The Role Disease and Demographic Factors in Functional Food Consumption of Restaurant Consumers

Abstract

Functional foods; it has been defined as food similar to traditional food, which is intended to be consumed as part of a normal diet, but modified to fulfill physiological roles beyond providing simple nutrient requirements. The increasing wealth of the developed world's inhabitants, the aging of the population and the accompanying increase in health problems contribute to the increased interest in functional foods. In this direction, the aim of the study is; The aim of this study is to examine whether functional food consumption of restaurant consumers differ according to demographic characteristics (age, gender, education level, income level) and disease factors. The universe of the research consists of restaurant consumers on the European Side of Istanbul. Quantitative research method was used in the research and questionnaire technique was used as data collection tool. In this direction; Prepared surveys were administered to 271 restaurant consumers between August and October 2021. As a result of the analyzes made; It has been observed that the functional food consumption tendencies of restaurant consumers differ significantly according to gender. In other analyzes of the research; It was determined that age, education level, income level and presence of disease did not make a significant difference in functional food consumption.