Factor Influencing the Consumption of Functional Food in Women: AStudy in the Mediteranean Region

Recently one of the influencing factor for food manufacturer’s decision to introduce a new food item into the retailmarket is health concerns of consumers. Foods that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition are considered “functional foods,” as are foods that have nutritional ingredients added to provide specific health benefits in addition to the foods’ basic healthfulness. Functional foods, among these new products in the market, is one of the rapidly accepted items. In this study, most important target group are women and elderly people. The study was carried out in the metropolitan area of Adana, Mersin and Antalya. The results of the study based on face to face survey data from1152 women responders which were living in the area and at the age 20 years and older. Surveys were conducted inApril-May of 2011. Functional food consumption among the respondents is 83.4%. Herbal teas are the most consumed products. To determine the factors affecting the consumption, factor analysis was applied, and five factors were obtained. The most important factors are health perception and satisfaction. Significant relationships were determined betweenwomen’s functional food consumption and age, education, types of work, household size and income of women.