Alice Grønhøj

Aarhus University | AU · Department of Management

Limited research exists on how the transition towards more sustainable eating takes place at the meso-level of family decision-making, or how children and adolescents engage in and possibly influence the process towards more sustainable diets in families. In this paper, we study how public recommendations that encourage reducing the consumption of...

This narrative review revises the scientific evidence of recent years on healthy eating in children and adolescents, making sense of promising avenues of action, from a food system perspective. A conceptual framework is provided to better understand how eating habits of children and adolescents are shaped to identify key multisectoral approaches th...

BACKGROUND Several public interventions have been designed in recent years to urge the intake of vitamin D supplements among the senior population to avoid the direct and indirect consequences associated with vitamin D deficiency. However, the effectiveness of these public campaigns remains quite limited. In an online survey, the current study inve...

Background: Childhood obesity rates have been rapidly increasing worldwide. Several actions to reduce this trend have addressed maternal feeding practices. However, research reports an unwillingness to taste healthful foods expressed by children and fathers, which represents a major obstacle to a healthy diet in the family household. The present s...

Numerous studies have related socioeconomic status (SES), family structure, and family life cycle to adolescents’ life satisfaction (LS). However, studies assessing the moderating role of these variables in the relationship between LS and domain-specific satisfaction are still limited. The present study examines life satisfaction in adolescents by...

Young people are key actors in the transition to more sustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns. Therefore, it is important to understand how environmental values and behaviours change in the transition from youth to young adulthood. In this paper, we trace the development of a pro-environmental orientation from late adolescence through emerg...

Studies about fathers and feeding are scarce and little is known about predictors of parental involvement in child feeding and of paternal feeding practices. Therefore, this study aimed to examine possible differences between Danish mothers and fathers with regard to their feeding practices and involvement in feeding related tasks, and to assess po...

The growing rates of childhood obesity constitute a public health challenge worldwide. Therefore it is important to identify effective and widely applicable interventions to prevent it. This study aims to explore children's experience of using a newly developed smartphone application (app) designed to promote healthy eating and evaluate its efficac...

Growing rates of childhood obesity constitute a worldwide public health crisis. Consumption of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables could help to prevent obesity and related non-communicable illness. A prominent role in children’s food-related consumer socialization is played by social agents such as peers, siblings and social media. This st...

Global meat consumption poses a threat to environmental sustainability and human health. Therefore, moral and health‐related norms connected to eating meat are changing and consumers experience conflicts when choosing between meat and nonmeat options in various situations. To achieve a better understanding of the nature of these conflicts and how c...

The concept of sustainability has been widely discussed in the public arena by public entities and companies; however, consumers express inconsistency and confusion around the meaning of sustainability. This study aims to provide insights into consumers’ associations with the concept of sustainability in general and within two behavioural domains t...

Background Childhood obesity continues to grow in industrialized and developing countries becoming one of the major public health crises worldwide. This, in turn, causes short and long term financial and psychosocial burden to individuals and society. However, obesity can be prevented and reversed by changing one's diet. Previous studies showed tha...

Background: The rising childhood obesity rate is a major public health challenge. The objective of this study is to examine key underlying mechanisms for peer-related social influence on preadolescents' healthy eating behavior by including factors closely linked with the quality of preadolescents' relationship with peers. Methods: A cross-sectio...

Purpose The aim of this paper is to demonstrate and discuss a number of child-centric research methods/stimuli involving young children (5-6 years old) in interviews without, and subsequently with their parents. Existing and new methods were selected and developed for a study which aimed at obtaining insights into parents’ and young children’s unde...

Objective: Peers and siblings are considered an important influence on children's and adolescents' food choice. However, there is a lack of studies examining how peer and sibling impact is related to children's and adolescents' eating behavior. The purpose of this study was to analyze peers' and siblings' impact on children's and adolescents' heal...

A primary cause of food waste in households is a lack of food capabilities. Yet, the antecedents of food capabilities and its relationship with causes of food waste across different situational contexts remain poorly understood. We apply self‐efficacy theory in combination with convenience orientation and good provider identity in a mixed‐methods s...

Parents play a pivotal role in socialising their children for healthy eating. The objectives of the present study were (1) to identify food socialisation outcomes valued by parents, and (2) to study how parents socialise their children for (healthy) eating at home and during food shopping. Including both parents’ perceptions of valued food socialis...

Food waste accounts for a considerable share of the environmental impact of the food sector. Therefore, strategies that aim to reduce food waste have great potential to improve sustainability of the agricultural and food supply chains. Consumer-related food waste is a complex issue that needs collaboration between various supply chain actors and se...

Abstract It is well documented that parents’ behaviour and family norms exert a significant influence on young people’s pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour. But what is the role of parenting styles in this connection? The present study addresses this question based on a matched sample of young people aged 18-20 (n=448) and one parent (n=448),...

Young people’s excessive alcohol consumption is considered a societal problem in many countries, and higher alcohol taxes are often suggested as a possible remedy. Price increases cannot be effective if unnoticed, but little is known about young people’s alcohol price knowledge and sensitivity, as aggregate price sensitivity studies have produced a...

Energy-saving programmes are increasingly targeted at children to encourage household energy conservation. A study involving the assignment of energy-saving interventions to Girl Scouts shows that a child-focused intervention can improve energy-saving behaviours among children and their parents.

This article explores 'childing' pratices in relation to family supermarket shopping in Denmark. 'Parenting' practices have been explored for long but little attention has been given to how children strive to be 'good' children, who live up to certain standards and recognize what they perceive to be appropriate child and parental behavior. The stud...

