This is the second in a series of articles outlining the results of a major study of European attitudes, beliefs and practices relating to food, carried out by the Institute of European Food Studies (1).

Europeans are constantly exposed to a multitude of messages about food. However little is known about the effect this is having on people's understanding of nutritional issues. This article gives an insight into the type and quality of information people are currently aware of, and provides a valuable insight on useful channels for communicating future nutrition and health messages. Data from interviews with over 14,000 people, aged 15 and upwards, from all over Europe was analysed to find out how many people are interested in food and health issues, what sources of information they use, and how much they trust these sources.

Who is interested?

During the survey people were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement 'I frequently look for information on healthy eating'. Overall 45% of EU citizens agreed with the statement. There was considerable variation between countries; for example only a third of Irish and Dutch people regularly seek food and health information, compared to three quarters of Italians.

Further analyses of people who were interested showed that women, people between the ages of 35 and 54 and those with secondary or higher education were the groups most highly represented. Overall only 15% of people in the EU reported that they do not look for any information on healthy eating at all.

Where people find information

The same sources of food and health information were frequently the same in all member states. These were: TV/radio, magazines, newspapers, health professionals, food packaging, relatives and friends (see Figure 1). The most popular source varied between countries. For example, health professionals were most frequently selected in Belgium, France, Greece, and Portugal, whereas TV and radio were the top information providers in the remaining countries (apart from the Italians and Spanish who gave equal weight to health professionals and the electronic media).

There was a greater variation between member states in the use of food packaging, supermarkets and consumer organisations. For example only one in ten of Greek and Irish people used food packaging, compared to one in three of Belgians and Swiss.

Generally Government Agencies were an infrequent source of food information. This may have been because people did not realise the actual source of their information is the government. Alternatively it could be because the channels used for government communication, such as leaflets in clinics, are less effective than the mass media (Figure 1).

Who do people trust?

The level of trust in the various sources of information was relatively consistent between member states and typical of those shown in Figure 2.

In general the level of trust was similar to usage for the mass media, whereas much greater trust was put in the advice given by health professionals and government agencies. In fact the level of trust in the latter sources is over 80% for health professionals in all member states, and 70% or more for government sources. Advertising was the least trusted. There were little differences in trust between males and females, level of education and employment status, but older people tended to be somewhat less trusting than other age groups.

Quality assurance

These results confirm that people are exposed to nutrition information from a variety of sources and that much nutrition information is obtained from the mass media or casually from friends and family. There is no guarantee that these sources are providing good quality information. However, people appear to recognise this, as the media tends to be less trusted than health professionals and government agencies.

People who obtain little information on food are typically males, older people and those with lower levels of education. Clearly very different strategies to improve nutritional knowledge would be needed to appeal to these diverse groups.

National Priorities

The study highlights that there is a variation in information sources, trust and interest in food information on healthy eating between member states. Professor Michael Gibney, the Director of the Institute of European Food Studies who carried out the study said:

"Each country needs to identify which groups of people are priorities for nutrition education and devise strategies especially tailored to their needs. It is important that people who need to change their diets are made aware of it, and that they obtain valid positive information."

References

1. A pan-EU survey of Consumer Attitudes to Food, Nutrition and Health (1996) Report no.
2. Influences on food choice and sources of information on healthy eating. Institute of European Food Studies.

FOOD TODAY 08/1998