Understanding Food Consumption in Developing Countries
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Once considered a problem of only high-income countries, obesity rates are also rising at an increasing rate in developing countries. As obesity increases the risk of chronic diseases and causes an upsurge in healthcare costs, urgent action is required to prevent obesity in developing countries. Most research on food consumption and self-control was conducted on US samples, food consumption behavior in developing countries, however, may differ in fundamental ways from consumption behavior in the US. To develop effective interventions, it is critical to understand how consumers in developing countries decide what to eat and how much to consume. We challenge whether current theories of self-control and consumption behavior apply to consumers in developing countries, and aim at developing a more accurate theory of self-control in food consumption that incorporates food consumption behavior in emerging Asian countries. The findings will offer important implications to policy makers and marketers.
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