Skip to main content

Do Consumers Care About Micronutrients? A Perspective on the Possible Role of Vitamin E in the Dietary Choices of Consumers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Vitamin E in Human Health

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

  • 1072 Accesses

Abstract

Most consumers are aware of the link between eating and health and have learned basic nutritional concepts. While we know very little about what consumers know about vitamin E, the level of knowledge of the average consumer is most likely low, as the debate about healthy eating has been dominated by issues around macronutrients. To the extent that consumers have such knowledge, it may be discrepant from nutritional facts, as consumers often obtain information on health and nutrition from websites with limited control over the accuracy of the information and with sometimes questionable means of evaluating the reliability of the source. However, existing knowledge about the role of nutrition information in consumer decision-making suggests that the effects of such knowledge are not big anyhow. Any efforts to change consumers’ intake of vitamin E by changes in volitional behaviour are likely to be difficult unless they can be linked to a specific health concern.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Adams SA. Revisiting the online health information reliability debate in the wake of “web 2.0”: An inter-disciplinary literature and website review. Int J Med Inform. 2010;79:391–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Beatty SE, Smith SM. External search effort: an investigation across several product categories. J Consum Res. 1987;14:83–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bech-Larsen T, Grunert KG. The perceived healthiness of functional foods: A conjoint study of Danish, Finnish and American consumers’ perception of functional foods. Appetite. 2003;40:9–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Brucks M. The effects of product class knowledge on information search behavior. J Consum Res. 1985;12:1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bucklin LP. Testing propensities to shop. J Mark. 1966;30(1):22–7.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bundgaard L, Bech-Larsen T. Kostinformation og nye medier – en forundersøgelse om anvendelse og tillid. DCA report, Aarhus University. 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Chapman K, Ogden J. How do people change their diet? An exploration into mechanisms of dietary change. J Health Psychol. 2009;14:1229–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Chrysochou P, Askegaard S, Grunert KG, Kristensen DB. Social discourses of healthy eating. A market segmentation approach. Appetite. 2010;55:288–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Dickson-Spillmann M, Siegrist M, Keller C. Development and validation of a short, consumer-oriented nutrition knowledge questionnaire. Appetite. 2011;56:617–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Evans JSB. Dual-processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annu Rev Psychol. 2008;59:255–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Grunert KG, Wills JM. A review of European research on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels. J Public Health. 2007;15:385–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Grunert KG, Fernández-Celemín L, Wills JM, genannt Bonsmann SS, Nureeva L. Use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels in six European countries. J Public Health. 2010;18:261–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Grunert KG, Hieke S, Juhl HJ. Consumer wants and use of ingredient and nutrition information for alcoholic drinks: a cross-cultural study in six EU countries. Food Qual Prefer. 2018;63:107–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Grunert KG, Wills J, Celemín LF, Lähteenmäki L, Scholderer J, genannt Bonsmann SS. Socio-demographic and attitudinal determinants of nutrition knowledge of food shoppers in six European countries. Food Qual Prefer. 2012;26:166–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Guo C. A review on consumer external search: amount and determinants. J Bus Psychol. 2001;15:505–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hersey JC, Wohlgenant KC, Arsenault JE, Kosa KM, Muth MK. Effects of front-of-package and shelf nutrition labelling systems on consumers. Nutr Rev. 2013;71:1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Hieke S, Cascanette T, Pravst I, Kaur A, Van Trijp H, Verbeke W, Grunert KG. The role of health-related claims and symbols in consumer behaviour. Agro Food Industry Hi Tech. 2016;27:3.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Hoefkens C, Verbeke W, Van Camp J. European consumers’ perceived importance of qualifying and disqualifying nutrients in food choices. Food Qual Prefer. 2011;22:550–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hung Y, Grunert KG, Hoefkens C, Hieke S, Verbeke W. Motivation outweighs ability in explaining European consumers’ use of health claims. Food Qual Prefer. 2017;58:34–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Jacoby J, Chestnut RW, Fisher WA. A behavioural process approach to information acquisition in nondurable purchasing. J Mark Res. 1978;15:532–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Jensen BB, Lähteenmäki L, Grunert KG, Brown KA, Timotijevic L, Barnett J, et al. Changing micronutrient intake through (voluntary) behaviour change. The case of folate. Appetite. 2012;58:1014–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Jiang P, Rosenbloom B. Consumer knowledge and external pre-purchase information search: a meta-analysis of the evidence. In: Consumer culture theory. