Motivation: Diet and nutrition are important factors in the promotion and maintenance of good health throughout the entire life course. Their role as determinants of chronic noncommunicable diseases is well established. Alterations in diet, both positive and negative have strong effects on health throughout life. Consumers' awareness of a diet-disease relationship may stimulate interest in learning more about nutrition thus acquiring necessary knowledge for dietary improvement and disease prevention. Objectives: • To investigate South African metropolitan consumers beliefs and attitudes about the link between food and health. • To explore the demographic characteristics and beliefs of South African consumers regarding the link between food and health; and to investigate whether differences exist in this belief between gender, race, age group and Living Standard Measures (LSM). Methodology: One thousand nine hundred and ninety seven South African adults (≥16 years), representing the four major race groups of South Africa, were selected by stratified random sampling from metropolitan areas in South Africa. The sample was weighted based on the South African 2000 National census data, to be representative of the adult metropolitan population based on gender, age and race distribution. Trained field workers administered the questionnaire by conducting face-to-face interviews with South African consumers. The questionnaire was designed by a multidisciplinary team and contained a number of statements on eating habits, food and health. Results: There were no practically significant differences in consumers' responses in terms of gender or age. Practically significant differences were found between different race and LSM groups for some variables. A small practically significant difference was observed among the races in statement 1, and between LSM 2 to 3 and LSM 7 to 10; and between LSM 4 to 6 and LSM 7 to 10 in statement 1 and statement 6. In statement 2, a small practically significant difference was observed between Whites and Coloureds. Statement 4 indicated a small practically significant difference between Blacks and Indians. A medium practically significant difference was found between LSM 2 to 3 and LSM 7 to 10 for statement 4. A small practically significant difference was evident between Whites and Blacks; and between Blacks and Coloureds in statement 6. A medium practically significant difference was found between Blacks and lndians in statement 6. The overall response of South African consumers towards the belief that food has an effect on health, that food can influence health and the development of some diseases, and that healthy food is only for people that have a disease, was very positive. However 56% of South African consumers do not want to have to think about disease when choosing food. Conclusion: Results from this study reveal that South African consumers have some understanding of the dietdisease relationship and believe that there is some link between food and health. This belief however differs between age, gender, race and LSM group. However, more research with regards what influences people's eating behaviour, attitudes towards healthy food and beliefs about the dietdisease relationship needs to be done in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Sc.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005

Motivation: Diet and nutrition are important factors in the promotion and maintenance of good health throughout the entire life course. Their role as determinants of chronic noncommunicable diseases is well established. Alterations in diet, both positive and negative have strong effects on health throughout life. Consumers' awareness of a diet-disease relationship may stimulate interest in learning more about nutrition thus acquiring necessary knowledge for dietary improvement and disease prevention. Objectives: • To investigate South African metropolitan consumers beliefs and attitudes about the link between food and health. • To explore the demographic characteristics and beliefs of South African consumers regarding the link between food and health; and to investigate whether differences exist in this belief between gender, race, age group and Living Standard Measures (LSM). Methodology: One thousand nine hundred and ninety seven South African adults (≥16 years), representing the four major race groups of South Africa, were selected by stratified random sampling from metropolitan areas in South Africa. The sample was weighted based on the South African 2000 National census data, to be representative of the adult metropolitan population based on gender, age and race distribution. Trained field workers administered the questionnaire by conducting face-to-face interviews with South African consumers. The questionnaire was designed by a multidisciplinary team and contained a number of statements on eating habits, food and health. Results: There were no practically significant differences in consumers' responses in terms of gender or age. Practically significant differences were found between different race and LSM groups for some variables. A small practically significant difference was observed among the races in statement 1, and between LSM 2 to 3 and LSM 7 to 10; and between LSM 4 to 6 and LSM 7 to 10 in statement 1 and statement 6. In statement 2, a small practically significant difference was observed between Whites and Coloureds. Statement 4 indicated a small practically significant difference between Blacks and Indians. A medium practically significant difference was found between LSM 2 to 3 and LSM 7 to 10 for statement 4. A small practically significant difference was evident between Whites and Blacks; and between Blacks and Coloureds in statement 6. A medium practically significant difference was found between Blacks and lndians in statement 6. The overall response of South African consumers towards the belief that food has an effect on health, that food can influence health and the development of some diseases, and that healthy food is only for people that have a disease, was very positive. However 56% of South African consumers do not want to have to think about disease when choosing food. Conclusion: Results from this study reveal that South African consumers have some understanding of the dietdisease relationship and believe that there is some link between food and health. This belief however differs between age, gender, race and LSM group. However, more research with regards what influences people's eating behaviour, attitudes towards healthy food and beliefs about the dietdisease relationship needs to be done in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Sc.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005

