Browsing by Author "Klava, Dace"
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- Benefits of dietary fibre for human health and eating habits in different countriesPublication . Leal, Marcela; Guiné, Raquel; Tarcea, Monica; Fazakas, Zita; Vittadinni, Elena; Klava, Dace; El-Kenawy, AymanBackground and Objectives: Because DF has unequivocally demonstrated many benefits for the human health, its consumption should be encouraged. In this way, this research aimed at identifying the eating habits regarding fibre rich foods and assessing the knowledge about the effects of DF as enhancers of human wellbeing. The study was undertaken simultaneously in five countries situated in different parts of the globe, namely South America (Argentina), Africa (Egypt), South Europe (Italy), Central Europe (Romania) and North Europe (Latvia). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on a non-probabilistic sample of 2290 participants from 5 countries. The data collection was made by a questionnaires translated into the native languages in all participating countries. Results: The consumption of vegetables and salads was higher for Argentina and lower for Egypt while fruits are more consumed in Italy and less in Latvia. Whole grains are more consumed in Latvia and Romania and less in Argentina and Italy. The knowledge about the benefits of DF for cardiovascular diseases and cholesterol is higher in Argentina, for bowel cancer and diabetes in Romania and for obesity and constipation in Latvia. Still, an important number of participants do not have opinions about the different health benefits of DF. Conclusions: In general, the participants showed a moderate consumption of vegetables and fruits but low in whole cereals. The level of knowledge about the effects of DF on human health is still far from desirable levels, and differs considerably from country to country.
- Benefits of dietary fibre to human health: study from a multi-country platformPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Duarte, João; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Leal, Marcela; Rumbak, Ivana; Baric, Irena; Komes, Drazenka; Satalic, Zvonimir; Saric, Marijana Matek; Tarcea, Monica; Fazakas, Zita; Jovanoska, Dijana; Vanevski, Dragoljub; Vittadini, Elena; Pellegrini, Nicoletta; Szucs, Viktória; Harangozó, Júlia; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; EL-Shenawy, Omnia; Yalçin, Erkan; Kösemeci, Cem; Klava, Dace; Straumite, EvitaPurpose: Because dietary fibre has been recognized as a major ally to the maintenance of a healthy body as well as to help against the development of some chronic diseases, this work aimed at studying the level of knowledge of a relatively wide range of people about the health effects related to the ingestion of dietary fibre in appropriate dosages. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 6010 participants. The data were collected from 10 countries in 3 different continents (Europe, Africa and America) and measured the level of knowledge regarding different health benefits from dietary fibre. The questionnaires were applied by direct interview after verbal informed consent. Findings: The results obtained considering the general level of knowledge revealed a considerable degree of information about the benefits of fibre (average score of 3.54±0.5, on a scale from 1 to 5). There were significant differences between genders (p<0.001), with higher average score for women, and also for level of education (p<0.001), with higher score for university level. The living environment also showed significant differences (p<0.001), with people living in urban areas showing a higher degree of knowledge. Also for countries the differences were significant (p<0.001), with the highest score obtained for Portugal (3.7), and the lowest for Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia and Romania (3.5). However, despite these differences, the results showed that for all the countries the degree of knowledge was good (above 3.5), corresponding to a minimum level of knowledge of 70%. Originality/Value: This work is considered important due to the wide coverage, including so many countries inclusive with different social and cultural settings. The study allowed concluding that, in general, the participants in the study were quite well informed about the benefits of dietary fibre for the improvement of human health, regardless of gender, level of education, living environment or country. This finding is very relevant considering the diversity of people that composed the sample and reinforces the necessity of continuing with educational policies aimed at providing the general population with the knowledge that might help them make appropriate food choices.
