Compartmentalized Health Consciousness: Examining the Selective Health Filter in Health-Related Consumer Behavior among Young Adults in Bangladesh

Abstract

Health consciousness is an important element affecting health‐related consumer behavior; however, health awareness and good intentions do not always make for consistent choices in favor of healthier eating. This narrative literature review explores this inconsistency among young adults in Dhaka, Bangladesh, via the concept of compartmentalized health consciousness. The present work discussed relevant studies of health-consciousness, consumer behavior, attitude–behavior gaps and organic food consumption fast-food behavior in youth consumers. According to the existing literature, decision making regarding health is influenced not only by health but also by factors such as price, taste, convenience, availability, social influence (of family and peers), time pressure on the decision maker (the consumer), emotional state of the consumer, habit and experience-dependent automatic shifts in behavior (especially for topics like dietary habits) with two-way influence between self-identity and subsequent purchasing or consumption decisions. Thus, the same person can make health a priority in one consumption situation but more of a secondary concern in another. This review synthesizes these findings and contributes by presenting the Selective Health Filter as a concept through which health may be reinforced, negotiated or superseded in decision-making. Additional empirical investigations are still needed to validate this framework for different consumption behaviors, particularly among the younger generation of Dhaka.