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This thesis is an anthropological study of consumption and self-construction on the Greek tourist island of Mykonos. The ethnographic material is collected from informants/agents of an, initially, heterogeneous cultural background and with a highly individualistic discourse, who, paradoxically, form a group. The identity of this new Mykonian group of exogenous 'locals' is self-created and draws on several 'local' myths. Therefore, the ethnography concentrates on the discursive making of these myths. The characteristic all these myths share is that they revolve around a common theme: symbolic 'otherness'. This discursive otherness, is initially reflected in the emerging myth of the cosmopolitan place in which it is performed, the place-myth of Mykonos. But symmetrically in our case, the myth of the place, counter-reflects the myth of its subjects. A series of invented 'heroes' gradually prospers in the mythical space of 'otherness': first the reckless, unorthodox locals; then the eccentric 'first visitors' followed by the alternative groups of the seventies, the subcultural groups of the eighties and the tribestyles of the nineties. The myth of this spatial 'otherness', apart from the peculiar groupings which it simultaneously attracts and creates, is also a propagator of self- myths. The thesis explores the construction of selves and communities through their consumption patterns, manipulation of aesthetics, invented rituals and a distinctive set of social practices, but primarily through their discursive otherness. The myth of the idiosyncratic space is echoed in the myth of their unclassified and fetishised selves. Nevertheless, the 'anarchic' property of the space is its only consistent pattern and, in turn, a source of communal identity. The discourse of locality that stems out of these 'mythologies' celebrates a highly subjective pattern of aesthetic 'otherness'. The bonding of all these myths lies precisely in their taste for 'difference'. The fetishisation of the self reflects upon the fetishisation of space; as much as, the fetishisation of space reflects upon the fetishisation of the self.

The overconsumption of added sugars leads to negative effects on health such as an increased risk for obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. With approximately 50% of added sugars in the American diet being attributed to sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake, non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are recommended as potential replacements. The purpose of this secondary analysis of Talking Health, a 6-month SSB reduction intervention, was to explore 1) changes in NNS consumption patterns between SIPsmartER (n=101) and MoveMore (n=97) interventions, and 2) differences in demographics between three groups of various SSB-NNS consumption change patterns (Group 1: decreased SSB, increased NNS; Group 2: decreased SSB, no change in NNS; Group 3: increased SSB, regardless of NNS). Results showed that the SIPsmartER intervention significantly created more new NNS users than MoveMore after the 6 month intervention. There were significant between group over time differences for intake of aspartame, sucralose, and total NNS, with intake increasing for SIPsmartER participants as compared to MoveMore. However, when exploring demographics between the three SSB-NNS consumption change groups, no differences were found between those who successfully decreased SSB while increasing NNS and the other groups. While diet beverages were the most commonly consumed dietary source of NNS across groups over time, other sources such as tabletop sweeteners, yogurt, and meal replacement products contributed to total NNS intake. Future research is needed to identify those who would benefit most from using NNS as a tool to decrease SSB intake. This will help inform future interventions and provide appropriate strategies to decrease added sugars intake. / Master of Science / The overconsumption of added sugars leads to negative effects on health such as an increased risk for obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. With approximately 50% of added sugars in the American diet being attributed to sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake, non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are recommended as potential replacements. The purpose of this secondary analysis of Talking Health, a 6-month SSB reduction intervention, was to explore 1) changes in NNS consumption patterns between SIPsmartER (n=101) and MoveMore (n=97) interventions, and 2) differences in demographics between three groups of various SSB-NNS consumption change patterns (Group 1: decreased SSB, increased NNS; Group 2: decreased SSB, no change in NNS; Group 3: increased SSB, regardless of NNS). Results showed that the SIPsmartER intervention significantly created more new NNS users than MoveMore after the 6 month intervention. There were significant between group over time differences for intake of aspartame, sucralose, and total NNS, with intake increasing for SIPsmartER participants as compared to MoveMore. However, when exploring demographics between the three SSB-NNS consumption change groups, no differences were found between those who successfully decreased SSB while increasing NNS and the other groups. While diet beverages were the most commonly consumed dietary source of NNS across groups over time, other sources such as tabletop sweeteners, yogurt, and meal replacement products contributed to total NNS intake. Future research is needed to identify those who would benefit most from using NNS as a tool to decrease SSB intake. This will help inform future interventions and provide appropriate strategies to decrease added sugars intake.