Gender Differences in Preventive Nutrition: An Exploratory Study Addressing Meat Consumption After Livestock Epidemics

Abstract

This study investigated gender differences in preventive nutrition during the BSE and foot-and-mouth disease crisis in Germany using Bandura’s social-cognitive theory as a framework. Cross-sectional data from an online study of meat consumption were collected from 767 participants (mean age = 31.85 years, SD = 10.15). Data were analysed by means of structural equation modelling. Women consumed less meat than men, had higher intentions to cut meat consumption, and had higher self-efficacy beliefs. The effect of self-efficacy on preventive nutrition was not fully mediated by intentions, but was an important independent predictor of meat consumption for both women and men. Two-group comparisons indicated that the direct effect of self-efficacy on behaviour was higher for women than for men. Men had a lower intention-behaviour discrepancy than women. In terms of explained variance, intentions and behaviour could be better predicted in men than in women. Thus, determinants of preventive nutrition seem to be differentially important for men and women. Furthermore, the findings underline the importance of self-efficacy beliefs in the self-regulation of preventive nutrition.