Poor dietary choices are a risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Young adults have low levels of engagement towards their health and may not see the importance in the adoption of healthy eating behaviours at this stage in their lives. Here we utilise social marketing principles, digital ethnography and online conversations to gain insights into young adults’ attitudes and sentiments towards healthy eating. Young Australian adults who use social media at least twice a day were recruited by a commercial field house. Using a mixture of methods, combining online polls, forums and conversations, participants (n = 195, 18–24 years old) engaged in facilitated discussions over an extended 4 week period about health and eating-related topics. Data were analysed using thematic analysis constant comparison approach. A post-hoc conceptual framework related to religion was theorised and used as a metaphor to describe the results. Findings demonstrate that different segments of young adults with varying attitudes and interest towards healthy eating exist. We developed a conceptual framework based on consumer segmentation which adopted religious metaphors as a typology of ‘consumers’. Some young adults practice and believe in the message of healthy eating (saints), whilst some oppose these messages and are not motivated to make any change (sinners), another segment are both aware of and interested in the issues but do not put healthy eating behaviours as a current priority (person in the pew). Consumer segmentation and social marketing techniques assist health professionals to understand their target audience and tailor specific messages to different segments. Segmentation provides insights on which groups may be most easily influenced to adopt the desired behaviours. The typology presented may be a useful tool for health professionals and social marketers to design strategies to engage young adults in healthy eating, particularly those in the pew who are contemplating a change but lacking the motivation. The utilisation of marketing segmentation in health promotion has the potential to enhance health messaging by tailoring messages to specific segments based on their needs, beliefs and intentions and therefore drive the efficient use of resources towards those most likely to change.

中文翻译：

---

年轻人饮食健康的社会营销观点：这是道德问题吗？

饮食选择不当是非传染性疾病的危险因素。年轻人对健康的参与程度很低，因此在他们现阶段的生活中，可能没有意识到采取健康饮食行为的重要性。在这里，我们利用社会营销原则，数字人种志和在线对话来深入了解年轻人对健康饮食的态度和情感。每天至少使用社交媒体两次的澳大利亚年轻成年人被一家商业现场公司招募。使用混合方法，结合在线民意调查，论坛和对话，参与者（n = 195，18-24岁）参加了有关健康和饮食相关主题的长达4周的讨论。使用主题分析常数比较方法分析数据。对与宗教有关的事后概念框架进行了理论化，并用作描述结果的隐喻。研究结果表明，存在着不同的年轻人群体，他们对健康饮食的态度和兴趣各不相同。我们建立了基于消费者细分的概念框架，该框架采用宗教隐喻作为“消费者”的类型。一些年轻人练习并相信健康饮食的信息（圣人），而一些年轻人则反对这些信息，并且不愿意做出任何改变（罪人），而另一部分人既意识到了这些问题，也对这些问题感兴趣，但并不健康饮食当前优先考虑的行为（座位上的人）。消费者细分和社会营销技术可帮助卫生专业人员了解其目标受众并针对不同的细分量身定制特定的信息。细分提供了有关哪些群体最容易受到影响以采用所需行为的见解。呈现的类型学可能是健康专业人员和社会营销人员设计使年轻人参与健康饮食的策略的有用工具，尤其是那些正在考虑改变但缺乏动力的年轻人。通过在健康促进中使用市场细分，可以通过根据特定人群的需求，信念和意图为特定人群量身定制消息，从而增强健康消息传递的能力，从而推动对最有可能发生变化的人群的资源有效利用。呈现的类型学可能是健康专业人员和社会营销人员设计使年轻人参与健康饮食的策略的有用工具，尤其是那些正在考虑改变但缺乏动力的年轻人。通过在健康促进中使用市场细分，可以通过根据特定人群的需求，信念和意图为特定人群量身定制消息，从而增强健康消息传递的能力，从而推动对最有可能发生变化的人群的资源有效利用。呈现的类型学可能是健康专业人员和社会营销人员设计使年轻人参与健康饮食的策略的有用工具，尤其是那些正在考虑改变但缺乏动力的年轻人。通过在健康促进中使用市场细分，可以通过根据特定人群的需求，信念和意图为特定人群量身定制消息，从而增强健康消息传递的能力，从而推动对最有可能发生变化的人群的资源有效利用。