PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Consumer Behavior”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

You eat what you are: modern health worries and the acceptance of natural and synthetic additives in functional foods.

There is an increasing array of functional foods available that are designed to confer health benefits. However, individuals' worries about new technology and modernity may influence the acceptance of these products. In this study, we investigated how modern health worries influence attitudes and decisions about functional foods. We asked participants (n=390) to rate pictures of products with either added vitamins or added scientific compounds. Each product shown purported to have one of three possible targeted effects: to reduce the likelihood of a disease, to reduce a risk factor associated with a disease, or to improve personal appearance. We found levels of modern health worries to be significantly associated with participants' reports of organic food consumption and presence of food allergies. Modern health worries were also significantly related to a preference for foods with natural as opposed to synthetic additives. Participants with higher levels of modern health worries had a greater acceptance of functional foods designed to reduce the likelihood of disease compared to participants with low modern health worries. Overall, the results suggested that modern health worries are an important psychological factor to consider with regards to attitudes toward functional foods.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Complementary and alternative medicine: Beyond users and nonusers.

BACKGROUND: Studies of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) commonly distinguish between "users" and "nonusers". OBJECTIVES: To examine the group of "users" of CAM practitioners' services, and to characterize its heterogeneity in relation to the conventional medicine system. DESIGN: The heterogeneity of CAM users was examined with respect to three variables: user-type-CAM only or both CAM and conventional therapies, provider-type-CAM provider is a medical doctor or not, and referral-type-by a physician or self-referral. METHODS: The data are drawn from two health surveys conducted among 4500 persons representing the Israeli Jewish urban population aged 45-75 in 1993 and in 2000. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses confirm the heterogeneity of CAM users, and indicate that the variation within "users" is often larger than the variation between "users" and "nonusers". CONCLUSIONS: For a better understanding of consumers' behavior with respect to CAM use, one must go beyond the classical classification of "users" versus "nonusers". The present analysis offers three additional dimensions-user-type, provider-type, and referral-type.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Correlations between growth parameters of spoilage micro-organisms and shelf-life of pork stored under air and modified atmosphere at -2, 4 and 10 degrees C.

The correlations of the growth parameters (the initial cell number (N(0)), maximum cell number (N(max)), maximum specific growth rate (mu(max)), lag-phase (lambda)) of typical spoilage micro-organisms (lactic acid bacteria (LAB), coliforms, pseudomonads, Brochothrix thermosphacta) growing on sliced pork to the sensory shelf-life and microbial shelf-life were investigated. The changes in sensory quality and proliferation of micro-organisms on pork shoulder were studied at different atmosphere conditions (air and 40%CO(2)/59%N(2)/1%O(2)) and temperatures (-2, 4 and 10 degrees C). Microbial counts were fitted to the modified-Gompertz equation to obtain the growth parameters of different micro-organisms. B. thermosphacta and coliforms were predominant bacteria associated with spoilage of pork under all temperatures and air conditions. However, pseudomonads could only dominate under regular atmosphere condition. Using multiple linear regression, high correlations were found between the lag-time (lambda) of LAB (0.9814, 0.9830), B. thermosphacta (0.9895, 0.9849), or the maximum specific growth rate (mu(max)) of coliforms (-0.9583, -0.9695) and the microbial shelf-life and sensory shelf-life, respectively. The mu(max) and lambda of micro-organisms correlated well with microbial and sensory shelf-life. The shelf-life of pork is mainly correlated with the growth parameters of mu(max) and lambda than by N(max).

Animals↗
PubMed2005

The interaction of the non-bacteriocinogenic Lactobacillus sakei 10A and lactocin S producing Lactobacillus sakei 148 towards Listeria monocytogenes on a model cooked ham.

