Differences of perceptions of girls and boys regarding milk and dairy consumption and their preferred information sources among elementary school children in Tehran

Adequate daily milk and dairy products intake seems to an important for children’s health. The current qualitative study aimed to explore girls’ and boys’ perceptions toward milk and dairy consumption and their preferred information sources among elementary school children in Iran A total of 111 primary school students (Boys=48.6%) aged 8-12 years (mean age=10.8±0.57), were selected by purposive sampling with a maximum diversity from different primary schools of Tehran. Data in this qualitative study were gathered through sixteen focus group discussions (FGDs), with an average of seven participants per group and a maximum of ten. FGDs were separately conducted amongstudents in different grades guided by semi-structured questions developed based on goal of the study. Contents of all sixteen focus groups were analyzed using MAXQDA, 2010 guided by social marketing approach. Seven categories, and 36 codes were extracted and merged into different aspects of dairy products including price, place, product and promotion according to 4Ps of marketing mix. the cost of dairy products appeared as a great concern among female students compared with male students. The naturalness, the taste and the quality of the dairy products were the main concepts mentioned by male students. Educational tours through visiting dairy stores, farms and factories were the preferences related to promotion which are more stated by male students. The most important sources of information from the students' view were primarily parents, especially mothers. Teachers, school textbooks, health educators and specialists came next. Referring to the food labels on the product package was in the last access rating for information, and a limited number of students mentioned it. The findings indicated gender differences in the preferences of milk and dairy products among school-age children. Such differences are important for dairy industries owners to provide effective strategies to increase dairy production and consumers demand. In order to improve milk and dairy consumption among children several strategies can also be induced from family especially maternal side and educational system to assistchildren.

کلیدواژه ها:

dairy consumption ، information sources ، elementary school children