A need exists to assist South Africans to make better informed food choices. The food label has the potential to assist consumers during food purchasing; however, consumers should be able to understand and use the information provided on food labels. Objective: To investigate adult consumers' understanding regarding the information on food labels and to determine whether they use the information on food labels in making food choices. Design: A cross-sectional and descriptive research approach was followed and data were collected by means of questionnaires. Combined stratified and judgemental sampling methods recruited 174 respondents involved in the purchasing of household food products. Setting: Selected supermarkets in Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp in the North West Province, South Africa, were targeted. Subjects: Consumers of African descent and Caucasian consumers, 18 years or older, who are involved in the purchasing of household food products. Results: Information mostly used on food labels includes the expiry date, ingredient list and nutritional information, such as fat and cholesterol content. Consistently, greater use of "low in fat" and "low in cholesterol" nutrient content claims were cited. Difficulties associated with food labels were mainly indicated as the font size of the print, whereas reasons for not reading food labels were related to product attributes, demographic characteristics and situational factors. Conclusions: Findings indicate that the food choices of the majority of respondents who read food labels are influenced by the information on the food label, although respondents' understanding of the information revealed an inability to apply food label information to make food choices. Reasons for not reading food labels included opinions like the "taste and price are more important than the nutritional content of the food product", "experiencing time constraints", and "lack of education and nutritional knowledge". This study highlighted barriers in consumers' understanding and use of information on food labels. Improvements to the current food labels in South Africa are suggested, as well as guidelines for consumer education regarding the use of food labels. / Thesis (M. Consumer Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

A need exists to assist South Africans to make better informed food choices. The food label has the potential to assist consumers during food purchasing; however, consumers should be able to understand and use the information provided on food labels. Objective: To investigate adult consumers' understanding regarding the information on food labels and to determine whether they use the information on food labels in making food choices. Design: A cross-sectional and descriptive research approach was followed and data were collected by means of questionnaires. Combined stratified and judgemental sampling methods recruited 174 respondents involved in the purchasing of household food products. Setting: Selected supermarkets in Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp in the North West Province, South Africa, were targeted. Subjects: Consumers of African descent and Caucasian consumers, 18 years or older, who are involved in the purchasing of household food products. Results: Information mostly used on food labels includes the expiry date, ingredient list and nutritional information, such as fat and cholesterol content. Consistently, greater use of "low in fat" and "low in cholesterol" nutrient content claims were cited. Difficulties associated with food labels were mainly indicated as the font size of the print, whereas reasons for not reading food labels were related to product attributes, demographic characteristics and situational factors. Conclusions: Findings indicate that the food choices of the majority of respondents who read food labels are influenced by the information on the food label, although respondents' understanding of the information revealed an inability to apply food label information to make food choices. Reasons for not reading food labels included opinions like the "taste and price are more important than the nutritional content of the food product", "experiencing time constraints", and "lack of education and nutritional knowledge". This study highlighted barriers in consumers' understanding and use of information on food labels. Improvements to the current food labels in South Africa are suggested, as well as guidelines for consumer education regarding the use of food labels. / Thesis (M. Consumer Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Functionally low-literate consumers may often struggle to complete everyday adult tasks, such as reading food labels. Food labels are an important source of information for consumers, and assist them to make informed and wise food purchase decisions. However, the manner in which functionally low-literate consumers read, understand and apply this information to their decisionmaking, is different to literate consumers, and minimal research has been conducted regarding functionally low-literate consumers and their use of food labels in South Africa. This study was conducted in a predominantly low-literate and low-income rural area of Valspan, South Africa. Therefore, using food labels to make healthy and financially sound food choices may be considered especially important for this group of consumers. The current study served to conduct an in-depth literature review of functionally low-literate consumers‟ use of food labels in a rural area; explore whether and how functionally low-literate consumers use (read, understand and apply to decision-making) food label information; explore and describe the differences between the demographic characteristics of low-literate consumers and their use (reading, understanding and application) of food labels; make recommendations to educators on how functionally low-literate consumers can improve their use of food labels in a rural area; as well as to make recommendations on how food labels can be adapted to be more user-friendly to functionally low-literate consumers. Data