- Consumers’ Perceptions about Edible Insects’ Nutritional Value and Health Effects: Study Involving 14 CountriesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Florença, Sofia De Guiné E; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Correia, Paula; Boustani, Nada M.; Matran, Irina; Jakšić, Krešimir; Chuck-Hernández, Cristina; Bartkiene, Elena; Djekic, Ilija; Papageorgiou, Maria; Arias, Leticia G.; Korzeniowska, Malgorzata; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Klava, Dace; Ferreira, Vanessa; Damarli, Emel; Ferreira, ManuelaDownload PDFsettingsOrder Article Reprints This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon. Open AccessFeature PaperArticle Consumers’ Perceptions about Edible Insects’ Nutritional Value and Health Effects: Study Involving 14 Countries by Raquel P. F. Guiné 1,*ORCID,Sofia G. Florença 1ORCID,Cristina A. Costa 1ORCID,Paula M. R. Correia 1ORCID,Nada M. Boustani 2ORCID,Irina Matran 3ORCID,Krešimir Jakšić 4ORCID,Cristina Chuck-Hernández 5ORCID,Elena Bartkiene 6ORCID,Ilija Djekic 7ORCID,Maria Papageorgiou 8ORCID,Leticia G. Arias 9ORCID,Malgorzata Korzeniowska 10ORCID,Maša Černelič-Bizjak 11ORCID,Dace Klava 12ORCID,Vanessa Ferreira 13ORCID,Emel Damarli 14ORCID andManuela Ferreira 15ORCID 1 CERNAS-IPV Research Centre, Polytechnic University of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal 2 Faculty of Business and Administration, Saint Joseph University, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon 3 Department of Community Nutrition and Food Safety, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania 4 Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, 23000 Zadar, Croatia 5 Tecnologico de Monterrey, The Institute for Obesity Research, Monterrey 64849, Mexico 6 Department of Food Safety and Quality, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-47181 Kaunas, Lithuania 7 Department of Food Safety and Quality Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia 8 Department of Food Science and Technology, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece 9 BALAT Research Group, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of León, 24071 León, Spain 10 Faculty of Food Science, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland add Show full affiliation list * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Animals 2024, 14(11), 1631; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14111631 Submission received: 6 May 2024 / Revised: 25 May 2024 / Accepted: 29 May 2024 / Published: 30 May 2024 Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Versions Notes Simple Summary Climate change is one of the drivers of change towards sustainable food systems food security. Therefore, food security is a priority all around the world and across different sectors of society. Edible insects are recommended as a sustainable source of food of animal origin, but their acceptance is very diverse across cultures and countries. Therefore, our work investigated the perceptions of consumers about edible insects in 14 countries. We concluded that depending on origin, the level of knowledge is different, which is a starting point to design more focused campaigns to promote EIs, not only in non-insect-eating countries, but also in insect-eating countries. Better knowledge about the health effects of EIs and their nutritive value is a driver of change. Abstract Insects have been consumed for time immemorial in many regions of the globe. However, in other parts, they are not traditionally eaten. Because they are a more sustainable source of animal protein and provide valuable nutrients as well as bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on the human body, their consumption is encouraged. Knowledge can serve as a tool for better acceptance of insects as food. In this context, the present work investigated the knowledge about the nutritional value and health effects of edible insects in different countries. Data were collected by employing a questionnaire survey translated into the different languages of all participating countries and were treated using statistical tools. A total of 7222 responses were obtained. The results indicated that for many issues, the participants manifested a neutral opinion (neither agree nor disagree), but the participants who manifested agreement/disagreement were generally well informed. They were also able to identify untrue facts and answer accordingly by disagreeing. Factor analysis showed four groups of questions: nutritive value, negative perception and risks, safety and benefits of insects and contamination and harmful components. Finally, significant differences were observed according to the sociodemographic variables studies (sex, age, education, living environment and country), with age and country being the most influential of the sociodemographic factors on knowledge. Therefore, increasing knowledge is envisaged as an essential factor in augmenting the recognition of edible insects as a nutritional food, presenting health benefits apart from being a more sustainable source of animal protein when compared with beef or pork meats.
