Leveraging Food-Related Values for Impact in Community Nutrition Education Programs (Interventions)

Abstract

This study draws attention to the potential benefits of leveraging food values to amplify the impact of nutrition education programs. The study has collected data via a telephone survey from 417 randomly selected residents in Guilford County in the state of North Carolina. In our analysis, we have identified and used three underlying dimensions (ethical, social environmental and sensory) that summarize and capture the meaning of food-related values instead of a list of food values commonly used in the literature. Researchers have then used these dimensions as clustering variables to produce three segments from the data: value-positive, value-negative, and hedonic. Results show that residents in the value positive segment had positive perceptions of all values, those in value negative segment had negative perception of all values, and those in the hedonic segment had only positive perception of sensory values. A key finding is that value-positive residents have healthier food-related lifestyles and food-related behaviors than residents in the other segments. Interventions should focus on value-negative and hedonic residents and emphasize value-based education tailored to strengthening social/environmental and ethical food values. To ensure success, interventions should graft healthier lifestyle habits and behaviors on familiar behaviors and lifestyle.