Principles of Healthy Eating – Keeping up with Them!
“Romanians reinvent the top of the three foodstuffs constituting the principles of a healthy eating”.
The study “Attitudes and Perceptions Related to Healthy Eating” carried out by EXACT market research institute shows that the majority of persons living in the urban environment and aged between 15 and 60 is interested about information on healthy eating (87%), considering that they could be easily accessed. Most of these pieces of information are being searched via the Internet (specialized sites) - 38% mentions, followed by information provided by television and specialized columns from newspapers and magazines (31% mentions each). A more reduced percentage appeals to sources provided with expertise (a physician or specialized magazines) (therefore only 4% get their information from the physician). The category most interested by such information is represented by women aged between 45 and 60, with an academic background and in managing posts who are going shopping on a daily basis and who live in Bucharest. Their favourite sources for keeping them informed are sequentially the following: specialized magazines, newspapers with specialized columns, the physician/pharmacist. Persons looking for information more rarely (1 to 4 times a month) prefer the television broadcasts and specialized sites, as these are handier.
And as they declare themselves informed regarding the rules to be observed for a healthy eating, they have been requested to specify the foodstuffs to be consumed very rarely: first ranked the pork (58%), followed by fats – a generic title (24%), sweets (18%), alcoholic drinks (15%), white sugar (14%). Fried foodstuffs – even though it is not considered an ingredient – have been mentioned by 13% of the respondents as well as effervescent drinks and cold cuts which accumulated a similar percentage (approximately 13%). Fast food and salt also recorded percentages exceeding 10% of the mentions.
Among unhealthy foodstuffs, but in a smaller proportion, the following have also been mentioned: margarine, E-s, alimentary additives and sun-flower oil (each recording approximately 7% among the overall number of respondents).
As foodstuffs that should be consumed very often in order to benefit from a healthy eating the fruit and vegetables have been mentioned together several times (80% of the respondents spontaneously mentioned these foodstuffs). Ranking at a greater distance from fruit and vegetables the following foodstuffs have also been mentioned: chicken (40%), fish (34%), milk (32%), cheese (20%), and beef (12%). Very few mentions were assigned to: flat water (3%), tea (1%), honey (1%). A very reduced visibility is attributed to integral cereals which appear together with their derivate – black bread, considered by the majority of nutritionists experts as the second fundamental principle of a healthy living (after water which ranks first as far as importance characteristics are concerned), fruit and vegetables (fresh!) ranking third as importance for a healthy eating.
Therefore, Romanian people reinvent the top of the three foodstuffs forming the principles of a healthy eating: instead of water, black bread/cereals and fruit/vegetables (following this sequential order), the first three places for a healthy eating in Romania are occupied by the following foodstuffs: fruit and vegetables, meat (chicken and fish) and diary products (milk and cheese especially). If we sit down at the table, why not eating consistent food!
The study “Attitudes and Perceptions Related to Healthy Eating” has been elaborated by EXACT Research and Consulting on a sample of 553 persons aged between 15 and 60 located in the urban environment, displaying a maximum error of +/- 4.2%. The standardized questionnaires have been applied via the telephone during the period 24th of March – 1st of April.