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited; 2014. p. 353–89.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Kahneman D. Thinking, fast and slow: New York, NY: Macmillan; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Kleef EV, Dagevos H. The growing role of front-of-pack nutrition profile information: a consumer perspective on key issues and controversies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2015;55:291–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Königstorfer J, Gröppel-Klein A. Wahrnehmungs-und Kaufverhaltenswirkungen von Nährwertkennzeichen auf Lebensmitteln. Marketing ZFP. 2012;34:213–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Lederman R, Fan H, Smith S, Chang S. Who can you trust? Credibility assessment in online health forums. Health Policy Technol. 2014;3:13–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Metzger MJ, Flanagin AJ, Eyal K, Lemus DR, McCann RM. Credibility for the 21st century: integrating perspectives on source, message, and media credibility in the contemporary media environment. Ann Int Comm Assoc. 2003;27:293–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Miller LMS, Cassady DL. The effects of nutrition knowledge on food label use. A review of the literature. Appetite. 2015;92:207–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Moore WL, Lehmann DR. Individual differences in search for a nondurable. J Consum Res. 1980;7:296–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Niedzwiedzka B, Mazzocchi M, Aschemann-Witzel J, Gennaro L, Verbeke W, Traill WB. Determinants of information behaviour and information literacy related to healthy eating among internet users in five European countries. Inform Res. 2014;19(3)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Parmenter K, Wardle J. Development of a general nutrition knowledge questionnaire for adults. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999;53:298.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Petty RE, Cacioppo JT. The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In: Communication and persuasion. New York: Springer; 1986. p. 1–24.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  33. Rains SA, Karmikel CD. Health information-seeking and perceptions of website credibility: examining web-use orientation, message characteristics, and structural features of websites. Comput Hum Behav. 2009;25:544–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Roininen K, Lähteenmäki L, Tuorila H. Quantification of consumer attitudes to health and hedonic characteristics of foods. Appetite. 1999;33:71–88.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Russo JE. The value of unit price information. J Mark Res. 1977;14:193–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Russo JE, Leclerc F. An eye-fixation analysis of choice processes for consumer nondurables. J Consum Res. 1994;21:274–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Schmidt JB, Spreng RA. A proposed model of external consumer information search. J Acad Mark Sci. 1996;24:246–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Sillence E, Briggs P, Harris P, Fishwick L. A framework for understanding trust factors in web-based health advice. Int J Hum Comput Stud. 2006;64:697–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Spiteri Cornish L, Moraes C. The impact of consumer confusion on nutrition literacy and subsequent dietary behavior. Psychol Market. 2015;32:558–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Stancu V, Grunert KG, Lähteenmäki L. Consumer inferences from different versions of a beta-glucans health claim. Food Qual Prefer. 2017;60:81–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Thøgersen J, Jørgensen AK, Sandager S. Consumer decision making regarding a “green” everyday product. Psychol Market. 2012;29:187–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Tsai CC, Tsai SH, Zeng-Treitler Q, Liang BA. Patient-centered consumer health social network websites: a pilot study of quality of user-generated health information. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, 1137. 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Van Herpen E, Van Trijp HC. Front-of-pack nutrition labels. Their effect on attention and choices when consumers have varying goals and time constraints. Appetite. 2011;57:148–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Verbeke W, Frewer LJ, Scholderer J, De Brabander HF. Why consumers behave as they do with respect to food safety and risk information. Anal Chim Acta. 2007;586:2–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Verplanken B, Wood W. Interventions to break and create consumer habits. J Public Policy Mark. 2006;25:90–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Wardle J, Parmenter K, Waller J. Nutrition knowledge and food intake. Appetite. 2000;34:269–75.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Klaus G. Grunert .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Grunert, K.G. (2019). Do Consumers Care About Micronutrients? A Perspective on the Possible Role of Vitamin E in the Dietary Choices of Consumers. In: Weber, P., Birringer, M., Blumberg, J., Eggersdorfer, M., Frank, J. (eds) Vitamin E in Human Health. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05315-4_30

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05315-4_30

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05314-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05315-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics