Use of online food delivery services among young adults in Depok City: Factors affecting the frequency of online food ordering and consumption of high-risk food

Abstract

Purpose: The increasing desire of the community towards fulfilling the practical needs of life is currently accommodated by the rapid development of communication technology in the last five years in Indonesia. One example is the emergence of various food delivery applications. This will affect the pattern of daily food consumption in the community. Therefore, this study determined the personal and socio-environmental factors that influence the frequency of online food ordering (OFO) behavior and also high-risk food consumption through online food delivery services (OFDS) among young adults in Depok City.   Theoritical Framework: This study adopts the social cognitive theory, developed by Bandura, as its framework. This theory is one of the most widely applied theories to discusses the determinants of health behavior. It is built on an understanding of the interactions that occur between individuals and environment.   Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study conducted with 686 participants of young adults aged 20–39 years that lived in Depok City, West Java Province, Indonesia, for minimal the last six months. They were administered a questionnaire through Alchemer, formerly SurveyGizmo. Descriptive statistics were employed for all variables measured. A T-test and a Chi-square test were conducted to determine the factors influencing the OFO frequency and high-risk food consumption through OFDS. Predictor variables were generated using multi-logistic regression models.   Results: The personal and socio-environmental factors related to the frequency of OFO behavior were attitudes toward risk, benefit, barriers, features of OFDS, satisfaction with OFDS, socio-environmental influence, perception about OFDS, and online food preference. Furthermore, the factors associated with high-risk food consumption through OFDS were attitudes toward benefit, features, satisfaction with OFDS, socio-environmental influence, perception about OFDS, online food preference, and knowledge of OFDS. The predictor for the frequency of OFO behavior was satisfaction toward OFDS (ß = 3.3; CI: 2.4–4.7; p-value <0.001), while those for high-risk food consumption were personal and socio-environmental factors (ß = 1.8; CI: 1.3–2.5; p-value = 0.001 and ß = 1.7; CI: 1.2–2.4; p-value = 0.001, respectively).   Conclusions: Satisfaction, social environment, and food preference play essential roles in OFDS. The findings demonstrated the urgency of conducting further studies to elaborate on the association of OFDS with non-communicable diseases.