Evaluation of label reading habits according to gender

The information on the label of the product, unit price, production and recommended consumption date, nutritional values on the food packaging labels is very important for consumers to make healthier choices. Labels and the information on these labels are of great benefit in consciously consuming foods, facilitating the decision-making process and helps consumers with making the right choices at the purchasing stage. This study is a cross-sectional study conducted between April - May 2019. In this study volunteer participants over 18 years of age living in Izmir were included and their label reading habits and healthy lifestyle behaviors were evaluated according to gender by a developed questionnaire. Marital status, age, education and monthly income level, employment status and average monthly income were questioned. 132 volunteers were included in the study, 66 of the participants were female. We did not observe any difference between label reading habits and gender. There was statistically significant relationship between gender and education level of participants and men consumed more fast food than women. In this study, it was observed that individuals mostly pay attention to the production and last consumption date of the product. Majority of the participants that have the habit of reading food labels, make the healtier lifestyle related choises such as nutrition and exercising. In this study we aimed to invastigate the relationship between label reading habit and gender. Keywords: Label Reading, Healthy Nutrition, Lifestyle, Food Labels