- Cultural dimensions associated with food choice: A survey based multi-country studyPublication . Djekic, Ilija; Bartkiene, Elena; Szűcs, Viktória; Tarcea, Monica; Klarin, Ivo; Černelić-Bizjak, Maša; Isoldi, Kathy; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; Ferreira, Vanessa; Klava, Dace; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Vittadini, Elena; Leal, Marcela; Frez-Muñoz, Lucia; Papageorgiou, Maria; Guiné, RaquelThe aim of this research was to analyze motivations behind food choices from a cross-cultural perspective. It presents results derived from a multi-country study associated with Hofstede's cultural dimensions. A total of 11,919 respondents from 16 countries took part in this research. Two groups of statements were included in the survey: ‘economic & availability motivations' and ‘social & cultural motivations'. Six Hofstede's cultural dimensions covered: Power Distance Index, Individualism–Collectivism Index, Masculinity–Femininity Index, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Term Orientation Index and Indulgence Restraint Index. This study confirmed that different cultural aspects have influence on food choice. A cluster analysis revealed two clusters as follows: ‘attitudinal’ cluster comprising of 11 countries (57.7% % of the total sample) opposed to the ‘ambivalent’ cluster (47.3%) consisting of the remaining five countries. The results confirm a correlation between Hofstede's dimensions, specifically with individualistic, feminine and tolerant societies. Obtained results may be of interest for different food and gastronomy stakeholders shifting their food policies from a local to a cross-cultural perspective.
- Determinants of economic motivations for food choice: insights for the understanding of consumer behaviourPublication . Martinho, Vítor; Bartkiene, Elena; Djekic, Ilija; Tarcea, Monica; Barić, Irena Colić; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Szűcs, Viktória; Sarcona, Alessandra; El-Kenawy, Ayman; Ferreira, Vanessa; Klava, Dace; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Vittadini, Elena; Leal, Marcela; Bolhuis, Dieuwerke; Papageorgiou, Maria; Guiné, Raquel P. F.Food consumption involves several dimensions, being some of them directly associated with the consumers’ characteristics. The interrelationships between these domains impact consumer behaviour for food choice and the consequent decisions for food consumption. In these frameworks, economic motivations are determinant. On the other hand, the scientific literature highlights that the economic-based stimuli to choose food is still underexplored. In this perspective, the objective of this study was to assess the main sociodemographic and anthropometric determinants of the economic motivations for food choice. For that, a questionnaire survey was carried out involving 11,919 respondents from 16 countries. A validated questionnaire was used, translated into the native languages in all participating countries, using a back-translation process. First, the information obtained was assessed through factor analysis to reduce the number of variables associated with the economic motivations and to identify indexes. After, and considering the indexes obtained as dependent variables, a classification and regression tree analysis was performed. As main insights, it is highlighted that the main determinants of the economic motivations are country of residence, age, gender, civil state, professional activity, educational level, living environment, responsibility for buying food, weight, height, body mass index, healthy diets and physical exercise practices. Additionally, the results also reveal that economic motivations may be associated with two indexes, one related to convenience attitudes and the other to quality concerns. Finally, the younger persons and the women are the social groups more concerned with healthy diets and food quality. In conclusion, this work confirmed that food choice is to a high extent influenced by several sociodemographic and behavioural factors.
- Edible Insects: Perceptions of Marketing, Economic, and Social Aspects among Citizens of Different CountriesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Florença, Sofia De Guiné E; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Correia, Paula; Cruz-Lopes, Luísa; Esteves, Bruno; Ferreira, Manuela; Fragata, Anabela; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Campos, Sofia; Anjos, Ofélia; Bartkiene, Elena; Djekic, Ilija; Matran, Irina M.; Čulin, Jelena; Klava, Dace; Chuck-Hernández, Cristina; Korzeniowska, Malgorzata; Boustani, Nada M.; Papageorgiou, Maria; Gutiérrez, Bernardo Prieto; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Damarli, Emel; Ferreira, VanessaBecause edible insects (EI) have been, in recent years, recommended as a nutritious animal protein food with enormous environmental advantages over other sources of animal protein for human consumption, studies aimed at investigating the consumer perspective have become more prominent. Hence, this study intended to examine the perceptions of participants from different countries about the commercialization and economic and social impacts of edible insects. The study was made using a questionnaire survey, and data were collected in Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey. The final number of received answers was 7222 participants. For the treatment of the results, different statistical techniques were used: factor analysis, internal reliability by Cronbach’s alpha, cluster analysis, ANOVA to test differences between groups, and Chi-square tests. The results obtained confirmed the validity of the scale, constituted by 12 out of the 14 items initially considered, distributed by 4 factors: the first related to the economic impact of EIs, the second related to the motivation for consumption of EIs, the third related to the places of purchase of EIs, and the fourth corresponding to a question presented to the participants as a false statement. A cluster analysis allowed identifying three clusters, with significant differences between them according to all the sociodemographic variables tested. Also, it was found that the participants expressed an exceptionally high level of agreement with aspects such as the difficulty in finding EIs on sale, knowledge acting as a strong motivator for EI consumption, and the role of personalities and influencers in increasing the will to consume EIs. Finally, practically all sociodemographic variables were found to be significantly associated with perceptions (country, sex, education, living environment, and income), but not age. In conclusion, the perceptions about EI commercialization were investigated and revealed differences among samples originating from different countries. Moreover, the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were found to be strongly associated with their perceptions.
