DIETING AMONG YOUNG CONSUMERS IN ASIA: GENDER-SPECIFIC MOTIVATORS AND HEALTH CARE MARKETING IMPLICATIONS

The literature on dieting and eating disorders has primarily focused on female consumers in Western cultures. The current research utilizes a model combining the Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Identity/Self Categorization theories to examine the differences in dieting intention drivers among male versus female adolescents in Asia as a guide for target segmentation in health communications. We used a pen and paper survey of over 500 male and female adolescents to test an augmented model of dieting intentions in order to identify various gender-specific motivational variables. We found that there are a number of theory-based antecedents within each gender which can help to develop gender-specific health communication programs. The findings can be useful in targeting promotion of healthy eating patterns and nutrition approaches to male versus female adolescents. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]