Abstract
So-called health foods generally refer to "general foods that can be expected to have some positive favorable effects on health". According to the Consumer Affairs Agency about 40 to 60% of the population consume "health foods". This study aimed to compare the differences between various physical conditions (hypertension, diabetes, etc.) and health food utilization attitude (recognitions and behaviors、hereafter: HFU-attitude) . The subjects were 150 men and 150 women, (in their 40s to 60s) using health foods. The questionnaire was neutral for personal characteristics such as gender and age. Factor analyses and binomial logistic regression analyses were performed. As a result, 28 attitudes (recognitions and behaviors) to health foods were extracted under the control of confounding factors such as gender, age and involvement of supports by physicians. Of these, 15 factors were significantly related to one or more physical conditions, and most of the odds ratios were around 1.5 (including those after reciprocal transformation) . It was shown that the involvement of each factor and the supports by physician differed depending on the physical condition, and the attitude (recognitions and behaviors) regarding health food differed depending on the difference in the physical condition. Based on the fact that users’ attitudes (recognitions and behaviors) to the use of health foods differ depending on their gender, age, and physical condition, it was thought that future usage guidelines should be determined.
