Construção e validação de um questionário para avaliação da perceção sobre alimentos funcionais

Abstract

Functional foods are those that promote health and well-being besides lowering the risk of certain diseases. Their potential for health is strong that marketing strategies take advantage of them. Considering that claims related health benefits of food influence purchase intent, it is important to create tools for evaluating the consumers perception of functional foods. This study aims at development and validation of a questionnaire to assess the perception about functional foods. After a pre-test, the final version of the questionnaire was applied to 257 individuals whose mean age is 41 years (SD = 6) parents of students who attended the 3rd cycle of basic education on Terceira Island, Azores. Internal consistency and construct validity were analyzed. The Cronbach's alpha ( = 0.816) showed good internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis showed a good model adequacy (KMO = 0.855). The extraction of factors from the scree plot has shown that one latent factor explains 30.4% of the total variance. This study demonstrates and certifies the questionnaire's capabilities for evaluating the perception of functional foods in adults. It is a useful tool for research in the field of marketing and nutrition education, which may foster more conscious and informed choices.