Physical Activity, Taste Preferences, Selected Socioeconomic Characteristics: Differentiate Consumer Behavior Older Adults in the Dairy Market in Poland – Pilot Study

The literature reports on the relationship of dairy product consumption with preferences, socio-economic characteristics, and physical activity. Little is known about buying behavior in the dairy market and its determinants, especially among older adults. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between older adults' habitual purchase of dairy products and their liking, frequency of buying functional dairy products, physical activity, and selected socioeconomic characteristics. The cross-sectional pilot study was conducted between July and October 2024, among 310 people aged 60 and over in the Lower Silesia region of Poland. The survey collected data on the frequency of buying of dairy products (PF-DP scale), their preferences (P_DP scale), physical activity (IPAQ questionnaire), and socio-demographic and economic characteristics. The PCA analysis identified 3 patterns of buying behavior. The IPAQ procedure assessed physical activity levels in MET-minutes/week or minutes/week. The relationship between the identified buying behavior patterns and their determinants was verified using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Chi-square. It was found that high intensity of the “conventional dairy products and fats” pattern correlated with taste preferences, living with family (with or without a partner), high physical activity, including shuffling, sports, and recreational activities, and frequent purchase of different functional food groups. The financial situation described as “we live on average” was related to the high intensity of the “dairy fat” pattern and its moderate intensity to the high activity associated with movement. Only the high activity associated with housework was associated with a moderate increase in the “powdered milk, condensed and unfermented dairy drinks” pattern. With limited literature data and inconclusive survey results, evaluating the relationship, especially its causal nature, between the attitudes and buying behavior of the elderly in the dairy market, requires further research.