مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد نگرش مصرف کننده ایرانی در زمینه مصرف فست فود – امرالد 2017

Eating patterns worldwide have changed completely, including food choices and preparation (Drewnowski & Specter, 2004). One of these alterations in food consumption patterns is an increase in desire for fast-food consumption (Holmboe-Ottesen, 2000). Fastfood has been defined as a “general term used for a limited menu of foods that lend themselves to production-line techniques; suppliers tend to specialize in products such as pizzas, hamburgers, chicken, or sandwiches” (Cimadon, Geremia, & Pellanda, 2010). Western fast-food tends to be energy-dense and nutrient poor, which can undermine appetite regulation and may lead to ‘passive over-consumption’ (Whitton, Ma, Bastian, Chan, & Chew, 2014). This increase in consumption of food-away-from-home may have a profound impact on consumers’ health (E. Kim, Ham, Yang, & Choi, 2013). A causal link between obesity and the fast-food industry has yet to be proven (Anderson & Mirosa, 2014), yet it presents negative impacts on health (Drewnowski & Specter, 2004). Some studies show that because of high glycemic index, excessive amount of fat saturated fat, sugar, and salt, (Azizi, 2012; Esmailzadeh, 2012; Goyal & Singh, 2007; Jill Davies & Smith, 2004), fast-food consumption can cause serious problems. For example, both obesity and cardiovascular disease are growing issues in today’s world, and is associated with the consumption of fast-food (Davis & Carpenter, 2009; Dority, McGarvey, & Kennedy, 2010; Frank, 2012; D. M. Kim, Ahn, & Nam, 2005; Okrainec, Banerjee, & Eisenberg, 2004). Food is an integral part of life (Kashif, Awang, Walsh, & Altaf, 2015), and fast-food consumption has been associated with poorer diet quality (Whitton et al., 2014). An expert panel of the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research recommend minimal fast-food consumption because of the possible association between fastfood intake and weight gain (Marmot et al., 2007). Healthy People 2010 also recommends a decrease in the consumption of fast-foods that are energy-dense, high-sugar/high-fat foods, with the goal of decreasing the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States (Dave, An, Jeffery, & Ahluwalia, 2009). Why, with the obvious negative impacts, do consumers continue to partake of fast-food? Consumer decisions are based on some level of rationality; nevertheless, their emotions play a central role in the development of an attitude towards food consumption (Kashif et al., 2015). Senauer (2001) proposed that to accurately analyze consumers’ food consumption behaviors it is necessary to account for psychological factors (e.g., attitudes, perceptions) that shape preferences and behaviors (Jun, Kang, & Arendt, 2014).