This study investigates the effects of a feedback intervention employing text messaging during 11 weeks on adolescents' behavior, self-efficacy and outcome expectations regarding fruit and vegetable intake. A pre- and post-survey was completed by 1488 adolescents school-wise randomly allocated to a control group and two experimental groups. Both ex...

Parents' knowledge of what constitutes a "healthy" diet does not always translate into action. This is often commented on as both worrying and paradoxical. This study explores how families categorize and make rules for "unhealthy" eating, particularly candy, and how these rules are sometimes bent. Drawing on the literature on family and food consum...

It is commonly believed that during adolescence children become increasingly influenced by peers at the expense of parents. To test the strength of this tendency with regards to healthy eating (fruit and vegetable intake), a survey was completed by 757 adolescent-parent dyads. Our theoretical framework builds on social cognitive theory and the focu...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study the extent of change in parents' fruit and vegetable consumption during a period when their children participate in a school-based healthy eating intervention. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 256 12-year-old Danish schoolchildren took part in a text-message feedback intervention promoting fruit...

The paper presents the design and results of a goal-setting and feedback intervention aimed at increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables. The intervention involved 256 Danish adolescents (aged 12), and consisted of a nutrition education programme and an SMS-based diary and feedback procedure that involved setting and modifying consumption goa...

Purpose ‐ The purpose of the study was to apply the theory of planned behavior to predict Danish adolescents' behavioral intention for healthy eating. Design/methodology/approach ‐ A cluster sample survey of 410 students aged 11 to 16 years studying in Grade 6 to Grade 10 was conducted in Denmark. Findings ‐ Perceived behavioral control followed by...

Purpose Healthy‐eating socialization is often described as a bi‐directional process, but there are only few studies on children and parent's roles in the process. This paper aims to investigate children and parents' accounts of awareness and involvement in healthy eating and how they relate it to their roles in healthy‐eating socialization. Design...

Adolescents’ environmentally relevant behaviour is primarily carried out in a family context. Yet, it is usually studied and discussed in an individual decision-making perspective only. In a survey involving 601 Danish families, we examine to which extent adolescents’ everyday pro-environmental behaviour is the outcome of their own pro-environmenta...

Purpose This article aims to examine young consumers' perceptions of healthy eating, contexts where healthy or unhealthy eating are practiced, and their evaluation of regulatory measures that discourage the consumption of unhealthy foods in two different markets. Design/methodology/approach A convenience sampled survey was conducted of 386 Danish...

In this paper, we present results from a project aiming to develop a new feedback technology to support sustainable living in private households. Against the backdrop of a review of the relevant literature and based on qualitative family interviews and registration of the households' electricity consumption, we evaluate the effects of giving househ...

A survey was conducted of 386 Danish and Hong Kong adolescents aged 11 to 16. Results showed that the consumption of relatively unhealthy food was common among respondents. Looking at socializing agents, respondents claimed that parents asked them to eat healthy food more often than the government publicity, teachers, or friends. Parents were also...

We propose a conceptual framework for understanding the (lack of) energy saving efforts of private households based on Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory Results from applying this framework on a sample of Danish private electricity consumers are presented and it is concluded (a) that households' electricity consumption depends on both struct...

The use of vignettes for qualitative consumer research is discussed in this article. More specifically, vignettes are proposed as a useful research technique for conducting systematic and rigorous studies of consumer interaction processes, in particular as these relate to family consumption issues. Following an overview of methodological and practi...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese adolescents' perceptions of healthy eating, their perceptions of various socializing agents shaping their eating habits, and their opinions about various regulatory measures which might be imposed to encourage healthy eating. Design/methodology/approach Four focus group interview sessions wer...

How is young people's pro-environmental orientation related to their parents' pro-environmental values, attitudes, and behaviours? To answer this question, we examine parent–child similarities of general values as well as specific attitudes and behaviours related to three common household practices: purchasing environmentally friendly products, cur...

Purpose This study aims to explore perceptions of healthy/unhealthy eating, and perceptions of various socializing agents encouraging healthy eating, amongst Chinese adolescents. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted of 152 seventh, eighth and ninth grade Hong Kong students. A structured questionnaire with closed‐ended questions was d...

Studies of ‘green’ consumer behavior have often reported differences in male and female environmental concern and participation. This paper looks into the nature of such differences within the family. Husband-wife differences with regard to family participation in a number of environmentally significant consumption issues were explored in a qualita...

Purpose The consumer competence concept is loaded with ambiguity in the academic as well as in the public use of the term. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept theoretically and empirically. Design/methodology/approach Consumer socialization theories were compared and combined for the theoretical background, and a mixed‐methods meth...

The present study examines intergenerational transfers of pro-environmental behaviours between parents and children. In a survey study involving 600 Danish families, we examine whether children's pro-environmental behaviours can be determined by their parents' attitudes and behaviours with respect to three "green" consumption activities: buying org...

Family decision-making still constitutes a niche of consumer research. The preference towards using individualist approaches is even more prevalent in research on environmentally oriented consumer behaviour. However, many green consumer practices involve several family members, who may be able to exert significant influences on household subscripti...

Studies of the family as consumer are underrepresented in research on consumer behaviour. The relatively modest interest in broadening our knowledge of the conditions of family consumer practices is surprising, in view of their importance to business, the national economy, nature and the environment. First, the article argues in favour of the relev...

Consumer organizations have traditionally been concerned with protecting, informing, and educating the "weak" consumers. These policies were deemed necessary because of the unequal power balance and conflicts of interests between consumers and producers. Since there are also conflicts between the interests of nature on the one hand, and consumers a...