Natural Functional Foods Consumption Behavior Among the Malaysians with Obesity

Abstract

Natural functional food industry is growing steadily worldwide and innovative products are being continuously launched thus making competition fierce. Successful commercialization of natural functional foods is proving to be challenging especially due to the need for a strategic approach to product development processes. The main purpose of this study was to understand how consumers who are suffering from obesity perceive natural functional foods and how likely they are willing to consume the food. Purposive sampling method was used in this study and a survey was conducted in Malaysia whereas 163 obese consumers were interviewed by using structured questionnaires. The Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM) was adopted in this study. Descriptive statistics, exploratory analysis and multiple regression were used to analyze the collected data. The results show that experiential attitude (perceived severity), instrumental attitude and personal agency (self-efficacy) influenced the obese consumer’s intention to consume natural functional foods for the purpose of fighting the obesity.