CONSUMER-BEHAVIOR AND NUTRITION EDUCATION - AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

This article examines knowledge from consumer behavior theory, research and methods that has contributed to nutrition education for promoting healthful food choices among adult consumers. Three content areas are reviewed: nutrition labeling, consumer shopping behavior, and point of choice nutrition interventions. The research clearly shows that many consumers want nutrition information, but that they often do not employ it because it is hard to use, not readily available, or not perceived as useful or new. Food shoppers have been found to consider nutrition as only one of several factors influencing purchases. Point of choice nutrition interventions in restaurants and supermarkets can be effective when they use highly visible and targeted messages. Consumer Information Processing and Social Learning Theory are helpful frameworks for future research and practice. Also, there is a need for the methods traditionally used in consumer behavior research to be better integrated into community nutrition education studies, in order to achieve and demonstrate the effectiveness of nutrition interventions and their successful application in settings where consumers select food.