Browsing by Subject "ruoanvalinta"

The purpose of this research was to figure out how COVID-19 has affected food purchases, making everyday meals, and using restaurant services amongst families with kids. The theoretical framework consists of execution of everyday dining and planning, formation of food choices and food shopping and also importance of eating out. According to previous studies, everyday dining is usually quite a busy and it demands quick solutions. Eating with family in peace is more common at weekends than on weekdays and planning has been shown as important factor in everyday life. In addition, the theoretical framework deals with eating out and the importance of school or work catering to Finnish food culture. Although COVID-19 is quite new as a research topic, theory of this research consists also of some of the most important effects of the Corona pandemic, for example from the perspective of consumption. The need for this research is the topicality and importance of this topic. The research questions were: What kind of effects the Corona pandemic and its limitations have had on eating in everyday life? What kind of effects the Corona pandemic and its limitations have had on food purchasing on everyday life? What kind of effects the Corona pandemic and its limitations have had on the usage of restaurant services? This study was carried out with qualitative research and the data was collected using a thematic and stimulus interview. The respondents were mainly found from a Facebook group, that is targeted for families living in the center of Helsinki. The interviews were carried out using Zoom and there were five mothers and one father in the study. The research data was first transcribed and then analyzed with thematizing and content analysis. According to results of this research, there was need for making everyday life easier during the Corona pandemic. Food planning has increased, as well as food preparation and its demands. There were also new methods for buying food and motives for usage of restaurant services. Increased planning and cooking were experienced as burdensome. To make everyday life easier, families typically used semi-processed food products and food delivery services, especially at the beginning of the pandemic. Motives for eating out were different than before COVID-19, because eating out was more likely to make everyday life easier. Results shows that ordering groceries was more common among the studied families but demands for cooking have also increased during the pandemic. These effects require important skills, for examples planning, control of everyday life and craftsmanship which are taught in home economics lessons. The changes in food purchases and food choices in unexpected situations, like the Corona pandemic, may also gain more value in the future’s home economics teaching.

Sugar has for a long time been a basic nutritient for humans because of its plaeasurable sweet flavour and high energy content. Today products containing large amounts of sugar are mostly consumed for pleasure. Food has a wide scope of meaning. It can be seen as a necessity, nutritients as a fuel for human, individual expression of freedom of choice, food as cultural phenomenon and representative of one’s values and status in society, and as a pleasure. The mechanisms for choosing food are often subconcious and they’re related to time and culture. 1900’s was the era of development of nutritional guidelines in Finland. On the first half of the century, focus was in securing sufficient nutrition for people. Later, due to rapid rise in standard of living, consumption of sugar increased in Finland and was seen as a risk for public health from the late 1960’s onwards. After social debate, limitations and recommendations for consumption of sugar were applied. Aim of this study is to examine the image of sugar in advisory material and advertising aimed at consumers over seven decades. Changes to importance and meaning of sugar, related to dietary recommendations and trends in discussion about nutrition, are addressed. Material of this study includes 15 printed advisory or marketing leaflets and one short film, all produced in between 1930 and 1994 by marketing and public relations department of Suomen Sokeri Oy. This study shows that the full scope of meanings of food, as well as changes of meaning of sugar, related to increased standard of living, can be found in the examined material. As a result the study material can be divided thematically into four parts: Sugar purely as a source for energy in 1930’s-1940’s.; Delicious and useful in 1950’s-1960’s; Useful and natural in 1970’s- 1980’s; new and easy in 1990’s. Nutritional guidelines recommending limitations to consumption of sugar had an effect to the content and presentation of advisory and mar-keting material produced by Suomen sokeri Oy. Despite of those chanches, preservation was still suggested as the most important use of sugar.