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Food Service Management, Dept. of Hospitality, Tourism and PR Management)--Vaal University of Technology / Introduction. Most of the children aged between five and 15 around the world live under difficult circumstances, which lead to a high dropout rate from school before the end of the secondary level. Most of them have poor nutrition, are undernourished and are exposed to a large range of harmful, parasitic and infectious diseases (Shariff et al, (2000:265). Purpose. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the nutritional status of primary school children in Orange Farms informal settlement in terms of their nutritional needs in order to implement a school feeding programme and assess its impact on the nutritional status of these children. Methodology. A cross-sectional baseline survey was conducted two weeks before commencing with the school feeding programme. The measurements taken during this phase were socio-demographic and health by means of a questionnaire, as well as dietary intake and food consumption patterns by means of a quantified food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour recall, weight and height measurements. The anthropometric measurements included height and weight and the biochemical measurements included serum ferritin, C-reactive protein, total protein, albumin, vitamin B 12, folate, glucose, full blood count, haemoglobin, haematocrit, red blood cell count, mean cell volume, white blood cell count, vitamins A, E and zinc. A single matched "placebo" -controlled, parallel group, clinical trial of ten months followed in a randomly selected sample of 100 participants, 50 forming part of the control group receiving a fruit and 50 forming part of the experimental group receiving com-soy blend porridge. After the 10-month period, the same measurements for the baseline survey were repeated, except for the sociodemographic and health measurements. Results. Malnutrition, including under and over nutrition, remains a major problem among primary school children globally. This was also true in both the experimental and control school groups in this study where 18.6 percent, 34.9 percent and 4.7 percent were underweight, stunted and wasted especially in the experimental group compared to 9.1 percent severe underweight, and 9.1 per cent each for severe stunting and wasting in the control group at baseline. A mainly carbohydrate based diet was consumed with limited vegetable and animal protein intakes. The socio-demographic data indicated that household food insecurity contributed to the poor dietary intake of the sample, as the majority of the caregivers were unemployed in both groups. This was further confirmed by the limited monthly household income of less than R 1000 for a relatively large family size of up to 5 members in the control group compared to 5-10 household members in the experimental group. The implementation of a school feeding programme that included a nutritious and acceptable meal in the form of enriched corn-soy blend or a fruit as part of the programme, also proved to be a relatively easy and cost-effective way to address hunger in these primary schools. Furthermore, the dietary intake levels for both groups showed statistically significant improvements for various macro- and micronutrients when compared to DRis. Conclusion Although few statistically significant differences were observed between the groups with regard to dietary intake patterns, biochemical changes and nutritional status indices, positive changes were observed in both groups, indicating that any food provision may have a positive impact on undernourished children. The results of the intervention indicated an improvement in dietary intake which could result in an improved nutritional status, specifically related to micronutrients. However, the anthropometric indices and certain biochemical parameters showed significant improvements in both groups after the intervention. School feeding programmes are a good strategy for addressing malnutrition among primary school children if monitored effectively. However, it does not impact directly on household food security. A long-term clinical intervention trial is recommended to measure the impact of a food-based approach to address specific micronutrient deficiencies prevalent among children in these age groups. / National Research Foundation

