test was used to determine whether the data should be used for factor analysis or not. The data (Chi-square = 886.77; df = 33; significant at p ޒr0.001) enabled the study of exploratory factor analysis, as recommended by [58]. EFA results are presented in Table 2.
Three factors extracted from the results are shown in Table 2. Items F1-F2 are associated with customer beliefs in a balanced diet and daily consumption of calories. This element was then referred to as ’beliefs.’ Items F3-F8 clarified the feelings that customers maintained balanced nutrition and an intake of calories every day; thus the element was known as ‘emotions’. Except for F9, points F10-F12 demonstrated the consumer’s intentions about the balanced diet, hence the factors were referred to as ‘intentions’. Item F9 was removed since only one of the three variables was able to load it. Instead of a belief, items F3 and F4 were translated as emotions. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.857 as indicated in Table 2 [54, 55].
4.4 Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
The validity of the dimensions of customer attitude was assessed after the extraction of three variables by CFA; namely beliefs, intentions, and feelings. JASP software conducted confirmatory factor analysis. The results are shown in Table 3. The model fit indices were acceptable as per Table 3 (Tukey-Lewis index (TLI)) = 0.992). F3 and F9 were perfectly correlated, F4 and F10 respectively. So were deleted by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The choice to agree on these indices is grounded on the references of [56, 57] that GFI and TLI should be close to 1 and CMIN/df should be less than 3. A structural model was developed, and the estimates of the model were measured to calculate their significance.
The items loaded (p<0.001) with latent variables were sufficient to be greater than 0.4, as shown in Fig 4 [58]. There were positive correlations between latent variables. It was determined that the association between beliefs and emotions is 0.18; p is significant (p < 0.001). The association between feelings and intentions is found at 0.89. It was determined that 0.20 is the association between beliefs and intentions (p < 0.001).
These results show that latent variables are convergent. From Table 4, all hypotheses are accepted. Hypothesis H1 and H2 show that a balanced diet and monitoring daily calorie consumption are positively associated with the benefit of good health. Hypothesis H3 shows that monitoring daily calorie intake is positively associated with reducing the threat of infection of COVID-19. Hypothesis H4 and H5 show that consumption of a balanced diet and monitoring calorie consumption is related to happiness. Hypothesis H6 and H7 show that consuming a balanced diet and monitoring calorie consumption is related to a stronger self in the COVID-19 pandemic. Hypothesis H8 shows that following a balanced diet, as a necessity, is positively associated with intentions due to the threat of COVID-19. Hypothesis H9 and H10 show that recommendation to others to follow a balanced diet and monitor daily calorie intake is positively associated with intentions due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Discussion of results
The consumer attitude people during the COVID-19 pandemic was studied using the tricomponent attitude model. The purpose of the research was to evaluate the validity, reliability, and dimensionality of consumers’ attitudes to a balanced diet and daily consumption of calories during the COVID-19 pandemic in a developing country. As several authors have indicated (28,30), the tri-component attitude model of behavior; which studies belief (cognition), emotions (affect), and intention to follow (conation), have been proven as true and reliable customer attitude measures in an emerging economy. This means that consumer emotions, beliefs, and intent are key considerations in the COVID-19 pandemic that affects consumer decisions.
The vital association of consumer feelings and buying intentions reveals that consumers are more prepared to adopt a balanced diet when their emotions are favored. Consumer belief is also positively linked to follow-up intentions. This means that customer decisions to maintain a balanced diet and control the daily intake of calories will also be affected by consumer beliefs of a balanced diet. The connections between customer beliefs, emotions, and purchasing intentions show convergence; i.e., these components converge on the mindset of the consumer but, since the correlations are not high, Indian consumers still see these components as distinctive.
The cognitive component studied the declarative knowledge of a balanced diet and daily calorie consumption among people. While most people were aware of a balanced diet, the majority were not aware of their daily calorie consumption. The knowledge of a balanced diet is limited to names only as a majority were not able to name the five foods in a balanced diet. In addition, the majority were unaware of the nutrients in a balanced diet. As people are not aware of their daily calorie consumption, it may result in an intake of more calories, which may be harmful to their health. It may increase chronic and non-chronic diseases. From the data collected, people in the age group of 25–40 hardly have any health issues but people above age the age of 40 suffer from various health issues like diabetes, blood pressure, thyroid problems, arthritis, etc. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the government and corporate world to create awareness about a balanced diet and daily calorie intake through social awareness campaigns. Food companies can develop innovative campaigns [59, 60] and products through corporate social responsibility that help change people’s attitudes towards a balanced diet and daily calorie intake.
5.1 Implications for Industry and Government
Companies in food production need to be more research-oriented for products with components that are not suitable from a balanced diet point-of-view. For example, wheat flour-based items can be substituted with whole wheat-based items, and wheat can also be complemented or substituted by other grains like millet in packaged food products. Companies can have their products listed in diet apps for consumer awareness about the composition of food items. Consumers have an average awareness of a balanced diet but are not exposed to any appropriate measuring method. They need to be made aware of the measurements. A mobile app can play a significant role here. The Indian consumer is a food-loving consumer. Traditional or modern foods that are calorie-rich can be substituted without changing the palate significantly. For example, the introduction by food brand Maggi of multi-grain products or oats has been very well received by Indian consumers. Packaged food products have a high amount of preservatives that can be substituted with natural preservatives. Consumers can demand these if they are aware of such substitutes. The change can be introduced from a production perspective if the change is demanded from the consumption side. Therefore, consumers have to demand healthy changes in their foods; especially packaged food and that requires knowledge about a balanced diet and monitoring daily calorie intake.
Results from the experiment to increase awareness of a balanced diet have been fruitful. A. Alam found that the balanced plate intervention helped women through practical demonstrations to learn about a balanced meal by highlighting appropriate portion sizes and food diversity [61]. Innovative solutions [62, 63] can be developed to create awareness about a balanced diet and daily calorie intake. Social media can be used by corporate organizations and local governments to promote a balanced diet and to monitor daily calorie consumption [64]. Governments should undertake social marketing to promote the importance of consuming a balanced diet and monitoring daily calorie intake, which is rarely seen in a developing country like India. Governments should take the initiative for a public-private partnership to promote healthy eating behaviors through social advertising.
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6. Conclusion
7. Limitations and future scope for research
Data was collected through an online questionnaire using Google Forms. Other options normally available for data collection (such as interviews) were not available due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in India. The convenience sampling method used may not be entirely representative of the population. The authors have used the tri-component attitude model, utilized to study dietary behavior. The paper only studies the consumer attitude of the working population towards a balanced diet and daily calorie consumption. The research cannot be generalized to a larger population. Further studies can be carried out to study consumer attitudes of children, females, and senior citizens towards a balanced diet and daily calorie consumption, separately. The efficacy of the tri-component attitude model can be tested on different age groups in India and other countries in this sector. Future researchers can study procedural knowledge about a balanced diet and daily calorie consumption. Longitudinal studies and experimental interventions can be undertaken to study such phenomena.
To provide a robust understanding of estimation and dimensionality, future investigations can also be undertaken in other emerging economies.
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