Two lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus sakei subsp. carnosus (10A) and lactocin S producing Lactobacillus sakei 148 (LS5), were examined for their usefulness as protective culture in the biopreservation of cooked meat products. Co-culture experiments on a model cooked ham (MCH) between 10A or LS5 and a cocktail of three Listeria monocytogenes strains were performed to examine the influence of inoculum level (10(5) vs. 10(6)cfu/g), storage temperature (4 vs. 7 degrees C) and packaging type (vacuum-packaging vs. modified atmosphere-packaging). At 7 degrees C, applying Lactobacillus sakei 10A at 10(6) cfu/g limited the growth of Listeria monocytogenes to <1 log(10) cfu/g during 27 days, whilst an application level of 10(5) cfu/g failed to prevent growth to unacceptable levels. Lactobacillus sakei LS5 did not demonstrate an antagonistic effect towards Listeria monocytogenes. Lowering the temperature to 4 degrees C or switching from vacuum-packaging to modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) did not influence the ability of strain 10A to grow on the MCH, as its dominance did not change. A combination of strain 10A and 4 degrees C or a MAP containing 50% CO(2) completely inhibited the growth of Listeria monocytogenes. Sensory assessments and pH measurements confirmed that 10A, even when present at a high level for prolonged storage times, did not acidify the cooked ham to a point of sensory rejection.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Evaluation of meat born lactic acid bacteria as protective cultures for the biopreservation of cooked meat products.

In this study, 91 strains, originating from meat products, were subjected to a step-by-step screening and characterisation to search for potential protective cultures to be used in the cooked cured meat industry. Strains were first tested on their homofermentative and psychrotrophic character and salt tolerance. Secondly, the antibacterial capacities towards Listeria monocytogenes, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Leuconostoc carnosum and Brochotrix thermosphacta were determined in an agar spot test. In total, 38% of the tested strains were inhibitory towards all indicator strains. However, 91%, 88% and 74% of the strains could inhibit, respectively, L. monocytogenes, B. thermosphacta and Leuc. mesenteroides. Finally, 12 strains, with the highest antibacterial capacities, were evaluated on their competitive nature by comparing their growth rate, acidifying character and lactic acid production at 7 degrees C under anaerobic conditions in a liquid broth. All 12 strains, except for a bacteriocin producing Lactobacillus plantarum strain and the lactocin S producing Lactobacillus sakei 148, combined a fast growth rate with a deep and rapid acidification caused by the production of high levels of lactic acid. The 12 selected strains were then further investigated for their growth capacity on a model cooked ham product to establish whether the presence of these cultures on the ham did not negatively influence the sensory properties of the ham. All strains grew in 6 days at 7 degrees C from a level of 10(5)-10(6) to 10(7)-10(8) cfu/g and again the bacteriocin producing L. plantarum strain was the slowest growing strain. As the glucose level of the model cooked ham product was low (0.09+/-0.03%), growth of the putative protective cultures resulted in glucose depletion and a limited lactic acid production and accompanying pH decrease. Cooked ham inoculated with isolates 13E, 10A, 14A (all three identified as L. sakei subsp. carnosus by SDS-PAGE) and with strains L. sakei 148 (LS5) and L. sakei subsp. carnosus SAGA 777 (LS8) were not rejected by the sensory panel at the 34th day of the vacuum packaged storage at 7 degrees C. Therefore, these strains could have potential for the use as protective culture in cooked meat products.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of promotional materials on vending sales of low-fat items in teachers' lounges.

This study examined the impact of an environmental intervention in the form of promotional materials and increased availability of low-fat items on vending machine sales. Ten vending machines were selected and randomly assigned to one of three conditions: control, or one of two experimental conditions. Vending machines in the two intervention conditions received three additional low-fat selections. Low-fat items were promoted at two levels: labels (intervention I), and labels plus signs (intervention II). The number of individual items sold and the total revenue generated was recorded weekly for each machine for 4 weeks. Use of promotional materials resulted in a small, but not significant, increase in the number of low-fat items sold, although machine sales were not significantly impacted by the change in product selection. Results of this study, although not statistically significant, suggest that environmental change may be a realistic means of positively influencing consumer behavior.

Advertising↗
PubMed2006

Position of the American Dietetic Association: Agricultural and food biotechnology.

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that agricultural and food biotechnology techniques can enhance the quality, safety, nutritional value, and variety of food available for human consumption and increase the efficiency of food production, food processing, food distribution, and environmental and waste management. The American Dietetic Association encourages the government, food manufacturers, food commodity groups, and qualified food and nutrition professionals to work together to inform consumers about this new technology and encourage the availability of these products in the marketplace.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2006

Influence of alkalinity, hardness and dissolved solids on drinking water taste: A case study of consumer satisfaction.

