A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF YOUNG VERSUS OLD ADULT CONSUMERS FROM MUMBAI REGARDING FOOD LABELS

Nutrition Science

WHO defines food labeling as any written, printed, or visual material that should be contained on a food product's label or is displayed nearby, including that which serves to promote the sale or disposal of the item. This study aimed to assess and compare the knowledge, attitude and practices between young adults (21-40 years old) and older adults (41-60 years old) regarding food label. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional design. A convenience sampling approach was employed and subjects who were unable to understand English were excluded. The total sample size was 200 and they were all adults residing in Mumbai out of which 102 were young adults and 98 were older adults. Validated questionnaires were tailored to the Indian population and was used to collect data. Statistical analysis was carried out using a statistical package for social sciences software. The comparison between two groups was done using the chi-square test. A Pearson correlation coefficient was performed to evaluate the relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice score. P value less than 0.05 were considered significant. The younger adults showed greater knowledge of health claims on food labels compared to older adults and this was statistically significant. There was a significant positive correlation of knowledge scores with attitude (p=0.002), and practice scores (p=0.001) in young and old adults as well as for attitude with knowledge (p=0.002) and practice scores (p=<0.01). It may be inferred from the results that one of the causes of poor public health in the population may be due to a lack of understanding, a negative attitude and lack of use of food labels. Efficient programs must be conducted to inform the public about the significance of food labels.

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