Tämä tutkielma on toteutettu yhteistyössä Suomen ensimmäisen hävikkiruokakaupan Wefoodin kanssa. WeFood on osa Kirkon Ulkomaanapua. Tutkielma tarkastelee WeFoodin asiakaskunnan ruoanvalinnan takana käytettyjä vihjeitä, jotka vaikuttavat hävikkiruoan valintaan. Tutkielman tavoitteena on löytää vastaus kysymykseen; Miksi kuluttajat ostavat hävikkiruokaa? Tutkimuskysymyksiä lähdetään tarkastelemaan vihjeidenkäyttöteorian avulla. Työn lopullinen teoreettinen viitekehys nivoutuu vihjeidenkäyttöteorian, sekä Shepherd (1994) ja Furstin ym. (1996) ruoanvalintamallien ympärille. Tutkimusongelmaa lähestytään vastaamalla seuraaviin alakysymyksiin: Mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat kuluttajan hävikkiruoanvalintaan? Millaiset vihjeet vaikuttavat kuluttajan valintaan? Millaisia erilaisia kuluttajaryhmiä voidaan löytää WeFood hävikkiruokakaupan asiakaskunnasta? Tämän kysymyksen tukemana WeFood-hävikkiruokamyymälän asiakaskunta ryhmitellään kuluttajasegmentteihin. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan lisäksi WeFood hävikkiruokakaupan ostokokemuksia ja asiakastyytyväisyyttä, jotka tukevat omalta osaltaan asiakaskunta analyysia. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvantitatiivisena kyselytutkimuksena. Aineisto kerättiin kesän 2021 aikana verkkokyselyn avulla. Aineiston analysointiin käytettiin SPSS-ohjelmistoa, jonka avulla toteutettiin työn pääanalysointitavat: faktorianalyysi ja klusterianalyysi. Klusterianalyysin avulla eroteltiin kolme erilaista kuluttajasegmenttiä: Tarjoushaukat, Ympäristötietoiset ja Puntaroivat. Nämä WeFood hävikkiruokamyymälän asiakassegmentit käyttävät hävikkiruoan ostamiseen erilaisia vihjeitä, tai näiden yhdistelmiä hävikkiruoanvalinnan tukena. Tarjoushaukat segmenttiin kuuluvien ruoanvalintaan vaikuttaa vahvasti hävikkiruokatuotteista saadut hintavihjeet. Edullisuus on tärkein syy ostaa hävikkiruokaa. Ympäristötietoiset käyttävät arvovihjeitä hävikkiruoan valinnassa. Hintavihjeillä ei suurta vaikutusta ruoanvalintaan. Ympäristötietoiset ostavat hävikkiruokaa ympäristösyistä. Puntaroivat segmenttiin kuuluvat kuluttajat puntaroivat niin laatuvihjeitä, hintavihjeitä kuin myös arvovihjeitä tehdessään ostopäätöstä hävikkiruokakaupassa. Hintavihje on korkein, ja voidaan todeta, että kuluttajan puntaroidessaan ostopäätöstä hinta ratkaisee. Puntaroiviin kuuluvat kuluttajat ostavat hävikkiruokaa edullisten hintojen takia, mutta ympäristötekijät ovat mukava lisä, joka kannustaa ostamaan hävikkiruokaa. Aineisto on kerätty pääkaupunkiseudun Helsingin WeFood hävikkiruokakaupasta, joten tutkimusta voidaan vain varovasti yleistää koko Suomea koskevaksi. Jatkotutkimuksessa olla hyvä tutkia hävikkiruoan valintaa laajemmalla alueella, esimerkiksi koko Suomessa. Jatkotutkimuksissa tulisi huomioida päivittäistavarakaupoista myytävä hävikkiruoka, erilaiset verkkokaupat kuten Fiksuruoka, sekä applikaatiot kuten ResQ. Lisäksi olisi mielenkiintoista verrata esimerkiksi pääkaupunkiseudulla ja pienemmissä kaupungeissa asuvien hävikkiruoanvalintaan vaikuttavia tekijöitä ja vihjeitä.

