2020-2021
To be announced
2019-2020
Msc. Denise Decleene
For my thesis, I want to investigate whether there is a polarization between carnivores and vegetarians. I was very triggered to do research about this topic since I have become a vegetarian myself a couple of months ago and experienced a lot of resistance which I didn’t expect. Feels like there is a lack of understanding between both parties that needs to be clarified.
Keywords: Polarization, Sociology, Vegetarianism
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Msc. Julie de Pelsmaker
The food industry continues to move. This research focuses on the acceptance of novel foods, more specifically microbial protein, among young adults. Microbial proteins are an answer to the demand for protein substitutes, taking sustainability into account. The right communication and marketing can ensure that this becomes a long-standing trend in our eating pattern.
Keywords: Marketing, Microbial protein, Food
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Msc. Sofie Heyman
Food media: from various sources of inspiration, we are overloaded with contradictory media reports about nutrition and food, which are often not scientifically substantiated. These messages are shared – both online and offline - by celebrity chefs, influencers, nutrition gurus and our peer groups. Through qualitative research, I would like to examine how food media influences the various factors that determine the eating behaviour of 18-25-year-olds in Flanders.
Keywords: Food media, Food behaviour, Influencers
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Msc. Lies Rogiers
There are a lot of influencers who make ‘What I eat in a day’ videos on Youtube. These videos are part of food media. Previous studies have found that food media can influence the intention to consume a certain type of food products. For example, people who are exposed to healthier food, are more likely to consume healthier food. My thesis will examine ‘What I eat in a day’ videos have an influence on the type of food people want to consume. Are they more likely to consume healthy food products, or will they prefer unhealthy food?
Keywords: Food media, Influencers, Food choice
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Msc. Astrid Van Oosterwyck
There is no escaping the exposure of food media; it’s everywhere, it’s powerful and it’s very diverse. Today, there are a lot of food endorsers and media channels but which one has the biggest influence on older adults (26-50)? And is there a difference in media channel choice among women who enjoy cooking versus women who dislike cooking?
Keywords: Food Media, Cooking, Endorsers
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Msc. Jeske van Steen
The purpose of my study is to analyse the nutritional content of recipes prepared in Dutch TV cooking shows prepared on Dutch public service television. Furthermore, I will analyse the extent to which these recipes meet the recommendations of the Dutch Schijf van Vijf for main meals. On the base of this analysis, I will critically reflect on the educational and informing functions of Dutch public service television and the (financial) role of the Dutch government in this matter. Keywords: Nutritional content, Schijf van Vijf, Dutch public television
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MSc. Emma van de Rostyne
Do people make healthier food choices when confronted with a food label that expresses how long they should walk instead of calories? I will investigate this topic in my master thesis. Furthermore, I will also investigate the role of variables such as hunger, mood and food literacy.
Keywords: Physical activity calorie equivalent label, Food choice, Calorie intake
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2018-2019
MSc. Gudrun Caelen
My master thesis will explore the healthiness of content presented in cooking programmes on social media. The cooking programme I will use to find out more about this topic is Loïc Kotfood, a cooking programme focussing at students.
Keywords: Social media, Nutritional content, Recipes, Cooking programme, Content analysis
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MSc. Steffi Chan
My master thesis aims to study how food gurus influence food attitude and behaviour of consumers in Flanders. I will perform a qualitative content analysis to see which persuasive strategies food gurus use.
Keywords: Television cooking shows, Persuasion strategies, Food literacy, entertainment-education, TV chefs
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MSc. Febe de Krijger
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in food and the influence on daily life. That's why this thesis focuses on the influence of lactose intolerance on the daily life, social relations and identity of a person. Up to now, far too little attention was paid to the impact of this life-changing diet.
Keywords: Lactose-intolerance, Social relations, Identity, Daily life, Food choices, Diet
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MSc. Kaat Geldof
We live in a society where social media influencers play a significant role. An example is the foodies industry, where food influencers share self-made dishes with their followers on Instagram. Today these Foodies are increasingly being asked to promote food products. In my master thesis, I will investigate how promoting healthy and unhealthy products on Instagram can have an impact on the consumer, depending on what the photo looks like, whether you see a consumption or only the product is shown in the post.
Keywords: Online Influencer Marketing, Instagram marketing, Food marketing, Social, Influence Model, Food Media
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MSc. Justine Mathys
Nutrition labels, such as the Nutri-Score, are an important policy instrument for promoting healthy eating and are used for tracking unhealthy eating behavior and related diseases. This master thesis will investigate how Belgian consumers perceive the middle range category C of the Nutri-Score and if this meaning will be different depending on the product category.
Keywords: Food labels, Food labelling, Nutri-Score, Front-of-Pack, Food choice, C-score
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MSc. Maaike Roovers
My thesis examines the influence of social media videos, such as posted on 'Tasty', on food cravings and food literacy among young adults with the age of 18 to 25. Using an experimental survey, we will try to determine whether viewing such videos can have a positive or negative effect on healthy food behaviour as well as food choices.
Keywords: Food literacy, Social media videos, Craving, Food choices
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MSc. Chinouk Stappenbelt
For my thesis, I am going to compare nutrition advertisements based on the nutritional value of the displayed product, focused on the social context in the ad. By targeting personal characteristics, the results of this study can determine whether food with a low nutritional value is displayed in a different social context than food with a high nutritional value, hence revealing the social norms that exist around nutrition and eating behaviour.
Keywords: Nutritional advertisements, Social norms, Calorie-dense, Sharing food, Non-nutritious, Food groups
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MSc. Floor Stoffelen
Meat production has a considerable impact on climate change. My study will investigate if documentary films, which focus on the issue of meat consumption and the environment, can increase people's awareness and consciousness of the association between these two, and decrease the consumption of meat.
Keywords: Meat reduction, Behavior intention, Documentary, Environmental knowledge, Experimental design
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MSc. Lauranna Teunissen
Nowadays social network influencers are perceived as influential, as they also play an important role in food marketing by introducing products to their audiences. This study examines the effects of lifestyle YouTube influencers on food choice intentions and food choice behaviour of adolescents. More precisely, this study investigates how the para-social interaction (the audience creates with the online influencer) is related to food choice intentions and food choice behaviour.
Keywords: YouTuber, Food behaviour, Food behaviour intentions, Influencer, Parasocial interaction, Adolescents, Experiment