Embora o orçamento familiar e os padrões de consumo das famílias sejam importantes para a compreensão da realidade da população brasileira, os estudos qualitativos e quantitativos dedicados ao entendimento de ambos não existem em grande quantidade no Brasil, o que é um limitante para a consolidação da literatura nacional sobre o assunto. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho utiliza-se do orçamento familiar como uma variável de segmentação aplicada às famílias Endividadas e Positivas, oferecendo comparações no que tange aos padrões de consumo dos segmentos obtidos. Cabe ressaltar que o orçamento familiar neste estudo é composto por 17 categorias de despesa não discricionárias, como \"Alimentação dentro do lar\" e \"Habitação\" e categorias de despesa discricionárias, como \"Lazer\" e \"Educação\". Sendo assim, a segmentação é realizada por meio da análise de cluster, o que permite que as famílias de ambos os grupos se agrupem em segmentos. Tal análise considera dados de orçamento familiar oferecidos pela Kantar WorldPanel (ano 2016), que dizem respeito a 4790 famílias Endividadas (2409) e Positivas (2381). Como resultado da análise, obtêm-se nove segmentos, cinco referentes ao grupo de famílias Endividadas (Caseiros, Sobreviventes, Bem estar, Automotores e Pagadores de Empréstimos) e quatro referentes ao grupo de famílias Positivas (Caseiros, Sobreviventes, Bem Estar, Automotores e Pagadores de Empréstimo). O segmento Caseiros tem como categoria de despesa que mais compromete o orçamento a \"Habitação\"; o segmento Sobreviventes a categoria \"Alimentação dentro do lar\"; o segmento Bem estar possui gastos acima da média com categorias discricionárias como \"Lazer\" e \"Educação\"; o segmento Automotores apresenta grande parte do orçamento comprometido com a categoria \"Transporte\" e o segmento Pagadores de Empréstimos, existente apenas no grupo Endividados, compromete grande parte de seu orçamento com a categoria \"Serviços Financeiros\". Dado esses segmentos, o estudo ainda reúne esforços no sentido de identificar quais despesas melhor discriminam o orçamento de ambos os grupos e, como resultado, tem-se que o orçamento do grupo Endividado é melhor discriminado por despesas com \"Habitação\" e \"Transporte\", enquanto o do grupo Positivo é melhor discriminado por despesas com \"Alimentação dentro do lar\" e \"Habitação\". Calcula-se ainda a elasticidade renda da despesa para cada um dos segmentos, verificando sua sensibilidade às 17 categorias de despesa estudadas. Verifica-se que os positivos se apresentam muito sensíveis a algumas categorias, enquanto que os Endividados se apresentam pouco sensíveis a todas as categorias. Visto isso, este estudo oferece com contribuição teórica a consolidação do uso do orçamento familiar como variável de segmentação e, como contribuição gerencial, o detalhamento do orçamento de cada segmento a ser explorado pela iniciativa privada. Futuros estudos podem replicar este mesmo estudo realizando um recorte regional ou, ainda, fazendo o uso dos dados extrapolados para a população brasileira. / Although familiar budget and household consumption patterns are very important for understanding Brazilian population reality, qualitative and quantitative studies dedicated to the understand both are still scarce in national scenarium, which is a limitation for the consolidation of Brazilian literature on the subject. So, this work uses familiar budget as a segmentation variable in order to segment Indebted and Positive families, offering comparisons regarding consumption patterns of the obtained segments. It should be noted that, for this study, familiar budget is composed by 17 consumption categories, including non-discretionary expenditure, such as \"Food consumption inside house\" and \"Housing\" and also discretionary expenditure categories, such as \"Leisure\" and \"Education\". Thus, segmentation is performed through cluster analysis, which allocate Indebted and Positive families into segments. This analysis uses familiar budget data offered by Kantar WorldPanel, which considers 4790 families (Indebted - 2409; Positive - 2381). As this analysis application results on nine segments, five refers to Indebted families (Homeowners, Survivors, Welfare, Motorists and Loans Payors) and four refers to Positive families (Homeowners, Survivors, Welfare and Motorists). For Homeowners segment \"Housing\" is the most important expenditure; for Survivors segment \"Food consumption inside house\" is the most important; Wellness segment has above-average expenses with discretionary categories such as \"Leisure\" and \"Education\"; Automotive segment has a large part of their budget committed with \"Transport\" category and Payors of Loans, that only exists for Indebted group, spend much money on \"Financial Services\". This study still makes efforts in order to identify which expenses better discriminate familiar budget from both groups and, as a result, it has been seen that Indebted group familiar budget is better discriminated by \"Housing\" and \"Transportation\" expenses, while Positive group is better discriminated by \"Food inside the house\" and \"Housing\" expenses. Moreover, income elasticity of the expenditure for each of the segments is calculated, verifying each segment sensitivity to each of the 17 expenditure categories. It can be seen that Positives are very sensitive to some categories, while Indebted are not very sensitive to all categories. This study offers as theoretical contribution the consolidation familiar budget as a segmentation variable and, as managerial contribution, familiar budget details of each segment to be explored by companies. Future studies may replicate this same study by making a regional approach or using extrapolated data for Brazilian population.