Aims. The purpose of this study was to find out the food choices related to the main meal of the day for the elderly, what factors can be found in the background of the choices, and the attitude of the elderly towards counseling related to food choices. The theoretical framework is based on previous research on food choice, aging and nutrition in the elderly. The concept of food sense is used in the study as one of the supporting concepts of the analysis, and the research questions have been guided by Belasco's (2008) food choice triangle, where the concepts are identity, responsibility and suitability. The main questions of the study are: 1. What food choices do seniors make with the main meal of the day? 2. How do older people justify their food choices? 3. How do older people experience food counseling? Methods. The data were collected by interviewing six retirees over the age of 65. Participants in the study prepared their own meals for the day and independently took care of arranging their own food supply and purchasing food supplies. Two of the participants in the study were men and four were women, among them one couple. The research material was analyzed using the content analysis of the qualitative research. Results and conclusion. The food choices of the main meal of the day were influenced by taste, health, price and reasonableness. The food that was prepared was traditional home cooking. The food was prepared by the participants themselves, and decisions on food choices were made independently by the participants, taking into account general food recommendations and their own state of health. The factors explaining the food choices were one's own taste preferences, the utilization of seasonal raw materials and the suitability of the raw materials for one's own diet. There was not perceived a need for actual nutrition counseling. Information coming through the media was perceived as contradictory and confusing.

Kasviproteiinien käytön ei nähdä enää olevan vain kasvissyöjien tapa täyttää proteiinintarpeensa, vaan siitä on tullut jokaiselle suositeltava ruokavalion osa. Kasviproteiinien lisääminen ruokavalioon ei kuitenkaan ole helppoa monelle, sillä ruokavalion muutos kasvispainotteisempaan vaatii aikaa ja resursseja. On kiinnostavaa tarkastella, tukevatko Kotiliesi-lehden ruokaohjeet ja artikkelit kasviproteiinien käyttöä osana ruokavaliota. Tämän kandidaatintutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää, millä tavoin kasviproteiinien käytön kehitys näkyy vuosien 2010-2019 Kotiliesi-lehdissä. Tutkielma toteutettiin laadullisin menetelmin. Tutkimusaineistona käytettiin 40 Kotiliesi-lehden numeroa vuosien 2010-2019 väliltä. Aineisto muodostui neljästä lehdestä yhtä vuotta kohden. Kasviproteiinia sisältäviä artikkeleita ja ruokaohjeita oli yhteensä aineiston rajaamisen jälkeen 21. Aineiston analysointiin käytettiin teoriaohjaavaa sisällönanalyysia. Teoriaohjaavan sisällönanalyysin avulla tutkimusaineistosta nousi esille kolme yläteemaa. Aineistosta esille nousseet yläteemat olivat kasviproteiinien käytön kasvu, muutokset eri kasviproteiinien käytössä sekä kasviproteiinien käytön normalisoituminen. Tutkielmassa havaittiin, että 2010-luvun Kotiliesi-lehdissä kasviproteiinien käytössä oli kasvua ja muutosta. Erityisesti vuoden 2015 jälkeen kasviproteiineja esiintyi enemmän Kotiliesi-lehtien ruokaohjeissa ja artikkeleissa. 2010-luvun alkupuolella kasviproteiineja käytettiin yksipuolisesti aineiston ruokaohjeissa, mutta vuosikymmenen loppua kohti erilaisia kasviproteiineja ja kasviproteiinituotteita käytettiin monipuolisemmin erilaisissa ruokaohjeissa. Kasviproteiinien käytössä oli havaittavissa myös normalisoitumista. Tämän tutkielman johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että 2010-luvun Kotiliesi-lehdissä kasviproteiinien käytössä on tapahtunut kasvua ja muutosta, ja ne edistävät kasvipainotteisempaan ruokavalioon siirtymistä.

Aims. Reducing meat consumption has been a common topic of conversation in the media and in the scientific community. There are multiple reasons for reducing meat consumption. Often the choice to eat vegetarian meals or reduce meat consumption is motivated by health, environment or ethics. According to previous studies, women are more willing to reduce their meat consumption than men. In addition, women often take more responsibility of the home cooked meals. Living in a relationship is known to influence individual’s food habits. In this study answers were sought for questions such as why and how women use plant-based protein products and how do these products fit in to the relationship and family life. The aim of this study is to analyse the attitudes that women who use plant proteins have towards such products and towards vegetarian diet in general. Secondly, this study explores these women’s motivation for their food choices in general as well as for choosing vegetarian diet. The study also examines how the women arrange food preparation and eating in their homes and what kind of possibilities do they have on reducing meat consumption even more. Data and methods. Nine women age 25-40, living in Uusimaa, Finland took part in the study. All women lived either in a relationship or with their families. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation. The interviewees took photos of vegetarian dishes that they had eaten before the interview. Photos were used as a conversation starter and as a motivation tool. Interviews were recorded and the recordings transcribed. The data was analysed using theory-guided content analysis. Results and discussion. The most important reasons for choosing food from omnivore diet were the taste of food and its easiness and quickness to prepare. Vegetarian food choices were explained mostly by environmental factors, health and ethics. The reasons for choosing omnivore food and for choosing vegetarian food were thus different. The opinions towards new plant-based protein products varied. The interviewees who lived in a relationship did not experience major difficulties in adopting vegetarian food into their eating. In contrast, those women who had children felt that different food preferences caused some difficulties in the family. According to this study men’s food habits are influenced by women’s desire to eat vegetarian food. Getting a spouse to eat vegetarian food does not seem to be an issue for youngish and relatively highly educated couples and families.