Two surveys of consumer satisfaction with drinking water conducted by Taiwan Water Supply Corp. are presented in this study. The study results show that although a lot of money was invested to modify traditional treatment processes, over 60% of local residents still avoided drinking tap water. Over half of the respondents felt that sample TT (from the traditional treatment process) was not a good drinking water, whether in the first or second survey, whereas almost 60% of respondents felt that samples PA, PB, CCL and CT (from advanced treatment processes) were good to drink. For all drinking water samples, respondent satisfaction with a sample primarily depended on it having no unpleasant flavors. Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration plans to revise the drinking water quality standards for TH and TDS in the near future. The new standards require a lower TH concentration (from currently 400mg/L (as CaCO(3)) to 150mg/L (as CaCO(3))), and a lower TDS maximum admissible concentration from the current guideline of 600 to 250mg/L. Therefore, this study also evaluated the impacts on drinking water tastes caused by variations in TH and TDS concentrations, and assessed the need to issue more strict drinking water quality standards for TH and TDS. The research results showed that most respondents could not tell the difference in water taste among water samples with different TDS, TH and alkalinity. Furthermore, hardness was found to be inversely associated with cardiovascular diseases and cancers, and complying with more strict standards would lead most water facilities to invest billions of dollars to upgrade their treatment processes. Consequently, in terms of drinking water tastes alone, this study suggested that Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration should conduct more thorough reviews of the scientific literature that provides the rationale for setting standards and reconsider if it is necessary to revise drinking water quality standards for TH and TDS.

Calcium Carbonate↗
PubMed2003

Driving and alternatives: older drivers in Michigan.

METHOD: A statewide telephone survey of Michigan drivers and former drivers aged 65 and older collected information on transportation mode choices, experience with alternatives to driving, and whether drivers planned for when they could no longer drive. RESULTS: Results showed that most older adult households owned at least one automobile, and that the automobile was the primary mode of transportation. Most former drivers obtained rides from relatives and friends. Use of public transportation was low, and some seniors were not aware of available public transportation services. Older drivers did not plan for driving cessation. Over half the drivers who perceived a likelihood of driving problems within 5 years expected to keep driving beyond 5 years. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Because of their lifelong reliance on the automobile, their desire to drive themselves, and their lack of experience with public transportation, efforts to enhance the mobility of older people should consider this background while alternatives to the personal automobile are developed.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Changes in seafood consumer preference patterns and associated changes in risk exposure.

Consumers world-wide are driving changes in the agriculture and food sector. Rising consumer income, changing demographics and lifestyles, and shifting preferences due to new information about the links between diet and health all contribute to new demands for foods. At the same time, technological changes in production, processing and distribution, growth in large-scale retailing, and changes in product availability, as well as expansion of trade world wide, have contributed to a rapidly changing market for food products. Changes in seafood consumption reflect these changes. The changes in consumer consumption patterns, new technologies and trade in product offer both expanded markets as well as new challenges to consumer exposure to food-borne risks. The strict quality control requirements of retail brokers, growth of private labels, and development of value-protecting marketing channels have become increasingly important in food markets. This paper addresses major trends that affect seafood consumption and the market for seafood products and the implications of these changes for consumer risk exposure to food safety hazards. The current economic environment highlights similarities and differences between the developed and developing countries, as well as diversity worldwide in consumption of seafood. Within this context, four major trends affect consumer consumption of foods, including seafood and fish products today: rising income; changing demographics; changing markets for food; and an increasingly global market for food products. Changes in consumer risk exposure to food safety problems are addressed in the context of these trends.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Neural correlates of behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks.

Coca-Cola (Coke) and Pepsi are nearly identical in chemical composition, yet humans routinely display strong subjective preferences for one or the other. This simple observation raises the important question of how cultural messages combine with content to shape our perceptions; even to the point of modifying behavioral preferences for a primary reward like a sugared drink. We delivered Coke and Pepsi to human subjects in behavioral taste tests and also in passive experiments carried out during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Two conditions were examined: (1) anonymous delivery of Coke and Pepsi and (2) brand-cued delivery of Coke and Pepsi. For the anonymous task, we report a consistent neural response in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex that correlated with subjects' behavioral preferences for these beverages. In the brand-cued experiment, brand knowledge for one of the drinks had a dramatic influence on expressed behavioral preferences and on the measured brain responses.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Cosmetovigilance survey: are cosmetics considered safe by consumers?

