Defense Master Thesis MSc Marketing Management
Consumers product preference and its effect on overweight
By Jorick van der Galiën S3180611
11-07-2018
Table of content
• Introduction
• Problem
• Relevance of the topic • Research question
• Conceptual model
• Processed food • Caloric rich food • Physical activity
• Hypotheses • Methodology
• Descriptives statistics
• Answers to the most important questions • Main findings
Introduction
• Problem:
• Obesity is a major problem: to the body, mentally and it is expensive • Obesisty has negative consequences:
• Disseases like diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure • Struggling with self-esteem
• Direct and indirect costs like increased health care and lower life expectancies
• The CBS shows that 50% of the Dutch population of > 20 has overweight
• Relevance of the topic:
• Obesity is litterly a growing problem
• The monetary share of processed food increases in the household budget • Studies show that obese people have a higher preference for caloric rich food
• Research question:
Processed food and caloric rich food, and physical activity
• Processed food:
• Is more energy dense, contain more sugar and saturated fat • Often related to a higher BMI
• Often taste good, this is according to mr. Bunt the most important driver when it comes to food preference behind price.
• Caloric rich food:
• Obese people often show a higher preference for caloric rich food • Obese people crave more for caloric rich food
• They also show higher brain activity while watching caloric rich food
• This basically supports the two statements above
• Physical activity
• Often negatively related to a BMI
Hypotheses
Number Hypotheses
1 The preference for processed products is positively related to overweight.
2 The preference for caloric rich food is positively related to overweight.
3A The relationship between the tendency to buy processed products and overweight is negatively
moderated by physical activity.
Methodology
• Sampling design:• Convenience sampling, accidental sampling
• Participants are accessible, live nearby and are willing to participate. However they are often also biased.
• Target group: Dutch people > 18
• Online distribution: WhatsApp, Facebook and email. Shared by colleagues, friends and co-students. • Survey is designed with the online service platform Qualtrics
• Materials used in the survey:
• Demographic questions • Physical activity
• Product preference (processed food) • Product preference (caloric food) • Academic scales
• Health
• Convenience
• Price consciousness
Descriptive Statistics
Gender Male: Female: 41,7% 58.3% Age Range: 18-30 31-50 51-65 >65 M = 37.3, SD = 15.36 45,8% 27,3% 23,2% 3,7% Household size Range:1 person 2 persons 3 persons 4 persons 5 persons 6 persons M = 2,8, SD = 1.29 17,1% 32,4% 16,2% 25,5% 6,9% 1,9% Income Range:
Far below average Below average A bit below average Average
A bit above average Above average Far above average
Findings of the most important questions
59,7% 11,6% 28,7% 57,9% 17,1%25,0% 40,7% 24,1%35,2% 64,4% 11,1%24,5% 46,3% 12,5% 41,2% 0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0% 100,0% N o n -p ro ce ss e d A ve rag e Pro ce ss e d N o n -p ro ce ss e d A ve rag e Pro ce ss e d N o n -p ro ce ss e d A ve rag e Pro ce ss e d N o n -p ro ce ss e d A ve rag e Pro ce se e d N o n -p ro ce ss e d A ve rag e Pro ce ss e d Beans Minched meatTomato sauce Cheese Pineapple
P er ce n tag es
Distribution based on: non-processed, average and processed
Distribution preference for processed food
31,9%23,6%44,5% 65,3% 4,6% 30,1% 56,0% 13,9%30,1% 39,3% 22,7%38,0%16,2%25,5% 58,3% 0,0% 20,0% 40,0% 60,0% 80,0% 100,0% Calo ri c p p o r A ve rag e Calo ri c ri ch Calo ri c p o o r A ve rag e Calo ri c ri ch Calo ri c p o o r A ve rag e Calo ri c ri ch Calo ri c p o o r A ve rag e Calo ri c ri ch Calo ri c p o o r A ve rag e Calo ri c ri ch
Cola Bread Milk Cheese Chips
P er ce n tag es
Distribution based on: caloric poor, average and caloric rich food
Distribution preference caloric rich food
0,5% 59,2% 40,3% 10,6% 0,0% 20,0% 40,0% 60,0% 80,0% 100,0% Underweight < 18,5 Normal weight 18,5 - 25 Overweight > 25 Obese > 30 P er ce n tag es
Distribution based on: underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese
Distribution of the participants BMI
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71 76 81 86 91 96 101 106 111 116 121 126 131 136 141 146 151 156 161 166 171 176 181 186 191 196 201 206 211 216 B MI v lau e
The distribution of the BMI (from low to high)
BMI values from low to high
Main findings
Results of the regression processed, food score on BMI
Processe d food
Gender Age Household size Education Income Constant: 26.65 β -.15 -1.28 .12 -.15 -.35 -.40 P .49 .03 <.001 .48 .08 .03
Results of the regression, caloric rich food score on BMI
Caloric rich food
Gender Age Household size Education Income Constant: 27.11 β -.26 -1.24 .13 -.15 -.40 -.42 P .13 .03 <.001 .49 .05 .03
Moderation effect of physical activity (PA) on the preference for processed products (PP) and the preference for caloric rich products in relation to overweight (BMI)
β P 95% confidence interval
Processed product
.138 .06 -.004 .280
Caloric rich food .063 .24 -.043 .170
Number Hypotheses Supp
orted 1 The preference for processed products is positively related to
overweight.
No
2 The preference for caloric rich food is positively related to overweight. No
3A The relationship between the tendency to buy processed products
and overweight is negatively moderated by physical activity. No
3B The relationship between the tendency to buy high-caloric products and overweight is negatively moderated by physical activity.
Conclusion
• The tendency to buy both, processed- and caloric rich food are insignificant predictors of a persons BMI.
• The control variables used in the study are significant in most cases. Income and
educational level are also part of someone's’ socio-economic status. Several studies state that socio-economic status is negatively related with overweight.
• Older people and men do have, in general, a higher BMI.
Limitations
• The selected products. Use different products or extent the current list used to measure the tendency to buy processed food or caloric rich food.
• Answers are given based on self-reported behavior. Therefore the preferences might be a bit different.
• Actual behavior might be different while doing the actual groceries.
• The survey was not that long and might have influenced the participants answers. • The number of participants is not very large. The sample is not representative for
Future research
• Consider real shopping data:
• There is more data, compared to the 216 participants in this study
• Limitations like the participants’ feeling and apperances might be taken out
• Consider other variables for explaining overweight
• Differences between men and women
• Focus on educational level. Why do persons with a higher education make healthier choices?
Thank you!
• First of all, Laurens:
• I enjoyed the collaboration during the entire process • You helped me through tough periods
• A lot of work had to be done in the final weekend
• Besides the thesis we really connected on the football aspect in life • A major thanks to you!