A presente dissertação estuda as influências da renda e de outras variáveis demográficas sobre o orçamento de uma amostra de famílias de onze regiões metropolitanas brasileiras constantes na POF – Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares de 1995/1996, preparada pelo IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. O referencial teórico discute conceitos de sociedade de consumo de massa, sociedade de consumo no Brasil, modelos de comportamento do consumidor, influências da renda na composição do orçamento familiar e a importância de outras variáveis que influenciam os padrões de consumo de uma família. Por meio de uma metodologia descritiva e quantitativa, é apresentado um conjunto de tabelas e gráficos referentes às categorias de despesa que compõem o orçamento familiar. É analisado o padrão de comprometimento da renda nos diferentes níveis de renda familiar e sugerida uma operacionalização dos conceitos de renda discricionária e não discricionária para a amostra de famílias estudadas. Para fins de apresentação do uso da POF pelos profissionais de marketing, são realizados diversos cortes de análise que podem ser aplicados em estudos de segmentação e determinação do potencial de mercado de um produto ou serviço. O conjunto de análises realizadas sugere que o orçamento familiar e os padrões de consumo são influenciados pela renda familiar. O comportamento das categorias de despesa familiar também varia conforme o nível de renda. Além disso, verifica-se o potencial de aplicação da base de dados POF em estudos mercadológicos, em razão do amplo conjunto de variáveis que detalham o comportamento de consumo da família. Os estudos realizados podem servir como ponto de partida para o cruzamento de dados da POF com edições posteriores, como por exemplo a de 2002/2003, permitindo uma análise de corte longitudinal. / This essay studies the influences of income and other demographic variables over the budget of a sample of families living in eleven Brazilian metropolitan regions taking part in the POF (Family Budget Survey) prepared by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) in the period of 1995/1996. The essay discusses concepts of mass consumption society, consumer market in Brazil, consumer behavior models, income influences composing family budget and the importance of other variables that affect the consumption patterns in a family. Using a quantitative and descriptive methodology, it is presented a set of tables and graphs referring to the expense categories that compose the family budget. It is analyzed the income compromising pattern in different levels of family income and suggested a way to become operational the concepts of discretional and non-discretional income for the sample of families in study. In order to present the use of POF by marketing people, several analysis-cutting were put into practice. They can be applied in segmentation studies and be used to determine the market sales potential of a product or service. The carried out set of analyses suggests that the family budget and the consumption patterns are influenced by the family income. The conduct of the categories of family expenditures also varies according to the income level. Furthermore, we can notice the application potential of the POF data base in marketing studies because of the wide set of variables that details the family consumption behavior. The accomplished studies can be used as a starting-point to cross the POF data with further publications, for example the 2002/2003 publication, allowing a longitudinal analysis-cutting.

