Publications by authors named "Henriette Gitungwa"
Article Synopsis
- There are several barriers that hinder people from making healthy and environmentally friendly food choices, including a lack of understanding and the complexity of grocery shopping environments.
- The research focuses on pulses (beans, chickpeas, lentils, and dry peas), which are nutritious and eco-friendly, but are consumed less frequently in the U.S. due to limited consumer knowledge and product visibility.
- In experiments, participants showed a slight increase in choosing pulses when educated about their benefits, but a significant rise in choices occurred when they could easily filter and find pulse products in the shopping environment.
Emerging evidence suggests that point-of-decision messages may be an effective way to promote healthy food choices. Previous studies show improvements in overall nutritional quality, as well as increases in underconsumed food categories, such as fruits and vegetables, and underconsumed nutrients of public health concern, like dietary fiber. However, there have been multiple approaches used for delivering point-of-decision messages, including very brief messages that remind individuals to consider health during choice, as well as longer messages providing educational information about health benefits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding food choice is critical to be able to address the rise in obesity rates around the globe. In this paper, we examine the relationship between measured (BMI, using self-reported height and weight) and perceived weight status with the number of calories ordered in a controlled online food choice exercise. A total of 1044 participants completed an online food choice exercise in which they selected ingredients for a sandwich from five categories: meat/protein, cheese, spread/dressing, bread, and vegetables.
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