Psychobehavioral mechanisms linking public health policy to consumers’ intention to avoid HFSS foods: A PLS-SEM analysis

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Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The rapid growth in consumption of foods high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) has intensified public health challenges related to obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, prompting governments to adopt regulatory interventions such as fiscal measures, nutrition labeling, and marketing restrictions. However, the behavioral mechanisms through which public health policies translate into consumers’ intention to avoid HFSS foods remain insufficiently understood. This study aims to explain the psychobehavioral pathways linking public health policy to consumers’ intention to avoid HFSS foods by integrating policy awareness, institutional trust, psychological mediators, and habitual eating patterns. A cross-sectional survey of 300 Indonesian young consumers was analyzed using an advanced Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, incorporating mediation, moderation, and Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA). The results indicate that HFSS policy awareness significantly enhances perceived policy effectiveness (β = 0.257) and attitudes toward avoiding HFSS foods (β = 0.749). At the same time, trust in government strengthens perceived policy effectiveness and attitudes, particularly among consumers with entrenched food habits. Intention to avoid HFSS foods is primarily driven by perceived policy effectiveness (β = 0.564) and attitudes (β = 0.476), whereas health risk perception shows no direct effect. The model demonstrates strong explanatory power (R² for intention = 0.943). These findings suggest that effective HFSS policies operate not merely through risk communication but by strengthening policy credibility, institutional trust, and positive consumer attitudes, offering critical insights for designing behaviorally effective public health interventions.

Acknowledgments
This research is funded by the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) on behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, and managed under the EQUITY Program (Contract No 8/IT2/T/HK.00.01/XI/2025 & No 3594/PKS/ITS/2025).

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    • Figure 1. Proposed research model
    • Table 1. Respondent characteristics
    • Table 2. Convergent validity, reliability, and multicollinearity
    • Table 3. Discriminant validity: Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlations
    • Table 4. Hypotheses results for the structural model
    • Table 5. Structural model evaluation (R², R² adjusted, and Q²)
    • Table 6. IPMA analysis result (construct target: Intention to Avoid HFSS Foods (INT))
    • Conceptualization
      Arman Hakim Nasution, Lissa Rosdiana Noer, Suci Megawati
    • Funding acquisition
      Arman Hakim Nasution, Lissa Rosdiana Noer
    • Project administration
      Arman Hakim Nasution, Lissa Rosdiana Noer
    • Resources
      Arman Hakim Nasution, Lissa Rosdiana Noer
    • Supervision
      Arman Hakim Nasution, Lissa Rosdiana Noer, Suci Megawati
    • Writing – original draft
      Arman Hakim Nasution, Lissa Rosdiana Noer, Muhammad Alfarizi, Fadila Isnaini, Prahardika Prihananto, Suci Megawati, Ngatindriatun
    • Writing – review & editing
      Arman Hakim Nasution, Lissa Rosdiana Noer, Suci Megawati
    • Data curation
      Muhammad Alfarizi, Fadila Isnaini, Ngatindriatun
    • Formal Analysis
      Muhammad Alfarizi, Prahardika Prihananto, Suci Megawati
    • Methodology
      Muhammad Alfarizi, Prahardika Prihananto, Suci Megawati
    • Software
      Muhammad Alfarizi, Prahardika Prihananto
    • Visualization
      Muhammad Alfarizi, Fadila Isnaini
    • Investigation
      Fadila Isnaini, Prahardika Prihananto, Ngatindriatun
    • Validation
      Prahardika Prihananto, Suci Megawati