- Emotions and Food Consumption: Emotional Eating Behavior in a European PopulationPublication . Ljubičić, Marija; Matek Sarić, Marijana; Klarin, Ivo; Rumbak, Ivana; Colić Barić, Irena; Ranilović, Jasmina; Dželalija, Boris; Sarić, Ana; Nakić, Dario; Djekic, Ilija; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Bartkiene, Elena; Papageorgiou, Maria; Tarcea, Monica; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Klava, Dace; Szűcs, Viktória; Vittadini, Elena; Bolhuis, Dieuwerke; Guiné, Raquel P. F.Emotion can reflect in the perception of food consumption. An increase in food intake during emotional and psychological conditions may have a negative impact on human health. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the associations between food consumption, emotional eating behavior, and emotional conditions such as stress, depression, loneliness, boredom eating, maintaining vigilance and alertness, and emotional food consolation. We used a Motivations for Food Choices Questionnaire (Eating Motivations, EATMOT) to determine the emotional aspects of food consumption in 9052 respondents living in 12 European countries between October 2017 and March 2018. Ordinal linear regression was used to identify the associations between the emotional eating behavior and emotional conditions such as stress, depression, loneliness, emotional consolation, and reasons to improve physical and psychological conditions. The regression models confirmed the associations between food consumption, emotional conditions, and emotional eating behavior. Associations were found between the emotional eating behavior and stress (odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07–1.60, p = 0.010), depressive mood (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.40–1.43, p < 0.001), loneliness (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.58–1.62, p < 0.001), boredom (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.36–1.39, p < 0.001), and emotional consolation (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.54–1.57, p < 0.001). Emotional eating was associated with an effort to improve physical and psychological conditions, such as controlling body weight (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.10–1.12, p < 0.001), keeping awake and alert (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.19–1.20, p < 0.001) and consumption to feel good (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.21–1.22, p < 0.001). In conclusion, emotions might provoke emotional eating behavior. The appropriate way to handle stress, depression, or other emotional states is important in conditions of being emotionally overwhelmed. The public should be educated on how to handle different emotional states. The focus should be moved somehow from emotional eating and the consumption of unhealthy food to healthy lifestyle practices, including regular exercise and healthy eating habits. Thus, it is necessary to halt these negative health effects on human health through public health programs.
- Evalution through artificial neural networks of the sociodemographic Influences on food choicesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Ferrão, Ana Cristina; Correia, Paula; Ferreira, Manuela; Mendes, Mateus; Leal, Marcela; Ferreira, Vanessa; Rumbak, Ivana; El-Said, Ayman; Papageorgiou, Maria; Szucs, Viktória; Vittadini, Elena; Klava, Dace; Bartkiene, Elena; Munoz, Lucia; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Tarcea, Monica; Djekic, Ilija; Bizjak, Maša; Isoldi, KathyIntroduction: The EATMOT Project is a multinational study that is being carried out in 16 countries about different eating motivations, given their recognized importance in the definition of people’s dietary patterns. Objective: This study investigated the influence of sociodemographic factors on some types of eating motivations, specifically: health related factors; economic and availability aspects; emotional determinants; social, cultural and religious influences; marketing and advertising campaigns and finally environmental concerns. Methods: This is a longitudinal observational study carried out on a non-probabilistic sample with 11960 participants. For the analysis of the data were used the T-test for independent samples or ANOVA with Post-Hoc Tukey HSD, depending on the case. The modelling through artificial neural networks included 7 input variables (sociodemographic characteristics) and 6 output variables (the eating motivations’ groups). Results: Variables like age, marital status, country, living environment, level of education or professional area significantly influenced all the types of eating motivations analysed. However, regarding gender, no significant differences were observed for two of the six types of motivations analysed: economic & availability and marketing & commercial. The results of the ANN modelling showed that the strongest positive factors determining the eating motivations were age for health, country for emotional motivations, gender for economic & availability, country for social & cultural, country for environmental & political, and finally country also for the marketing & commercial motivations. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of the sociodemographic characteristics as determinants for eating patterns around the globe, and particularly the geographic location.