Cosmetics are largely diffused substances topically applied to wash, to perfume or to improve the look, nevertheless the number of reported adverse reactions is very low, probably because of underreporting. This could be due to self-diagnosis and self-medication that is common in the presence of not severe reactions. In fact adverse reactions to cosmetics are generally not serious and frequently related to skin alterations. The aim of our study was to assess, through a questionnaire supplied by community pharmacists to the customers, the prevalence and characteristic of adverse cosmetic events (ACEs) reported by interviewed and the consequent measures adopted. To this aim ten Naples' community pharmacies were involved and pharmacists agreed to submit a specific questionnaire to all the customers of the pharmacy for two weeks between 9:00 a.m.-01:00 p.m. and 04:00 p.m.-08:00 p.m. from 1 to 15 June. The subjects interviewed were 4373, of them 845 refused to fill the questionnaire. Females responding to the questionnaire were 2716 and males 812. The 98.5% of the respondents reported to use cosmetics. Cosmetic users who experienced at least one ACE were 848 and 18.2% of them reported more than one event. Total adverse cosmetic events reported were 1507. A significant higher prevalence of adverse cosmetic events in women was observed, since the 26.5% of female cosmetic users experienced an adverse cosmetic event, whereas the percent was 17.4 for males. Concerning the type of adverse event, the 95.9% was a cutaneous event, whereas systemic events accounted for 4.1%. Among cutaneous reactions burning and itching were the most prominent and accounted for 36.3 and 32.9%, respectively. The most frequently reported systemic event was headache (40.3%) followed by nausea (24.2%). Product change (45.7%) and product suspension (39.6%), were the main specific measures adopted in the presence of ACEs. The general practitioner or the pharmacist were consulted only in the 6.8 and 6.3% of the episodes, respectively. In the 56.5% of the episodes consultation was not requested, whereas in the 26% a specialist was consulted. In conclusions our results, although supply information about ACEs and the consequent measures adopted by consumers of a restricted geographical area suggest that, due to the large use of these products and the relative high incidence of reported ACEs, the problem of cosmetic related injuries and the need of a system able to report, collect and evaluate them, cannot be ignored.

Consumer Behavior↗
PubMed2004

Pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a necessary link between phenomenology, neuropsychology, imagery and physiology.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by repetitive intrusive thoughts and compulsive time-consuming behaviors classified into three to five distinct symptom dimensions including: (1) aggressive/somatic obsessions with checking compulsions; (2) contamination concerns with washing compulsions; (3) symmetry obsessions with counting/ordering compulsions; (4) hoarding obsessions with collecting compulsions; and (5) sexual/religious concerns. Phenomenologically, OCD could be thought of as the irruption of internal signals centered on the erroneous perception that "something is wrong" in a specific situation. This generates severe anxiety, leading to recurrent behaviors aimed at reducing the emotional tension. In this paper, we examine how the abnormalities in brain activity reported in OCD can be interpreted in the light of physiology after consideration of various approaches (phenomenology, neuropsychology, neuroimmunology and neuroimagery) that contribute to proposing the central role of several cortical and subcortical regions, especially the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPC), the head of the caudate nucleus and the thalamus. The OFC is involved in the significance attributed to the consequences of action, thereby subserving decision-making, whereas the ACC is particularly activated in situations in which there are conflicting options and a high likelihood of making an error. The DLPC plays a critical part in the cognitive processing of relevant information. This cortical information is then integrated by the caudate nucleus, which controls behavioral programs. A dysfunction of these networks at one or several stages will result in the emergence and maintenance of repetitive thoughts and characteristic OCD behavior.

Diagnostic Imaging↗
PubMed2006

Lack of angiotensin II conversion to angiotensin III increases water but not alcohol consumption in aminopeptidase A-deficient mice.

