Health and taste attitudes in the prediction of use frequency and choice between less healthy and more healthy snacks

Health and Taste Attitude scales developed by Roininen, Lahteenmaki and Tuo rila, (1999). Quantification of consumer attitudes to health and hedonic ch aracteristics of foods. Appetite, in press, were used in predicting choices among a 'healthy' (apple) or an 'unhealthy' (chocolate bar) food for a sna ck. A total of 144 respondents (15-60 years, mean 32 years of age) first co mpleted Health and Taste Attitude questionnaires and then chose a snack (ap ple or chocolate bar) as a reward for their participation; these choices we re recorded. In the second part of the study 1 week later, the respondents first chose a snack (an apple or chocolate bar) and then rated the pleasant ness, healthiness, and use frequency of the snacks. The reported mean use f requency of apples was higher than that of chocolate bar, while in the choi ce task, subjects chose the chocolate bar more frequently. General health i nterest and Craving for sweet foods were good predictors of choices in the simple behavioral task and self-reported use frequencies of the products. F urthermore, Light product interest predicted choices and Using food as a re ward predicted the frequency of use. In conclusion, several Health and Tast e sub-scales proved to be useful in segmenting consumers. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.