‘What have I just eaten?’ A qualitative exploration of awareness and use of ultra-processed food products during pregnancy and the post-partum period in line with the COM-B behaviour model

IF 3.8 2区医学 Q1 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Appetite Pub Date : 2025-07-14 DOI:10.1016/j.appet.2025.108231

Fiona Lavelle , Catherine V. George , Claire McKernan , Carla A. Martins , Vanessa A. Shrewsbury , Julia A. Wolfson , Rachael M. Taylor , Kerith Duncanson , Christopher Elliott , Clare E. Collins

{"title":"‘What have I just eaten?’ A qualitative exploration of awareness and use of ultra-processed food products during pregnancy and the post-partum period in line with the COM-B behaviour model","authors":"Fiona Lavelle , Catherine V. George , Claire McKernan , Carla A. Martins , Vanessa A. Shrewsbury , Julia A. Wolfson , Rachael M. Taylor , Kerith Duncanson , Christopher Elliott , Clare E. Collins","doi":"10.1016/j.appet.2025.108231","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Consumption of convenience/ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has been associated with a lower diet quality. However, it is unclear whether consumers are aware of what is classified as UPFs. Additionally, higher maternal diet quality is associated lower risk of adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes. Therefore, the aim was to explore awareness, perception, and usage of UPFs during pregnancy. Online focus group discussions with pregnant women and those who had experienced a pregnancy in the UK or ROI were conducted between February and April 2022. A thematic analysis was conducted, and themes were aligned to the COM-B behaviour model. Seven focus groups with ROI participants (<em>n</em> = 24) and six with UK participants (<em>n</em> = 28) were completed. Six themes were generated related to <strong>Capability</strong> - 1) ‘What have I just eaten?’ Awareness and understanding of UPF; 2) Education and learning; <strong>Opportunity</strong> - 3) Cheaper, more expensive, the price debate; 4) Time and balance; <strong>Motivation</strong> - 5) Healthiness – ‘but in the grand scheme’; 6) Pregnancy and next generation. Findings highlight a lack of knowledge in relation to UPFs and therefore participants consumed more UPFs than they thought. The need for upskilling/re-learning cooking skills was emphasised as essential to be able to purchase alternatives to and reproduce UPFs. Generally cooking was considered cheaper, although an upfront ingredient cost was acknowledged. Convenience products and UPFs were seen as a way to negate participant time pressures. Health was not a strong driver to deter use of these products. Further education around convenience/UPF products alongside upskilling/re-learning cooking skills would empower individuals with the knowledge and skills for informed food choices. Wider environmental considerations such as fresh produce price and accessibility could be considered in policy to increase opportunities for cooking behaviours.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":242,"journal":{"name":"Appetite","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 108231"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Appetite","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666325003848","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Consumption of convenience/ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has been associated with a lower diet quality. However, it is unclear whether consumers are aware of what is classified as UPFs. Additionally, higher maternal diet quality is associated lower risk of adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes. Therefore, the aim was to explore awareness, perception, and usage of UPFs during pregnancy. Online focus group discussions with pregnant women and those who had experienced a pregnancy in the UK or ROI were conducted between February and April 2022. A thematic analysis was conducted, and themes were aligned to the COM-B behaviour model. Seven focus groups with ROI participants (n = 24) and six with UK participants (n = 28) were completed. Six themes were generated related to Capability - 1) ‘What have I just eaten?’ Awareness and understanding of UPF; 2) Education and learning; Opportunity - 3) Cheaper, more expensive, the price debate; 4) Time and balance; Motivation - 5) Healthiness – ‘but in the grand scheme’; 6) Pregnancy and next generation. Findings highlight a lack of knowledge in relation to UPFs and therefore participants consumed more UPFs than they thought. The need for upskilling/re-learning cooking skills was emphasised as essential to be able to purchase alternatives to and reproduce UPFs. Generally cooking was considered cheaper, although an upfront ingredient cost was acknowledged. Convenience products and UPFs were seen as a way to negate participant time pressures. Health was not a strong driver to deter use of these products. Further education around convenience/UPF products alongside upskilling/re-learning cooking skills would empower individuals with the knowledge and skills for informed food choices. Wider environmental considerations such as fresh produce price and accessibility could be considered in policy to increase opportunities for cooking behaviours.

查看原文本刊更多论文

“我刚刚吃了什么？”根据COM-B行为模型，对怀孕期间和产后期间超加工食品的认识和使用进行定性探索。

食用方便/超加工食品（upf）与较低的饮食质量有关。然而，目前尚不清楚消费者是否知道什么被归类为upf。此外，较高的产妇饮食质量与较低的不良妊娠和婴儿结局风险相关。因此，目的是探讨怀孕期间对upf的认识、感知和使用。在2022年2月至4月期间，与孕妇和在英国或ROI经历过怀孕的人进行了在线焦点小组讨论。进行了主题分析，主题与COM-B行为模型保持一致。7个有ROI参与者的焦点小组（n = 24）和6个有英国参与者的焦点小组（n = 28）完成。生成了与能力相关的六个主题- 1)“我刚刚吃了什么？”认识和理解UPF；2)教育与学习；机会——3)更便宜，更贵，价格之争；4)时间与平衡；动机——5)健康——“但在宏大的计划中”；6)怀孕和下一代。调查结果强调了缺乏与upf相关的知识，因此参与者消耗的upf比他们想象的要多。提高技能/重新学习烹饪技能的必要性被强调为能够购买和复制upf的替代品至关重要。一般来说，烹饪被认为更便宜，尽管预先的原料成本是公认的。便利产品和upf被视为消除参与者时间压力的一种方式。健康并不是阻止使用这些产品的有力因素。围绕便利/UPF产品的进一步教育，以及提高技能/重新学习烹饪技能，将使个人掌握明智的食物选择的知识和技能。可以在政策中考虑更广泛的环境因素，如新鲜农产品价格和可获得性，以增加烹饪行为的机会。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Appetite 医学-行为科学

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

11.10%

发文量

566

审稿时长

13.4 weeks

期刊介绍： Appetite is an international research journal specializing in cultural, social, psychological, sensory and physiological influences on the selection and intake of foods and drinks. It covers normal and disordered eating and drinking and welcomes studies of both human and non-human animal behaviour toward food. Appetite publishes research reports, reviews and commentaries. Thematic special issues appear regularly. From time to time the journal carries abstracts from professional meetings. Submissions to Appetite are expected to be based primarily on observations directly related to the selection and intake of foods and drinks; papers that are primarily focused on topics such as nutrition or obesity will not be considered unless they specifically make a novel scientific contribution to the understanding of appetite in line with the journal's aims and scope.