Non-nutritive sweeteners: Factors influencing the choice of university students in Vietnam

This study explores the factors that influence Vietnamese university students? food choices when it comes to products containing non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs). Drawing on consumer behavior theory and insights from focus group discussions, a conceptual model was developed with five independent variables ? Health Perception, Acceptance, Product Properties, Beliefs, and Availability ? and one dependent variable ? Food Choice. A survey was then conducted both online and offline with 1,849 responses and further reduced to 936 valid responses after two rounds of data cleaning. Data from the survey were analyzed for reliability, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results confirmed a good model fit with strong convergent and discriminant validity. Three factors significantly influenced food choices were: Acceptance (? = 0.463), Health Perception (? = 0.235), and Availability (? = 0.141), with Acceptance being the most influential. These findings offer valuable insights for businesses and organizations aiming to promote NNS-containing products more effectively. Understanding the key drivers behind students? food choices can help stakeholders tailor their products and communication strategies to better meet consumer needs and encourage healthier dietary habits.