Elevated central concentrations of the vasopressor octapeptide angiotensin (Ang) II increase the water intake in mammals. Recently, we showed that central AngII is also crucial in alcohol-consuming behavior. Since the heptapeptide AngIII, an AngII metabolite, is discussed to mediate AngII-related effects, we investigated water and alcohol consumption in mice, genetically deficient in aminopeptidase A (APA), a peptidase responsible for AngII conversion to AngIII. Sixteen male APA-deficient mice and their age matched wild-type controls were monitored on their water intake under basal conditions and total fluid and alcohol intake before and after social stress in a two-bottle free-choice paradigm. Alterations were connected to the regulation in activity of Ang-related peptidases (APA, ACE; ACE2) in brain regions involved in alcohol intake and peripheral organs. In comparison to their wild-type controls, APA-deficient mice drank significantly more water but not more alcohol at all investigated time points. A reduction in water intake, as observed in wild-type animals after social stress, did not occur in knockout mice. However, the reduction in alcohol consumption after social stress was significantly reduced in both strains. Alcohol consumption upregulated all three peptidases in the kidney, but not in lung. Notable, renal ACE2 activity was significantly higher in APA-deficient mice under basal condition. While the inhibition of AngII metabolism to AngIII does not influence the alcohol intake, water consumption in mice deficient for APA was significantly elevated. These differences induced by an altered AngII/AngIII ratio oppose the hypothesis that central AngII and AngIII act in a congruent pattern.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2006

Community involvement and socialization among individuals with mental retardation.

Mental retardation, a condition characterized by significantly lower than average intellectual ability and adaptive behavior deficits, currently affects between 2% and 3% of the population. Individuals with mental retardation experience many difficulties throughout their lives, with one such difficulty being that they have few opportunities for community involvement and often have few social relationships. To determine if increased community involvement and increased socialization are among the most common desires expressed by individuals with mental retardation, we conducted a study examining pre-existing data of 1348 individuals. The study focused on specific desires expressed by individuals with mental retardation--including, but not limited to, increased community involvement and increased socialization. Although these individuals expressed a wide variety of desires, they expressed a desire for increased community involvement most frequently. Individuals also frequently expressed a desire for increased socialization, change of residence, work-related changes, increased personal belongings, and increased personal activities. We discuss the importance of community involvement and socialization, the link between the two, interactions that could potentially exist among other expressed desires, and ways of increasing community involvement while addressing other desires that individuals with mental retardation expressed.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMed2005

Methodological challenges surrounding direct-to-consumer advertising research--the measurement conundrum.

OBJECTIVES: Numerous studies have focused on the impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising on consumer behavior and health outcomes. These studies have used various approaches to assess exposure to prescription drug advertising and to measure the subsequent effects of such advertisements. The objectives of this article are to (1) discuss measurement challenges involved in DTC advertising research, (2) summarize measurement approaches commonly identified in the literature, and (3) discuss contamination, time to action, and endogeneity as specific problems in measurement design and application. METHODS: We conducted a review of the professional literature to identify illustrative approaches to advertising measurement. Specifically, our review of the literature focused on measurement of DTC advertising exposure and effect. We used the hierarchy-of-effects model to guide our discussion of processing and communication effects. Other effects were characterized as target audience action, sales, market share, and profit. RESULTS: Overall, existing studies have used a variety of approaches to measure advertising exposure and effect, yet the ability of measures to produce a valid and reliable understanding of the effects of DTC advertising can be improved. Our review provides a framework for conceptualizing DTC measurement, and can be used to identify gaps in the literature not sufficiently addressed by existing measures. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers should continue to explore correlations between exposure and effect of DTC advertising, but are obliged to improve and validate measurement in this area.

Advertising↗
PubMed2004

Repeated follow-up as a method for reducing non-trading behaviour in discrete choice experiments.

Eliciting individuals' preferences using discrete choice experiments is becoming increasingly popular. An emerging issue is that some people do not trade, that is, their choices are consistent with them having a dominant preference. However, it may be the case that these individuals have not been presented with the 'right' trade-offs. This experiment presents individuals with trade-offs that are systematically varied in response to their previous answer. It is thus assessed whether individuals have truly dominant preferences or whether they will trade given the 'right' choices. The preferences studied are time preferences over future health states. After being presented with an initial discrete choice, 203 university students were asked a series of follow-up questions using a web-based questionnaire. Very little evidence of any dominant preferences was found in this sample of respondents. Only one subject did not trade duration and timing following repeated follow-up questions. This finding suggests that non-trading behaviour could be virtually eliminated by asking the 'right' questions.

Adult↗