Assessment of consumption frequency of cereal products by adults and some factors affecting consumption

Abstract

Objective: The majority of daily energy requirements are provided by cereals. With different recipes and uses, cereal products have an important place in daily diet due to being generally cheap, easy to obtain, their nutrient content and neutral flavor. Apart from these characteristics, the fiber content is an important quality criterion for cereal products. As the product diversity increases, cereal products which can be evaluated as functional foods increase. Materials and Methods: The aim of the study is to investigate the frequency and diversity of cereal products consumed by adult individuals and effective factors. From March to April 2018, Istanbul province was accepted as population, with the sample comprising 299 women and 151 men, for a total of 450 individuals, aged from 18 to 65 years living in Istanbul. Survey questioned demographic features, health knowledge, habits and participant's consumption frequency and choices in relation to cereal products. Results: The 450 adults participating in this study consumed white bread (45.5 %) and wholewheat bread at least once per day (38 %), while most did not consume bran bread (52 %), rye bread (56 %) and multigrain bread (53 %). It was identified that most ate phyllo pastry at least once per month, white rice 1-2 times per week and did not consume brown rice (81 %). They ate bulgur at least once every 15 days (26.8 %), ate pasta 1-2 times per week (36.5 %), and mostly did not consume brown pasta (79 %), muesli (72.5 %), breakfast cereals (59.7 %), wholegrain biscuits (49.5 %) and cereal bars (65 %). Conclusion: It was observed that differences in sex and educational level change choice of food and knowledge level about nutrition. Generally, when cereal product consumption and factors affecting choices of participants are assessed, high rates of individuals chose white bread which can be assessed as being a traditional flavor and did not appear to choose foods like brown rice and rye with higher dietary fiber but more foreign flavor. It was concluded that women and individuals with higher educational level had higher healthy product choices. © 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.