Aims. This qualitative thesis examines the rationalizing of meat consumption and the health and ecological problems associated with the use of meat as well as ethical views. Previous studies show that the constant growth of meat production and consumption causes problems for health and the environment. The aim of the study is to get an understanding of how meat consumption is seen, how it is justified and what factors would affect consumption. Methods. The material was collected by a group interview with four women and men aged 25–32 in the metropolitan area. The interview was recorded and transcribed. The material was analyzed in a material-oriented way. Results and conclusions. The most important arguments for meat consumption were taste, habit, ease, affordability and availability. Consumption was reduced over the past few years and it was seen as possible to further reduce it. Ecological, ethical and health issues were highlighted as the reasons for this reduction. Reductions would be facilitated and promoted by better quality vegetarian alternatives, good availability and external incentives. Discontinuation was also seen as possible in the future. It would seem that there is a desire to move to a more plant-oriented diet if it is supported by, for example, food producers and society. An example of support could be to change nutritional recommendations so that plant-based products would be raised alongside animal origin products.

Kasvisruokavalion mukainen syöminen nähdään yhtenä ylikulutus- ja ilmastokriisien eskaloitumista hillitsevänä ratkaisuna. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena onkin tarkastella kasvissyönnin luonnetta ilmiönä sekä niitä tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat kasvissyöjien kasvisruokavaliosta poikkeamiseen. Kasvissyönnin taustoja sekä siihen liittyviä elementtejä tarkastellaan tässä tutkimuksessa muun muassa historian kautta sekä ruoanvalinnan ja ruokatajun käsitteiden avulla. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena tutkimuksena kuvailevan kirjallisuuskatsauksen muodossa aiempaa tutkimustietoa kasvissyönnin, ruoanvalinnan ja ruokatajun aihepiireistä koostaen. Tutkimuksen tarkempana kohteena ovat 16–29-vuotiaat vapaaehtoisesti kasvisruokavaliota noudattavat kasvissyöjät, joiden kasvisruokavaliosta poikkeamiseen vaikuttavia taustatekijöitä kartoitettiin aiemmista tutkimuksista. Tämän tutkielman mukaan kasvissyönti on yksinkertaista ruokavaliota monitahoisempi ilmiö, johon kuuluvat keskeisenä osana sen toteuttamiselle raamit antavat yksilö, kulttuuri, yhteiskunta, sosiaaliset suhteet kuin luontokin. Nuoret kasvisruokavaliostaan poikenneet kasvissyöjät olivat nimenneet erilaisia taustatekijöitä toiminnalleen, joista enemmistö liittyi sosiaalisiin tekijöihin. Ruoanvalintaa ohjaavat niin ruokailuseura, perinteet, tunteet kuin erinäiset arvotkin. Ruokapulmien ratkaisuun keskeisesti liittyvä ruokataju-käsite voisi toimia ongelmanratkaisukeinona liittyen kasvissyöjien ruokavaliostaan poikkeamisen taustalla vaikuttavien prosessien hahmottamisessa ja näin ollen niiden tietoisessa muovaamisessa. Jatkotutkimusta kasvissyönnistä voisi tehdä kotitaloustieteessä esimerkiksi tuottamalla haastatteluilla tietoa kasvissyöntiin ja -ruokaan liittyvien ongelmien ratkomisen ja tulosten eroista yksilön ruokatajun ja jaetun ruokatajun prosessien välillä.

