Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / John A. Fox / We designed a mail survey to investigate consumer choices between whole-grain and
regular grain products. Consumption of whole-grain foods has been linked to numerous health
benefits including reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The prevalence of obesity
has increased in recent decades and has been shown to be negatively correlated with education
levels and income.
Data from the survey are used to investigate correlations between the likelihood of
choosing whole-grain alternatives and various demographic and behavioral characteristics
including an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI). We also investigate the impact on consumer
choices of providing information about the health benefits of whole-grain foods.
Results indicate that education level and the use of food labels are both positively
correlated with the likelihood of choosing whole-grain foods. Provision of information about
health benefits also had a positive impact on the likelihood of choosing a whole-grain over a
conventional grain product, but given a low sample size in this study the effect was not
statistically significant. Choices were found to be largely insensitive to changes in relative
prices, and no correlation was found between BMI and the likelihood of choosing a whole-grain
product.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/958 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Scott, Willie Henry Jr. |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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