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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, OBESITY AND SOCIAL COSTS. THE CASE OF ITALY

International Journal of Business and Society

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Title CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, OBESITY AND SOCIAL COSTS. THE CASE OF ITALY
 
Creator Mancini, Paola
Marotta, Giuseppe
Nazzaro, Concetta
Simonetti, Biagio
 
Description This study analyses the social impact of obesity, focusing on the direct costs and, in particular,on the health-care expenditure. Using different socio-demographic variables and through theuse of Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Partial Least Squares Regression, the analysis: i)confirms the increase of the incidence of overweight and obesity when moving from Northernto Southern Italy; ii) identifies the main variables related to the growth of obesity; iii) highlightsa positive relationship between BMI and health-care costs and an incidence of 6% on theregional health-care costs. These findings confirm the need to define suitable guidelines fordecision makers and practitioners and to introduce mandatory regulations forcing companiesto effectuate product reformulation and achieve food safety. Indeed, asymmetric informationand consumer behaviour make investing in product reformulation undesirable for companiesbecause the use of attractive brands is more effective in influencing the purchasing decisionseven of a conscious consumer. Uninformed consumers often cling to the national brands,which sometimes, behind an image of familiarity and identity, may hide harmful ingredients(hydrogenated fats) or excessive quantities of certain ingredients (sugar, salt, saturatedfat) responsible for an unbalanced diet. Therefore, this justifies the introduction of bindingregulations.Keywords: Consumer Behaviour; Obesity; Social Costs; Health-Care Expenditure; MultivariateModel.
 
Publisher Faculty of Economics and Business, UNIMAS
 
Date 2017-11-30
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Peer-reviewed Article
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://publisher.unimas.my/ojs/index.php/IJBS/article/view/570
 
Source International Journal of Business and Society; Vol 16 No 2 (2015): International Journal of Business and Society
1511-6670
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://publisher.unimas.my/ojs/index.php/IJBS/article/view/570/512
 
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