- Influence of sociodemographic factors on eating motivations – modelling through artificial neural networks (ANN)Publication . Guiné, Raquel; Ferrão, Ana Cristina; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Mendes, Mateus; Bartkiene, Elena; Szűcs, Viktória; Tarcea, Monica; Sarić, Marijana Matek; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Isoldi, Kathy; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; Ferreira, Vanessa; Klava, Dace; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Vittadini, Elena; Leal, Marcela; Frez-Muñoz, Lucia; Papageorgiou, Maria; Djekić, IlijaThis study aimed at investigating the influence of some sociodemographic factors on the eating motivations. A longitudinal study was carried conducted with 11960 participants from 16 countries. Data analysis included t-test for independent samples or ANOVA, and neural network models were also created, to relate the input and output variables. Results showed that factors like age, marital status, country, living environment, level of education or professional area significantly influenced all of the studied types of eating motivations. Neural networks modelling indicated variability in the food choices, but identifying some trends, for example the strongest positive factor determining health motivations was age, while for emotional motivations was living environment, and for economic and availability motivations was gender. On the other hand, country revealed a high positive influence for the social and cultural as well as for environmental and political and also for marketing and commercial motivations.
- Investigation of the Level of Knowledge in Different Countries about Edible Insects: Cluster SegmentationPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Florença, Sofia G.; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Correia, Paula; Ferreira, Manuela; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Campos, Sofia; Anjos, Ofélia; Chuck-Hernández, Cristina; Sarić, Marijana Matek; Djekic, Ilija; Papageorgiou, Maria; Baro, José M. F.; Korzeniowska, Malgorzata; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Bartkiene, Elena; Tarcea, Monica; Boustani, Nada M.; Klava, Dace; Damarli, EmelThis study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge about edible insects (EIs) in a sample of people from thirteen countries (Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey). Data collection was based on a questionnaire survey applied through online tools between July and November 2021. For data analysis, techniques such as factor analysis, cluster analysis, and chi-square tests were used, with a significance level of 5%. A total of 27 items were used to measure knowledge on a five-point Likert scale. Applying factor analysis with principal components and Varimax rotation, a solution that explains about 55% of variance was obtained. This accounts for four factors that retained 22 of the 27 initial items: F1 = Sustainability (8 items), F2 = Nutrition (8 items), F3 = Production Factors (2 items), and F4 = Health Concerns (4 items). Internal consistency was evaluated through Cronbach’s alpha. The cluster analysis consisted of the application of hierarchical methods followed by k-means and produced three clusters (1—‘fearful’, 2—‘farming,’ and 3—‘ecological’ individuals). The characterisation of the clusters revealed that age did not influence cluster membership, while sex, education, country, living environment, professional area, and income all influenced the composition of the clusters. While participants from Mexico and Spain were fewer in the ‘fearful’ cluster, in those from Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, and Turkey, the situation was opposed. Participants from rural areas were mostly in cluster 2, which also included a higher percentage of participants with lower income. Participants from professional areas linked with biology, food, and nutrition were mostly in cluster 3. In this way, we concluded that the level of knowledge about EIs is highly variable according to the individual characteristics, namely that the social and cultural influences of the different countries lead to distinct levels of knowledge and interpretation of information, thus producing divergent approaches to the consumption of insects—some more reluctant and measuring possible risks. In contrast, others consider EIs a good and sustainable protein-food alternative.