Binge drinking as one of the alcohol consumption patterns, affects the quality of life of the drinker, significant others and the society in general. It contributes to negative social, economic and health effects on social support networks. This sub-study of the five year trans-disciplinary Alcohol study analysed the existing quantitative data of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The broad aim of the Alcohol study is to gain a better understanding of the alcohol consumption patterns and the causes and consequences of binge drinking amongst South African. The overarching aim of this sub-study was to identify the socioeconomic effects of binge drinking on support networks with a view to contributing to a development of a relevant, integrated and coherent strategy to address alcohol abuse and misuse in the selected areas of the study. The study adopted a mixed methods approach by combining the qualitative and quantitative paradigms to understand the phenomenon of binge drinking and its effects on support networks more adequately. A literature study was undertaken to firstly understand the broader context of the social aspects of alcohol abuse in South Africa, and secondly, to understand social support, social support networks and social network analysis in relation to binge drinking from a conceptual and theoretical framework. Unpacking of the concepts social support, social support networks and social network analysis provided a base to argue that social support networks are affected by binge drinking because the drinker and networks such as family and service providers are interrelated and interdependent. Relevant theoretical frameworks that support this view that person and environment are related and cannot be separated because one affects the other as well, were used to substantiate the argument. Binge drinking was further cross tabulated with other relevant variables to further understand the alcohol consumption patterns. The profile of social problems from the PURE data provided a picture of the challenges in the demarcated areas. As such poverty, low educational level and income were used as markers of socio-economic position. Having identified binge drinking as one pattern of alcohol consumption used in the communities, the study further identified the socio-economic effects experienced by support networks through semi-structured interviews with a schedule and focus groups. The family members and service providers as key informants were identified as support networks. The identified family support network representatives were children, spouse, parents and a sibling and they explained their experiences with a binge drinker. Specific themes of social support were used to describe their experiences of support. These themes are: types of support provided; recipient perception, reciprocal support and behaviour of the provider. The results indicated that support networks are negatively affected by binge drinking because social support is not provided as expected. Performance of roles is compromised and binge drinkers socially constructed views of being justified to abuse of alcohol in that they themselves were exposed to the same situation as children, thus the children are expected to accept their drinking and the socio-economic situation. The community support networks were interviewed to obtain information on the alcohol abuse and socio-economic conditions in the selected communities and to identify the intervention strategies employed to combat the alcohol abuse problems. Suggestions to enhance intervention strategies are proposed focusing on assessment of risk and risk environment, targeted interventions, multi-level synergistic intervention and multi-disciplinary roles and partnerships. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Binge drinking as one of the alcohol consumption patterns, affects the quality of life of the drinker, significant others and the society in general. It contributes to negative social, economic and health effects on social support networks. This sub-study of the five year trans-disciplinary Alcohol study analysed the existing quantitative data of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The broad aim of the Alcohol study is to gain a better understanding of the alcohol consumption patterns and the causes and consequences of binge drinking amongst South African. The overarching aim of this sub-study was to identify the socioeconomic effects of binge drinking on support networks with a view to contributing to a development of a relevant, integrated and coherent strategy to address alcohol abuse and misuse in the selected areas of the study. The study adopted a mixed methods approach by combining the qualitative and quantitative paradigms to understand the phenomenon of binge drinking and its effects on support networks more adequately. A literature study was undertaken to firstly understand the broader context of the social aspects of alcohol abuse in South Africa, and secondly, to understand social support, social support networks and social network analysis in relation to binge drinking from a conceptual and theoretical framework. Unpacking of the concepts social support, social support networks and social network analysis provided a base to argue that social support networks are affected by binge drinking because the drinker and networks such as family and service providers are interrelated and interdependent. Relevant theoretical frameworks that support this view that person and environment are related and cannot be separated because one affects the other as well, were used to substantiate the argument. Binge drinking was further cross tabulated with other relevant variables to further understand the alcohol consumption patterns. The profile of social problems from the PURE data provided a picture of the challenges in the demarcated areas. As such poverty, low educational level and income were used as markers of socio-economic position. Having identified binge drinking as one pattern of alcohol consumption used in the communities, the study further identified the socio-economic effects experienced by support networks through semi-structured interviews with a schedule and focus groups. The family members and service providers as key informants were identified as support networks. The identified family support network representatives were children, spouse, parents and a sibling and they explained their experiences with a binge drinker. Specific themes of social support were used to describe their experiences of support. These themes are: types of support provided; recipient perception, reciprocal support and behaviour of the provider. The results indicated that support networks are negatively affected by binge drinking because social support is not provided as expected. Performance of roles is compromised and binge drinkers socially constructed views of being justified to abuse of alcohol in that they themselves were exposed to the same situation as children, thus the children are expected to accept their drinking and the socio-economic situation. The community support networks were interviewed to obtain information on the alcohol abuse and socio-economic conditions in the selected communities and to identify the intervention strategies employed to combat the alcohol abuse problems. Suggestions to enhance intervention strategies are proposed focusing on assessment of risk and risk environment, targeted interventions, multi-level synergistic intervention and multi-disciplinary roles and partnerships. