Thesis (MBS) - Cork Institute of Technology, 2017.

Includes bibliographical references.

'A build-up of too much body fat can cause significant health risks and development of medical conditions and disabilities (National Institute Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2014). The causes of obesity involve the disproportionate intake of calories that are not utilised (World Health Organization (WHO), 2016). The rising trend towards obesity threatens to bankrupt medical systems (Helfer and Schult, 2014). There has been a heighten awareness from the general public in the last decade of the affiliation between health and nutrition (Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance (IUNA), 2011). In light of the ever increasing obesity trend, individuals still desire to take control of their health. The literature reviewed revealed that there is a need for a greater understanding of whether nutritional labelling impacts on consumer choice in the obese classification. For the purpose of this study, the researcher applied a quantitative approach, exploiting a questionnaire as the vehicle to collect the data. The sample consisted of patients that attended the Pre Assessment Clinic (PAC), six to twelve weeks prior to their upcoming elective surgical procedure, who were in the obese classification (measured by their Body Mass Index), fulfilling the criteria's of ; either gender, an age profile between 40 and 70 years old, the ability to speak and read English, and who carried out grocery shopping within the week, four week time frame was allocated in the research health care setting. Ethical approval was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Cork teaching hospitals and parent hospital in which the research was carried out. The main finding is that 80% of respondents would like to lose weight. Interestingly, the findings show that 53% of respondents were only concerned about what they consumed when their clothes became tight, 40% stated that a food product was healthier if it was carrying a front of the pack labelling system, however 23 respondents stated it never influenced their food choice selection, which implied how do individuals gain this perception if they don't utilise nutritional labelling. Nutritional labelling could be an important visual aid to assist patients in gaining control of their weight, but the finding show its failure as an aid, due to its complexity to locate and interpret. This study will be of benefit to healthcare professionals, to streamline their educational focus, to basic nutrition labelling, to enable patients to make an informed health food chosice selection, to maintain a healthy weight' - (Author's abstract)