Encouraging Young Adults to Make Healthier Food Alternatives - Literature review Example

?A Mobile Application Tool, Which Uses Persuasive Design to Encourage Young Adults to Make Healthier Food Alternatives Table of Contents Chapter 2: Literature Review 3 2.1 Introduction 3 2.2 Unhealthy Eating Behaviours and Obesity 3 2.2.1 What Is a Balanced Diet 4 2.2.2 How Eating Behaviours Are Developed of Young Adults 4 2.2.3 The Risks of Unhealthy Eating/Obesity 6 2.3 Parents Role for Forming a Basis of Healthier Foods 8 2.4 Tackling Health Problems with Applications 9 2.5 Persuasive Technology in Encouraging Healthier Food Choices 11 2.5.1 BJ Fogg’s Model 12 2.5.2 Food Labelling 14 2.6 Theoretical User Requirement 14 2.7 Summary 15 References 16 Bibliography 20 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The purpose of the chapter is to conduct a literature review on unhealthy eating behaviours of young adults, the scenario related to food labelling within the United Kingdom and the role of persuasive technology in encouraging healthier food choices in order to gain an in-depth comprehension about the prevailing circumstances. Furthermore, the chapter is also based on reviewing the works of different authors about the aspects of balanced diet, the development of eating behaviour risks owing to unhealthy eating along with parents’ role in shaping the behaviour towards food choices. Different persuasive technologies that are used for shaping the attitudes of people towards healthy food choices have also been described in this chapter. 2.2 Unhealthy Eating Behaviours and Obesity Poor eating behaviour is regarded as a key public concern within young adults particularly during educational and early career life (Hampshire County Council, 2007). During this time, they are exposed to a lot of pressure from study and work related circumstances in order to meet the daily requirements and at times they find themselves in a prevalent scenario wherein they hardly find time to eat healthy foods in a regular expected duration, thereby they often revert to unhealthy food options (Hampshire County Council, 2007). These aspects generate a barrier against the adoption of healthy behaviour such as unhealthy eating habits and substance abuse among others (Hampshire County Council, 2007). Although these behaviours are regarded as temporary, at this age, the unhealthy eating habits can persist in the life of older adults (Hampshire County Council, 2007). Rapid changes in physical health and psychological developments have positioned young grownups as a nutritionally vulnerable group with weak eating behaviours who are unable to satisfy the dietary requirements (Hampshire County Council, 2007). Therefore, it can be recognised that in order to tackle the scenario of unhealthy eating behaviours and allied obesity, there is a requirement for young adults to focus on consuming a balanced diet which can enable them to nurture desired physical developments. 2.2.1 What Is a Balanced Diet In order to encourage healthy eating practices, balanced diet is important for young adults. According to School of Public Health (n.d.), balanced diet supports good health and helps to maintain a fit body for individuals. The development of a healthy eating habit facilitates an individual to become easily accustomed to balanced food intake behaviour. . For any balanced diet, it is particularly important to obtain the right amount and right type of foods. Unfortunately, most of the young individuals do not consume healthy diets which at times result in the creation of heart related illness and overweight (School of Public Health, n.d.). Along with ensuring a focus on balanced diet, there is a profound need to derive an understanding of how eating behaviours of young individuals are developed. 2.2.2 How Eating Behaviours Are Developed of Young Adults There are several aspects which determine the eating behaviour among individuals. For example, according to King & et. al. (2007), at times environmental factors bring about unhealthy behaviours among young adults. The growing number of shopping malls, convenience stores, restaurants and fast food outlets has often acted as a driving force for young adults to practice unhealthy eating behaviours. Furthermore, the research of Gan & et. al. (2011) reveals that students and other young individuals tend to select their foods on the basis of cost and availability of fast food offerings. It signifies that they are often attracted to cheaper alternatives along with the food offerings that are commonly available which might not be a healthy option. Besides, low level of understanding regarding the selection of healthy foods can also have an impact on eating behaviour and nutritional status of individuals (Gan & et. al., 2011). Correspondingly, a study conducted by Ganasegeran & et. al., (2012) reveals that students fail to meet the recommended intakes of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, rather they have high tendency of eating fast foods (Ganasegeran & et. al., 2012). According to Savage & et. al. (2007), eating behaviour evolves during the initial phases of life, as biological and behavioural procedures play a critical role towards satisfying the requirements of health and growth. In human history, food scarcity has always constituted a key threat for survival and the eating habits of human beings have also evolved in reaction to the threats (Savage & et. al., 2007). Since people are born into extensive variety of cultures, they arrive with a set of omnivores and behavioural predispositions that permits to learn and accept the food, available for them. Throughout historical circumstances, families had been dedicated towards the procurement and preparation of foods. In sharp distinction, the eating habits of young people develop under unprecedented conditions of dietary abundance, where delicious, low-cost and ready-to-eat foods are readily available (Savage & et. al., 2007). In accordance with the study of Eliassen (2011), development of eating habits is a dynamic procedure which starts in early stages and endures throughout life. Eliassen (2011) has stated eating habits as food preferences, patterns of food acceptance and rejection and amount of foods consumption. Genetics and the environment in which foods are