In recent years insect food has attracted interest in Western countries. The discussion on insects has picked up since FAO published a report on edible insects in 2013. Previous studies have focused on exploring the potential of insect food in Finland. There is also a lot of international consumer research on insect eating. The purpose of this study is to highlight the aspect of media discussions that has not yet been explored, but which is relevant to highlighting a novel food culture phenomenon. The aim of the study is to find out what kind of image of the insect food is transmitted through media texts. The results of the study are based on articles on insect food published in five most widely circulated Finnish newspapers (Helsingin Sanomat, Aamulehti, Turun Sanomat, Kaleva, Keskisuomalainen), which are published seven times a week. The material has been compiled using the search engine of each newspaper's own website. The search has made by using the Finnish equivalents of the terms: insect food, insect nutrition and insect eating as keywords. The material under review is limited to 2015-2018. As a method of analysis, I use discourse analysis. Five different discourses representing insect eating were identified in the data: (1) insects as ecological and ethical food, (2) insects as meat substitute, (3) consumers’ attitudes are decisive, (4) interest in insect food and (5) insects as a potential. Insects as ecological and ethical food -discourse emphasized the benefits of insect nutrition and environmentally friendly. The discourse submits insects as a lasting solution to food production. Insects as meat substitute -discourse gave a picture of insects as an alternative to meat. The discourse makes eating insects possible by automating insect production. Consumers’ attitudes are decisive -discourse placed stress on changing consumer attitudes and habits. The discourse submits opportunities for it by providing to consumers more information about insects. Interest in insect food -discourse emphasized that Finnish consumers to be mainly positive about insect food. The discourse submits sufficient domestic production promote the transition of consumers to insect food. Insects as a potential –discourse emphasized the easy of production and presents opportunities for insect nutrition in Finland.

BACKGROUND Obesity has increased all over the world and also in Finland, which is causing nationwide health problems. Two out of three Finnish men and half of the women are overweight and every fifth Finn is obese. People face nowadays numerous food choice decisions daily. In order to be able to understand, which attitudinal factors may be risk factors for obesity, more information is needed about how people make food choices and whether body weight is associated with the importance of food choice motives. The area of weight, dieting and food choice motives hasn’t been researched much in the Finnish population before. OBJECTIVES The objective of this thesis was to study, whether there are differences in the importance of food choice motives among 25−64 years old Finns according to their body weight or dieting status. In addition, the prevalence of the factors related to weight and dieting in this population was also discussed. MATERIALS AND METHODS The data examined in this study was collected in FINRISKI 2012 -population study conducted in five different areas in Finland. The target group of this study were Finnish adults aged 25-64 years who filled in the questionnaires and attended the physical examination (n=4447). There were 2059 men and 2388 women. From the basic questionnaire was examined the socio-demographic factors, meal frequency, weight history and weight perception. From the follow-up questionnaire the data on dieting history, dieting status and food choice motives was utilized. From food choice motives only the most relevant motives regarding weight and weight control were examined. Methods used were cross-tabulation, linear regression and chi square -test (χ2-test). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION There were no major differences between different BMI groups for women or for men regarding which food choice motives the respondents rated important. Anyhow, some differences were detected regarding the favouring of low-fat foods and emotional eating. Overweight and obese respondents rated these food choice motives more important than normal weight respondents. Also those who had dieted more often, current dieters and those who perceived themselves as overweight also considered low-fat foods and emotional eating important. Finnish adults with different body weights considered most of the food choice motives equally important for the most part and thus weight is not associated with the perceived importance of food choice motives. The explanation for the lack of differences between body weight groups could be that overweight and obese people are overly conscious about their weight status. Also women considered the food choice motives more important than men, which might be explained by the more active role in food shopping and better knowledge about healthy food. Based on the results of this study, both the normal and over weight people as well as the obese have knowledge about healthy food choices and consider that knowledge as an important factor in the food choice situations. The perceived importance of emotional eating varies between weight groups, and that’s why the psychological factors relating to weight control and food choice should be taken into account in weight control groups and obesity interventions in order to prevent emotional eating.