The Experience and Intention of Health Food Use among Middle-aged Men in Urban Areas

Song, Hwa Suk; Oh, Se Young

Abstract

This study examined the experience and intention of health food use regarding the different type of health foods among 201 middle-aged Korean men form urban areas. Based upon the results of a prestudy, health foods were classified into 4 groups including Chinese medicine(CM), toner foods(TF), vitamin or mineral supplements(VMS), and other manufactured heath food supplements(MHFS). compared with the4 case of health food experience, the similar proportion of the subjects were intended to use CM( 70%) and MHFS( 40%), yet the smaller proportion of them had the intention for TF(46%) and VMS(52%). Our subjects mainly obtained information on CM and TF from social networks, such as families, relatives, friends and neighbors and VMS and MHFS from mass media. Expected effects of health food consumption were different by the type of health food. The most positive expected effects were found in CM, followed by VMS. However, there was weak evidence for the positive effects of the TF and MHFS. Upon the consumption of health foods, our subject appeared to expect to their body energy to increased and body functions to be improved in general. Multivariate analyses indicated the importance of expected effects of health food consumption and aging symptoms as determinants of future health food use. Experience was rarely associated with intention in health food use. This study suggests that educated middle-aged Korean men may have a rational attitude toward health food use. Regarding different attitudes and behavior toward the different type of health foods, further research should consider the nature of each type of health foods. The limitations of this study are also discussed.