presented are two major aspects that reinforce the development of eating behaviour. Furthermore, the parents who provide biological predisposition also have an impact on their children’s taste perception and hence eating habits. Each family member along with caregiver interacting with young individuals has also the possibility to develop eating behaviour (Eliassen, 2011) 2.2.3 The Risks of Unhealthy Eating/Obesity Unhealthy eating is liable for several health related problems that create a major obstacle in today’s society. Unhealthy eating is regarded as a key risk aspect for obesity, nutritional deficits and numerous chronic illnesses (Boyers, 2013). Apart from declining health, inadequate nutrition also leads to the spending of billions of dollars in medical expenses (Boyers, 2013). According to World Health Organisation (2009), unhealthy diets, particularly those foods having high level of fat, sugar or salt are regarded as a leading cause for non-communicable illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes among others. In the context of the concerned discussion, it is important to derive an understanding of the profound health related risks that might arise due to the continued consumption of unhealthy food as it might facilitate to create awareness amid the young adults and it might also act as a deterrent for them, coercing them to engage in healthier food eating options. In order to prevent the risks related to unhealthy eating and form a basis of healthier foods, the role of parents of the young adults becomes extremely essential. 2.3 Parents Role for Forming a Basis of Healthier Foods It is often acknowledged that eating behaviour acquired during childhood can continue through adulthood. Johannsen & et. al., (2006) stated that parents play a vital part in the development of a child’s food preferences and food consumption habit. Children nourishing activities such as employing excessive control on the level of eating can lead to the problem of obesity. Parents can emphasise towards controlling food eating activities by either restricting the access to junk foods or encouraging their children to eat healthy foods. Parents can also use a blend of these tactics in order to get desired outcomes, for instance, parents can force a child to take healthy food by providing rewards. However, this approach can result in increased desire for and overconsumption of restricted foods, when children are permitted for free access to them. Ventrura & Birch (2008) state that pressurising children to eat healthy foods as a dietary practice does not at times appear to be a way of reinforcement. The other key aspect in this context is conditioning, which is one of the learning methods used by parents in order to regulate eating behaviour. Brown & Ogden (2004) recommend that forcing children to accept certain behaviour can have a negative impact on eating habits. According to Brown & Ogden (2004), restriction is a direct feeding strategy which is quite popular among parents to form the basis of what children choose to eat. Although parents use this strategy in order to control the eating behaviour but it can also backfire. In reality, children at times might attempt to break out of this restrictive environment by engaging deliberately in unhealthy eating practices. Utilising restriction can enhance the passion and preference of children towards certain restricted foods. Thus, when children are provided the freedom to select foods when they become young, they consume restricted snacks more in comparison with unrestricted ones. Attractiveness towards restricted aspects is the characteristic of human being and young adults are no exception in this context. Accordingly, parents who do not permit their children to access unhealthy foods can become magnetised by them (Yekani & et. al., 2013). Apart from the invaluable role that can be played by parents to form the basis of healthier food eating habit, there is a need to curve out new technological based mechanisms that can act as a decisive application to tackle health problems. 2.4 Tackling Health Problems with Applications The purpose of this section is to derive an understanding regarding the way in which health related problems such as obesity and unhealthy eating behaviours can be tackled with the aid different computer based applications. The importance of this section can be affirmed from the fact that the aim of the dissertation is to investigate whether persuasive design can inspire and induce young adults to select healthier alternative food choices on a mobile application. It has been recognised that in the modern era with the proliferation of smartphone and with the use of supportive operating systems such as android, the use of various apps has enhanced for the benefit of the user. The interactive features used in the apps are facilitating users to be aware of their present health status such as the amount of calorie consumed by them among others. According to an article presented by University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (2012), computing based smartphone applications such as myfitnesspal, Calorie Tracker, Diet Assistant, Tap & Track and Google Goggles have emerged as invaluable aids for the individuals that significantly complement a number of diverse healthy lifestyles. Correspondingly, myfitnesspal app facilitates to attain fitness goals of an individual by guiding to eat right kind of foods (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2012). The use of persuasive design is apparent in this kind of apps wherein it provides nutritional information for a number of food items that an individual eats throughout a day which can enable the person to keep a track of his/her assortment of consumption. Thus, the person with the aid of apparent results can be convinced to do away with certain kinds of food items that are unhealthy for consumption. Similarly, Calorie Tracker facilitates the users by rendering the benefits of a comprehensive food database including aspects such as ethnic and organic foods. Likewise, Tap and Track app enables to calculate the calorie requirements for an individual and subsequently it recommends the amount of calorie that should be eaten per day (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2012). Todd & et. al. (2010) exemplify theoretically the way in which nudging could enable to persuade shoppers to choose healthy food products based on information that are simplified. The notion of persuasive shopping needs to be acknowledged as a critical factor. A persuasive shopping trolley based application named iCART has been evaluated (Todd & et. al., 2010). iCART is an influential application fixed on shopping trolley which intends to encourage healthy consumer behaviour and generate awareness. Usually, supermarket products are diverse in nature, ranging from non-processed foods to complex processed foods (Kallehave & et. al., 2011). Besides, young individuals also find it challenging to change their behaviour while shopping and select well-known products (Kallehave & et. al., 2011). In this context, the overall thought of iCART is that every food items can be divided on the basis of nutritional level and the classification of foods would be represented each time shoppers put a product in the trolley (Kallehave & et. al., 2011). There are other applications which have developed in order to make healthier food alternatives. For example, Fooducate is a popular application which provides simple and concise explanations about different food products. This application facilitates to grade every food product according to A, B or C in keeping with nutrition facts and ingredients. As a result, this application provides recommendations to such processed food products which are naturally rich and have nutrients (Fooducate LTD., 2013). The other application is GoMeals application which assists to make healthy lifestyle choices for people. This application comprises instruments for healthy eating, staying fit and monitoring the glucose level. The food tracker feature of GoMeals facilitates to provide nutritional values and to select healthier food alternatives. This in turn results in ensuring and taking better decisive choices for the users (Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC, 2013). Therefore, it can be affirmed that the use of technology can certainly facilitate to imbibe healthier eating habits amid the individuals along with aiding them to monitor their present health status. The constant use of such technologies can be a path-breaking option to deal with the problems of unhealthy eating habit along with obesity. 2.5 Persuasive Technology in Encouraging Healthier Food Choices Persuasive technology has a vital role to play for people’s regular decision making. For example, through persuasive technology, people can derive a better understanding about the nutritional information associated with any kind of food (Lee & et. al., 2011). With regard to persuasive technology, it can be observed that the application makes use of persuasive messages or calorie based information that act as a crucial factor to change the attitude of people. According to Chairs & et. al., (2009), persuasive technology has a great practical possibility to enhance health by boosting minimisation of alcohol intake, along with reducing smoking, increasing exercise and engaging in healthy eating. 2.5.1 BJ Fogg’s Model Fogg (2009) highlighted that in order to make changes in behaviour through persuasive technology there is a need to understand the type of behaviour that would be materialised. For instance, website advertisements are created in an anticipation that people would click on that link and act accordingly. On the other hand, website services are developed in the anticipation that it would persuade a lifetime habit among users. Fogg has developed a behaviour grid by dividing behaviour changes in two axes. Figure 1 demonstrates behaviour grid with sample behaviour change. Figure 1: Source: (Fogg, 2009) Fogg proposed that every cell in behaviour grid matches to explicit set of psychological concepts, persuasion policies and design techniques. In keeping with Fogg’s model, it is evident that behaviour changes occur primarily because of certain psychological constructs which can aid to develop persuasive technology in a comprehensive manner. In this regard, the comprehension of the concept of food labelling would be vital to derive greater understanding. 2.5.2 Food Labelling According to Wansink & Chandon (2006), one of the most important persuasive techniques for healthy eating is food labelling. In the present day context, customers request for more information about the attributes of foods in terms of nutritional components, manufacturing procedure and origin of food products. Thus, labelling is used in order to satisfy the individuals regarding increased demand of food information and to make intelligent food selection. Labelling a food with respect to fat or carbohydrate can help to change behaviour of people towards selecting foods (Henneberry & Armbruster, 2003). 2.6 Theoretical User Requirement Concerning the customers behaviour towards purchasing of food products, one key theoretical requirement has been identified namely food labelling. Labelling of food with respect to fat or carbohydrate can assist in changing the behaviour of people towards food selection. In this context, it can be stated that persuasive technology has provided new approach to deliver food-labelling information to the customer at the point of making purchasing decision. Given the popularity of self-observation system which concentrates on encouraging change in dietary habits, food labelling can also be included in persuasive technology in order to change the behaviour of customers to take more healthy eating habits (Maitland & et. al., 2006). 2.7 Summary Unhealthy eating behaviour along with obesity has grabbed the attention of a wider array of people in recent years. Due to such scenario, people have started to search for better alternatives in order to ensure that they are able to make more rational choices. In this regard, persuasive technology has a major role to play in order to encourage better decision making amid young adults. Ascertaining healthier food alternatives is a critical decision for any individual. In this regard, persuasive design can enable people to refrain from making undesirable food eating choices. References Boyers, L., 2013. What Are the Consequences of Not Eating Healthy? Hearst Communications Inc. 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