There is an increasing awareness in the food industry about the role that
proper nutrition plays in maintaining health and preventing disease. Women
especially have always been interested in nutrition and its impact on their
well-being. This awareness has placed more pressure on the food industry to
provide a greater variety of nutritious and wholesome products which has led
to the development of a new field in the food industry, called functional foods.
These are food products that apart from the micro- and macronutrients that it
already provides have additional important physiologically active functions
that enhance health. These active components, called phytochemicals (from
plant sources) and zoochemicals (from animal sources) have changed the role
of diet in health. Functional foods can, by nature or design, bridge the
traditional gap between food and medicine and thereby provide consumers
with the opportunity to become involved in their own health care. One of these
functional foods that have been receiving increased attention and research is
soy. Apart from other health benefits of soy, such as cholesterol reduction and
bone strengthening, scientific evidence has shown that soy can be used as an
alternative for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The increased interest in
the latter can be ascribed to the changed attitude of women, as well as
evidence of the side effects of conventional hormone replacement therapies.
Consumer research in the nutraceutical area is, however, still in its infancy
stage.
Objective:
The main objective of this study was thus to assess South African consumers'
opinion of the potential health benefits of soy and soy products as an
alternative for HRT. To attain this main objective, the following specific
objectives were stated:
To determine, by means of a consumer questionnaire, the percentage of
South African consumers who are aware of soy.
To determine, by means of an attitude scale, the attitudinal disposition
of South African consumers towards the potential health benefits of
soy and soy products as an alternative for HRT.
To determine South African consumers' opinions regarding the
menopausal related health benefits of soy.
To determine whether there is a relation between respondents who
Eat/drink soy and their opinion of the potential health benefits of soy.
To determine whether there is a relation between respondents who
never use soy and their opinion of the bone strengthening benefit of
soy.
To determine whether there is a relation between respondents' opinion
of the health benefits of soy and their opinions of soy as an alternative
for HRT and reliever of menopausal symptoms, respectively.
Methods:
In this study, consumers' opinion regarding the health benefits of soy was
evaluated using a questionnaire. Respondents were randomly selected from
nine metropolitan, as well as rural areas in South Africa, representing the four
main race groups, namely whites, blacks, coloureds and Indians. The total
sample size of the metropolitan and rural subjects was 3001. A sub-dataset
was created which included female respondents that have heard of soy before
and were premenopausal (35-44 years) and post-menopausal (50-59 years) of
age. Thus, the total number of respondents used for further statistical analyses
was 825. The respondents expressed their opinions of the health benefits of
soy on a five-point hedonic (Likert) scale which was adapted to a three-point
scale for easier interpretation of the tables.
Results:
1. Of the 3 001 respondents, 2 437 (80%) were aware of soy.
2. A mean attitudinal disposition score of 2.47 on a three-point scale
indicated a neutral to positive attitudinal disposition of the South
African consumer population towards the potential health benefits of
soy and soy products as alternative for HRT. No practically significant
differences were found between the mean values of each statement,
which indicated that no specifically strong opinions were expressed
between different races or between different age groups.
3. Of all the consumers surveyed and those who did express a specific
opinion, 72% agreed that soy has many health benefits compared to
only 7% who disagreed. Although 34% of South Africans expressed a
positive opinion when asked if soy can be used as alternative for HRT,
the majority (46%) of the population had a neutral opinion. Forty-two
percent of the consumers who held an opinion regarding soy as reliever
of menopausal symptoms were positive, 35% had a neutral opinion and
23% of South Africans did not agree that soy can relieve menopausal
symptoms.
4. A relation, although not of practical significance, was found between
respondents who eat/drink soy and their opinion of the health benefits
of soy. Of the respondents who indicated that they eat/drink soy, the
majority agreed that soy has many health benefits. The respondents
who disagreed when asked if they eat/drink soy, still expressed an
overall positive opinion when asked whether soy has many health
benefits.
