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Psychological Determinants of Consumer Acceptance of Personalised Nutrition in 9 European Countries
Poinhos, R. van der Lans, I.A. Rankin, A. Fischer, A.R.H. Bunting, B.P. Kuznesof, S. Stewart-Knox, Barbara Frewer, L.J.
Poinhos, R.
van der Lans, I.A.
Rankin, A.
Fischer, A.R.H.
Bunting, B.P.
Kuznesof, S.
Stewart-Knox, Barbara
Frewer, L.J.
Publication Date
2014
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(c) 2014 Poinhos et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Abstract
Objective: To develop a model of the psychological factors which predict people’s intention to adopt personalised
nutrition. Potential determinants of adoption included perceived risk and benefit, perceived self-efficacy, internal locus of
control and health commitment.
Methods: A questionnaire, developed from exploratory study data and the existing theoretical literature, and including
validated psychological scales was administered to N = 9381 participants from 9 European countries (Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, and Norway).
Results: Structural equation modelling indicated that the greater participants’ perceived benefits to be associated with
personalised nutrition, the more positive their attitudes were towards personalised nutrition, and the greater their intention
to adopt it. Higher levels of nutrition self-efficacy were related to more positive attitudes towards, and a greater expressed
intention to adopt, personalised nutrition. Other constructs positively impacting attitudes towards personalised nutrition
included more positive perceptions of the efficacy of regulatory control to protect consumers (e.g. in relation to personal
data protection), higher self-reported internal health locus of control, and health commitment. Although higher perceived
risk had a negative relationship with attitude and an inverse relationship with perceived benefit, its effects on attitude and
intention to adopt personalised nutrition was less influential than perceived benefit. The model was stable across the
different European countries, suggesting that psychological factors determining adoption of personalised nutrition have
generic applicability across different European countries.
Conclusion: The results suggest that transparent provision of information about potential benefits, and protection of
consumers’ personal data is important for adoption, delivery of public health benefits, and commercialisation of
personalised nutrition.
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published version paper
Citation
Poinhos, R., van der Lans, I.A., Rankin, A., Fischer, A.R.H., Bunting, B., et al. (2014) Psychological Determinants of Consumer Acceptance of Personalised Nutrition in 9 European Countries. PLoS ONE. Vol. 9, Issue 10.
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