The effect of health conscious trends on food consumption

Food choice and food consumer behaviour is multifactoral behaviour, influenced by a large number of factors. Consumer way of life and health are relevant factors to understanding consumption preferences. In the last few decades the number of so-called civilization diseases has dramatically increased. Research has proved that the main cause for these diseases is the change in way of life; including rising stress in a fastpaced world and a lack of attention to physical activity and good nutrition. Nutrition and bad dietary habits have the greatest influence on weight gain and obesity, which are serious public health problems because the increased risk of premature death and civilization diseases like heart diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes. The state of health in the European countries was examined, with special focus on Hungary, regarding public health indicators and nutrition habits. Data was collected from FAOSTAT and EUROSTAT database. The life expectancy in Hungary is one of the worst of the European countries and the rate of obesity exceeds the average in Europe. From research and observations, one difference is that people in Hungary eat less of some foods deemed healthful by nutritional scientists, such as vegetables, fruits and milk. Improving the state of health is a notable task in Hungary, and one important part of the solution is changing bad dietary habits.