Percepção do consumidor sobre produtos light e diet: uma revisão da literatura.

Abstract

Due to industrialization and changes in the routine of the population, the consumption of fresh foods decreased while consumption of processed foods increased. However, there is a strong consumer concern, with health and aesthetics, seeking diet foods and light, as they are associated with healthy foods, with this, the food industry is increasingly more provides new products in this category to meet market demand. The products light have the characteristic of reducing 25% of some nutrient or energy value, while the diet products are free of some nutrient, such as sugar, sodium, fat or protein. for these characteristics, these products are indicated for the consumption of individuals with some specific physiological condition, such as diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure, or obesity, however it is observed the use of these products by healthy people who do use them for aesthetic purposes. Nutrition labeling is important on diet products and light, as it brings the consumer closer to the product in question, however, there is a strong misunderstanding on the part of the population regarding these products. With that, the objective of research was to evaluate the perception of consumers about light and diet products, through a literature review, as well as to investigate the risks and benefits of these foods on the population that consumes them. The methodology used was a literature review of systematic characteristic, the research was carried out from studies that were available in the PubMed, Scielo, MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases from the 1990s 2011 to 2021. The public that consumes diet and light foods have divergences, while that adults and the elderly seek these foods in order to maintain their health, younger female audience, look for these products with the aim of reducing body mass. However, excessive consumption of these products can lead to some health complications, considering that it is an industrialized product that has chemical components such as sweeteners. Consumers find it difficult to understand the labels of diet and light products and what these products mean, making necessary a change in the approach of these labels for a better understanding of the consumer about what he is using.