Investigation of multiple strategies for healthy meal promotion oriented to older consumers

Publikation: Bog/antologi/afhandling/rapportPh.d.-afhandling

  • Xiao Zhou
The rapid aging of the world population has deepened the challenges of ensuring this expanding segment to enjoy a healthy diet. Effective dietary interventions to promote healthy eating can help older people to make healthy food choice and increase healthy food intake, which contribute to both good physical condition and ultimately better quality of life. Currently, the task of understanding which dietary interventions can effectively promote healthy diets for older consumers, and why, is a developing field. Nowadays, monotonous appearance, limited foodoptions and single-vegetable choice of delivered meals are common for older consumers. A healthy diet should contains large amounts of foods of plant origin, restricted foods of animal origin and few highly processed foods. To help promote healthy meals for older consumers, this PhD study evaluated the effectiveness of behavioural intervention and sensory modification on older consumers’ food choice, intake, acceptance and preference. Specifically, we measured the effects of innovative presentation strategies on food consumption and preference of visually appealing healthy meals. Veggie balls as a healthy meal option for older consumers was ‘nudged’ by using the concept of ‘dish of the day’ in cafeteria setting. Moreover, a smooth, high-energy maize soup with an attractive topping was selected to encourage food and energy intake. Finally, a visually appealing and healthy homedelivered meal was designed to compete with more traditional home-delivered meals by investigating the importance of dish attributes on older consumers’ meal preferences. Making use of these healthy meals, the overall purpose of this PhD study was to provide knowledge towards the promotion of healthy meal for older consumers by investigating individual consumer factors, external eating environmental factors and meal modifications. S
OriginalsprogEngelsk
ForlagDepartment of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen
StatusUdgivet - 2019

ID: 248852402