was collected, using 292 interviewer administrated questionnaires, using purposive criterion sampling. The inclusion criteria for respondents were that they: had to be older than 18 years, living in Valspan and must have completed between grades 5 and 8 at school. Data analysis was done, using descriptive statistics, T-tests, ANOVA‟s, Spearman‟s rank order correlations and two-way frequency tables. Effect sizes were taken into consideration for all differences and associations. The results showed that respondents in this study did read food labels. They were also able to understand some simple aspects of the food label, but struggled with other aspects. When respondents struggled to understand food labels, they were selective about who they would ask to assist them, favouring the help of familiar family members and friends. Regarding the respondents‟ ability to apply food label information to their decision-making, respondents were able to identify several store logos, probably due to their tendency to pictorial thinking. Food-related calculations were relatively well completed; however, certain calculation-related terminology was not well understood by respondents. Food label symbols were not well identified, indicating that respondents did not have a good understanding of the meaning of these symbols. Literacy is vital to the use of food labels, as respondents who showed higher literacy levels showed a tendency towards better understanding of food label information, food label symbols and store logos. They also tended to be better equipped to correctly execute product-related calculations. Regarding demographics, respondents who spoke English and Afrikaans and who had a higher income had a tendency to better understand food label information, than respondents who spoke other languages and belonged to lower-income groups. If food labels are adapted, so that even lowliterate consumers are able to efficiently use food labels, they will be able to make informed and wise food product choices. This situation would be beneficial to low-literate and low-income consumers, marketers and retailers, as products with usable labels may consequently become the preferred choice of low-literate consumers and money wary low-income consumers. Additionally, marketers and retailers would be able to capitalise on the mass purchasing power that this target market represents. / M. Consumer Science, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Functionally low-literate consumers may often struggle to complete everyday adult tasks, such as reading food labels. Food labels are an important source of information for consumers, and assist them to make informed and wise food purchase decisions. However, the manner in which functionally low-literate consumers read, understand and apply this information to their decisionmaking, is different to literate consumers, and minimal research has been conducted regarding functionally low-literate consumers and their use of food labels in South Africa. This study was conducted in a predominantly low-literate and low-income rural area of Valspan, South Africa. Therefore, using food labels to make healthy and financially sound food choices may be considered especially important for this group of consumers. The current study served to conduct an in-depth literature review of functionally low-literate consumers‟ use of food labels in a rural area; explore whether and how functionally low-literate consumers use (read, understand and apply to decision-making) food label information; explore and describe the differences between the demographic characteristics of low-literate consumers and their use (reading, understanding and application) of food labels; make recommendations to educators on how functionally low-literate consumers can improve their use of food labels in a rural area; as well as to make recommendations on how food labels can be adapted to be more user-friendly to functionally low-literate consumers. Data was collected, using 292 interviewer administrated questionnaires, using purposive criterion sampling. The inclusion criteria for respondents were that they: had to be older than 18 years, living in Valspan and must have completed between grades 5 and 8 at school. Data analysis was done, using descriptive statistics, T-tests, ANOVA‟s, Spearman‟s rank order correlations and two-way frequency tables. Effect sizes were taken into consideration for all differences and associations. The results showed that respondents in this study did read food labels. They were also able to understand some simple aspects of the food label, but struggled with other aspects. When respondents struggled to understand food labels, they were selective about who they would ask to assist them, favouring the help of familiar family members and friends. Regarding the respondents‟ ability to apply food label information to their decision-making, respondents were able to identify several store logos, probably due to their tendency to pictorial thinking. Food-related calculations were relatively well completed; however, certain calculation-related terminology was not well understood by respondents. Food label symbols were not well identified, indicating that respondents did not have a good understanding of the meaning of these symbols. Literacy is vital to the use of food labels, as respondents who showed higher literacy levels showed a tendency towards better understanding of food label information, food label symbols and store logos. They also tended to be better equipped to correctly execute product-related calculations. Regarding demographics, respondents who spoke English and Afrikaans and who had a higher income had a tendency to better understand food label information, than respondents who spoke other languages and belonged to lower-income groups. If food labels are adapted, so that even lowliterate consumers are able to efficiently use food labels, they will be able to make informed and wise food product choices. This situation would be beneficial to low-literate and low-income consumers, marketers and retailers, as products with usable labels may consequently become the preferred choice of low-literate consumers and money wary low-income consumers. Additionally, marketers and retailers would be able to capitalise on the mass purchasing power that this target market represents. / M. Consumer Science, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014