The effect of media and advertisements on women?S food purchasing and food consumption

This study is carried out with three-hundred and ten adult women (19-65 years aged) who were grouped according to their working status, from the different areas in Istanbul. After collecting data about this subject, a questionnaire was designed to determine the effects of the articles about nutrition and food advertisements figured on the mass media, on the food habits of adult women. The questionnaire was continued for four A4 pages and it consisted of open-ended and multiple answers question and the total number of the questions in the questionnaire were 29. The sample of the study divided into two according to working status of women to determine effects of mass media on the food habits and the food preference. After the questionnaires were filled in, SPSS.18 was used for statistical analysis of the study. According to statistical results, articles about healthy nutrition and food advertisements have effect on food habits and food preference of adult women.Mass media has a fignificant effect on women about their food habits and food preferences and social status and working condition is a distinguishing factor (p<0.05). The other factors which effect purchase and nutrition habits should be defined with other studies.Working women's nutrition knowledge points are higher than the non-working women and this result is stastically significant (p<0.05). Also, working women's nutrition knowledge is related with television and non-working women's nutrition knowledge is related with all the mass media tolls except internet (p<0.05).In conclusion; mass media and other media kits has significant effects on women food perference and nutrition habits. There is no difference between social status and working status (p<0.05). Also, the results of this study showed that women aptitue to fast foods. The other factors which affect food consumption and preferences must be studied.