5. A relation, although not of practical significance, was found between
respondents who never use soy and their opinion of the bone
strengthening benefit of soy. Of those who indicated that they use soy,
the majority agreed that soy has a bone strengthening benefit. On the
contrary, only 43% of those who agreed that they never use soy were
positive about the bone strengthening benefit of soy, whereas 37% held
a neutral opinion and 20% expressed a negative opinion.
6. The relation between respondents' opinion of the overall health
benefits of soy and their opinion of soy as alternative for HRT and
reliever of menopausal symptoms was of practical significance. Of the
respondents who did not agree that soy has many health benefits, the
majority expressed a negative opinion of soy as an alternative for HRT.
Of those who agreed that soy has many health benefits, 45% expressed
a neutral opinion and 44% a positive opinion of soy as alternative for
HRT. Almost half (47%) of the respondents who agreed that soy does
have many health benefits, expressed a neutral opinion when asked if
soy can relieve menopausal symptoms, whereas only 30% had a
positive opinion in this regard. The majority (86%) of the respondents
who disagreed that soy has many health benefits, also expressed a
negative opinion of soy as reliever for menopausal symptoms
Conclusion:
The results of this study indicate that 80% of the South African consumer
population are aware of soy and that South African consumers have a neutral
to positive attitudinal disposition towards the potential health benefits of soy.
Respondents did not express a particularly strong opinion regarding several
health benefits of soy. It may be hypothesized that they are not informed well
enough on the health benefits of soy as to take a stand and to form a definite
opinion. Neither different race groups, nor pre- or post-menopausal women
differ significantly in the frequency of their opinions, indicating that in this
study, race and age did not have a practical significant influence on opinion of
the health benefits of soy.
Of all those surveyed and who did express a specific opinion, 72% agreed that
soy has many health benefits, which is almost the same percentage (74%) as
American consumers who perceive soy products as healthy as according to the
United Soybean Board (USB) National Report (2003-2004:4). A survey by
Adams (2001:433) reported that 71% of American consumers believed that
plant-derived HRT have fewer risks and can thus be used as a safe alterative
for conventional HRT. According to the results of the present study only 34%
of South African consumers expressed a positive opinion when asked if soy
can be used as an alternative for HRT. Insufficient evidence on the safety and
efficacy of the potential health benefits of soy, as well as a lack of consumer
education in South Africa, could be the reason for this uncertainty among
XIV
South African consumers. While only 26% of American consumers are aware
that soy might relieve menopausal symptoms (USB National Report, 2003-
2004:4), results of the current study found that 42% of South Africans were of
opinion that soy can relieve menopausal symptoms.
A relation, although not of practical significance, was found between
respondents who eat/drink soy and their opinion of the health benefits of soy.
This can be an indication that whether or not the South African consumer
population consume soy doesn't have an influence on their opinion of soy's
health benefits in practice. The relation found between respondents who never
use soy and their opinion of the bone strengthening benefit of soy were not of
practical significance. This can be an indication that whether or not South
Africans use soy does not influence their opinion of the bone strengthening
benefit of soy in practice. Furthermore, a practically significant relation was
found between respondents' opinion of the overall health benefits of soy and
their opinion of soy as alternative for HRT and reliever of menopausal
symptoms, respectively. Interestingly, respondents who expressed a positive
opinion regarding the health benefits of soy did not have a convincingly
positive opinion of soy as alternative for HRT and as reliever of menopausal
symptoms. They expressed a more neutral opinion. As expected, consumers
that were not of opinion that soy has certain health benefits, also disagreed
when asked if soy can be used as an alternative for HRT or as reliever of
menopausal symptoms.
Although the causes for the respondents' opinion or uncertainty were not
determined in this study, it can be hypothesised that it may be due to lack of
standardisation of evidence on the safety and efficacy of alternative hormone
replacement therapies. Further studies are still needed to determine the
contributing factors which influence consumers' opinion or lack of opinion on
soy. If consumers are not educated about the benefits and disadvantages of
soy as alternative for HRT, they cannot make intelligent decisions and
choices as to whether or not to use soy as alternative for HRT. / Thesis (M. Consumer Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/338 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Van Wyk de Vries, Anel |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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