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Background Empirical research on how and why nutritional supplements (including vitamin/mineral supplements and herbal supplements) are being taken by middle-income populations in South Africa is lacking. This study quantifies the types of nutritional supplements being taken. It unpacks beliefs regarding benefits and risks. This information is useful for healthcare practitioners in similar settings as it could affect their practice of history taking and alert practitioners to the need to know more about nutritional supplement benefits and risks. The information could be used to influence policy regarding advertising and labelling of nutritional supplements. Method The study was a cross-sectional survey. An anonymous self-completed structured questionnaire was completed by 123 participants attending a medical centre during the data collection period. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted on 16 participants to gather qualitative information. Results Nutritional supplements were widely taken in this questionnaire sample (59%). Consumption was not related to age, language, ethnic group, education and smoking, but nutritional supplements were more commonly used by women and higher income groups. Women who felt they had fair/poor health, women with chronic medical conditions, especially those with depression or women on chronic prescription medication were more likely to take nutritional supplements than those without these characteristics. Wellness, treating tiredness and short-term disease prevention were the most common reasons for taking the supplements, although research proving these benefits is lacking. Chronic disease prevention was an uncommon reason for consumption. Participants were mostly unaware of possible drug interactions and side-effects and therefore felt it unnecessary to inform their practitioner of consumption habits. Conclusion Healthcare professionals should include a nutritional supplement question in their routine history taking, especially when prescribing chronic medication and in the presence of chronic conditions. They should be knowledgeable regarding efficacy, safety, possible side-effects and drug interactions of commonly consumed nutritional supplements in order to advise patients appropriately. Further empirical research is needed into proven benefits of nutritional supplements.

A presente dissertação estuda as influências da renda e de outras variáveis demográficas sobre o orçamento de uma amostra de famílias de onze regiões metropolitanas brasileiras constantes na POF – Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares de 1995/1996, preparada pelo IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. O referencial teórico discute conceitos de sociedade de consumo de massa, sociedade de consumo no Brasil, modelos de comportamento do consumidor, influências da renda na composição do orçamento familiar e a importância de outras variáveis que influenciam os padrões de consumo de uma família. Por meio de uma metodologia descritiva e quantitativa, é apresentado um conjunto de tabelas e gráficos referentes às categorias de despesa que compõem o orçamento familiar. É analisado o padrão de comprometimento da renda nos diferentes níveis de renda familiar e sugerida uma operacionalização dos conceitos de renda discricionária e não discricionária para a amostra de famílias estudadas. Para fins de apresentação do uso da POF pelos profissionais de marketing, são realizados diversos cortes de análise que podem ser aplicados em estudos de segmentação e determinação do potencial de mercado de um produto ou serviço. O conjunto de análises realizadas sugere que o orçamento familiar e os padrões de consumo são influenciados pela renda familiar. O comportamento das categorias de despesa familiar também varia conforme o nível de renda. Além disso, verifica-se o potencial de aplicação da base de dados POF em estudos mercadológicos, em razão do amplo conjunto de variáveis que detalham o comportamento de consumo da família. Os estudos realizados podem servir como ponto de partida para o cruzamento de dados da POF com edições posteriores, como por exemplo a de 2002/2003, permitindo uma análise de corte longitudinal. / This essay studies the influences of income and other demographic variables over the budget of a sample of families living in eleven Brazilian metropolitan regions taking part in the POF (Family Budget Survey) prepared by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) in the period of 1995/1996. The essay discusses concepts of mass consumption society, consumer market in Brazil, consumer behavior models, income influences composing family budget and the importance of other variables that affect the consumption patterns in a family. Using a quantitative and descriptive methodology, it is presented a set of tables and graphs referring to the expense categories that compose the family budget. It is analyzed the income compromising pattern in different levels of family income and suggested a way to become operational the concepts of discretional and non-discretional income for the sample of families in study. In order to present the use of POF by marketing people, several analysis-cutting were put into practice. They can be applied in segmentation studies and be used to determine the market sales potential of a product or service. The carried out set of analyses suggests that the family budget and the consumption patterns are influenced by the family income. The conduct of the categories of family expenditures also varies according to the income level. Furthermore, we can notice the application potential of the POF data base in marketing studies because of the wide set of variables that details the family consumption behavior. The accomplished studies can be used as a starting-point to cross the POF data with further publications, for example the 2002/2003 publication, allowing a longitudinal analysis-cutting.