Nutrition Sensitive Consumption as a Way to Achieve a Healthy Diet: Working with Dissonance as Revaluation of Foods and Respecting Nutritional Norms

Abstract

This paper deals with a new methodological approach allowing us to bring nutrition sensitive consumption closer to consumers’ attention. We establish a theoretical model in which individual choices (subjective utility) shall correspond better with choices at societal level (objective norms). A first hypothesis is that individual households, in their decisions on what foods to buy, additionally may depend on norms; not only taste. But this creates dissonance. A second hypothesis is: dissonance is minimized. This results in a modification of perceptions and valuation (preference ordering) on possible diets. The idea is to show how norms can modify individual households’ choices.