Understanding organic and functional food consumption: the role of orthorexia, health awareness, and sociodemographic determinants
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, cilt.106, sa.6, ss.3796-3806, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 106 Sayı: 6
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1002/jsfa.70479
- Dergi Adı: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, INSPEC
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.3796-3806
- Anahtar Kelimeler: functional food, health awareness, organic food, orthorexia
- Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır
Özet
BACKGROUND: Recently, concerns about people's health and the environment have led to an increased tendency to consume organic and functional foods that contain health-beneficial compounds and protect the ecosystem. This research was conducted to examine the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, health awareness, and obsession with healthy eating, as well as consumers’ preferences for organic and functional foods. METHOD: A total of 1022 volunteers aged 19–65 years participated in the study. General information, demographics, health information, anthropometric measurements, an organic and functional nutrition questionnaire, the Orthorexia-15 Scale (ORTO-15), and the Health Awareness Scale were applied to the participants. RESULTS: A total of 59.9% of the individuals were male, 60.7% were married, and 71.8% were university graduates. A slight majority of the individuals (55.5%) had a healthy body weight. The organic and functional food consumption scores of women were significantly higher than those of men (P = 0.005, P = 0.046, respectively). The organic food consumption score and health awareness score of individuals aged 31 years and above were significantly higher than those of individuals aged 19–30 years (P = 0.002, P < 0.001, respectively). Participants aged 19–30 years had higher functional food consumption than those aged 31 years or older, single participants had higher functional food consumption than married participants, and university graduates had higher functional food consumption than primary school graduates. In addition, there was correlation between health awareness and orthorexia nervosa (ON) (r = −0.229, P < 0.001), organic food consumption and ON (r = −0.080, P = 0.011), organic food consumption and health awareness (r = 0.153, P < 0.001). There was correlation between functional food consumption and ON (r = −0.125, P < 0.001), functional food consumption and health awareness (r = 0.124, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Health-oriented attitudes of individuals are effective in their dietary behaviours. However, it was determined that orthorexic tendencies predicted both organic and functional food consumption, while health awareness was a significant predictor only of organic food consumption. Policies aimed at improving health awareness are expected to increase demand for organic and functional foods. Comprehensive and extended-duration studies are necessary to determine the factors that influence the consumption of these foods. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.