Food Choice Motive Profiles and Nutrition Claims in Brazil: Perceived Healthiness and Substitution Intentions in a...

This study aimed to identify consumer profiles based on their food choice motivations and their perceptions toward foods with nutrition claims (NCs).

The final sample consisted of 412 Brazilian consumers who answered to an online questionnaire. To measure food choice motives, The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS) was used. The Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21 (TFEQ-R21) was employed to assess cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating. Participants evaluated pairs of conventional foods and versions with nutrition claims (e.g. chocolate vs sugar-free chocolate, bread vs gluten-free bread, requeijão (cream-cheese) vs light requeijão, yogurt vs high-protein yogurt, milk vs lactose-free milk) in terms of perceived healthiness and likelihood of substitution in a weight-loss context.

Five clusters were identified, characterized by focus on: a) hedonic aspects, b) overall aspects, c) context, d) health and weight control, e) no concerns. Differences in perceived healthiness between clusters for NC foods were found only for high-protein yogurt and light cream-cheese. No differences were observed between clusters in the likelihood of substituting any conventional food with its NC version in a weight-loss diet context. It was noted that the positive effect of NCs on perceived healthiness influenced all consumer profiles in a similar way.

These findings highlight the urgent need to improve public understanding of what NC actually mean and in which dietary contexts substituting conventional foods with claimed alternatives is appropriate. They also reinforce the importance of stricter regulation of NC on ultra-processed foods, so that these messages do not undermine healthy eating and weight-management efforts.