A qualitative exploration of food choice motives of urban indigenous food gatekeepers in Fiji: Implications for the use of the food choice questionnaire

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Introduction
Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have exceptionally high rates of obesity, overweight, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and premature deaths.The causes are complex but one prominent factor is the notable shift from a plant and seafood-based diet to diets high in, salt, sugar and unhealthy fats such as processed meat, ultra-processed packaged foods and fast foods (Farrell et al., 2021;Savage et al., 2021).Pacific diets are undergoing nutrition transitions due to several reasons.Firstly, globalization and trade liberalization policies have increased the infiltration and consumption of these unhealthy foods within PICs (Ofa & Gani, 2017;Ravuvu et al., 2021;Schmidt & Fang, 2021;Sievert et al., 2019).Climate change is another prominent factor propelling nutrition transitions in PICs (Savage et al., 2020(Savage et al., , 2021)).Climate change has resulted in changes in duration of seasons optimal for local agriculture such as longer periods of wet or dry seasons resulting in an unstable supply of locally grown foods (Savage et al., 2020).Moreover, extreme weather events such as cyclones and droughts have also resulted in widespread destruction of local agriculture, further impacting availability of locally grown foods (Savage et al., 2020(Savage et al., , 2021)).This unstable supply of locally grown food also drives up food prices resulting in Pacific Islanders opting for cheaper, unhealthy food options such as processed meats and ultra-processed packaged food (Farrel et al., 2021;Savage et al., 2020;2021).
Urbanization is another key contributor of nutrition transitions in PICs through increased engagement in cash economy which in turn increases the affordability of fast foods and processed and ultra-processed foods whilst decreasing opportunities of gardening due to time and land constraints (Farrel et al., 2021;Savage et al., 2021;Sievert et al., 2019).Urbanization has also resulted in an increase in the number of working women in PICs making these unhealthy foods not only more affordable but also a convenient food option due to less preparation time (Farrel et al., 2021;Savage et al., 2021).Digital media environment is also changing in developing PICs like Fiji where a vast majority of Fijians have access to high-speed internet (Pacific Data Hub, 2022).This increases their exposure to advertisements and social messaging on unhealthy fast foods, ultra-processed packaged foods and sugary drinks which may be driving a cultural globalization resulting in an increase in consumption of these foods (Buksh et al., 2022;Chung et al., 2021;Granheim et al., 2022;Hawkins et al., 2020).Finally, in PICs like Fiji, even short-term safety measures around COVID19 pandemic also resulted in nutrition transitions such as reduced consumption of red and processed meat, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, increased consumption of sweet and savory snack foods, high in sugar, salts and unhealthy fats and greater reliance on energy dense foods to keep themselves full (Buksh et al., 2021).Combined, these factors have resulted in substantial changes in the foodscape in PICs, ultimately impacting food choice decisions of Pacific Islanders (Clary et al., 2017;Musuva et al., 2022).However, there is paucity of research on how these environmental changes have affected food choice motives of Pacific Islanders.
Food choice is a complex process by which people consider, select, acquire, and consume foods and beverages (Furst et al., 1996;Sobal et al., 2006).Many factors influence the dietary choices that people make and while initial approaches to studying food choice used existing frameworks and theories (e.g., theory of planned behaviour, health belief model) (Sobal et al., 2006), there is growing recognition that a holistic multi-level approach, which considers the interplay between individual, social and environmental factors, is required to examining food choice motives (Chen & Antonelli, 2020;Fernqvist et al., 2024;Furst et al., 1996;Sobal et al., 2006).For instance, Chen and Antonelli (2020) in a comprehensive review of conceptual models related to food choice identified a broad framework for understanding the complexities of food choice behaviour.Their framework incorporates (a) food internal factors including the sensory and perceptual features of food (e.g., taste, texture, appearance, quality nutritional and health value), (b) food external factors including food information (e.g., nutritional labels, branding, ethics of production etc.), social environment and physical environment, (c) personal-state factors including biological features (e. g., genetics, dietary patterns, personal health), physiological needs (e.g., hunger, appetite and weight status), psychological components (e.g., emotion, motivation, personality), habits and experiences, (d) cognitive factors (e.g., knowledge, skills, attitudes, preferences, demographic features and personal identity) and (e) socio-cultural factors (e.g., cultural norms and values and economic and political elements).
By integrating these diverse factors, the framework provides a comprehensive understanding of the motives behind food choice.However, frameworks like these are generally unsuitable for large-scale research and most questionnaires measuring food choice, such as those focused on health, price, sensory appeal, and convenience, do not adopt a holistic multi-level approach, often overlooking factors like social influences, cultural norms, and broader environmental contexts or (Steptoe et al., 1995).
The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) developed by Steptoe et al. (1995) is one exception.It provides a broad framework for measuring the different factors that impact food choice.This multi-dimensional tool captures nine potential motives of food choice: (1) the health motive focuses on choosing food based on their nutrient content and choosing food that promote general health and well-being, (2) the mood motive relates to choosing food that increase alertness, improve mood state and help with relaxation and stress control, (3) the convenience motive includes considerations around ease of food preparation and purchase, (4) the sensory appeal motive comprises considerations around the taste, smell and appearance of food, (5) the natural content motive focuses on the absence of additives in food and the use of natural ingredients, (6) the price motive entails considerations around affordability of food, (7) the weight control motive relates to choosing food that help with weight control, (8) the familiarity motive considers eating food that the person is accustomed to eating while growing up, and finally (9) the ethical concern motive relates to environmental and political concerns (Steptoe et al., 1995, p. 271-273).
Assessing different factors within a single measure also enables direct comparisons of the importance of the different food choice motives and is useful for developing interventions on promoting healthy eating.Cross-cultural studies using FCQ indicate cultural similarities and differences in important factors for food choice.These studies also reveal that some of the nine factors are consistently rated higher than others across the world (Jaeger et al., 2022;Markovina et al., 2015;Prescott et al., 2002).For instance, price was most important food choice motive, while health ranked in the top three most important considerations amongst samples from the United States (US), the United Kingdom, (Jaeger et al., 2022).On the other hand, natural content of the food where the emphasis is on natural ingredients and absence of additives was not a popular food choice by many of the cultures studied (Jaeger et al., 2022;Markovina et al., 2015;Prescott et al., 2002).These findings indicate that interventions promoting healthy eating should address food cost concerns and increase awareness of the health risks associated with food additives.Studies have also recorded intracultural variability in food choice motives and factors such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), socioeconomic status, situational factors (e.g., eating at home or eating out) and lifestyle factors (e.g., dieting and physical activity) also impact the nine FCQ motives (da Silva et al., 2022;Eertmans et al., 2004;Konttinen et al., 2021;Savelli & Murmura, 2023).
Since its development, the FCQ has been used to measure food choice motives in over 40 countries (Cunha et al., 2018) and has been widely adapted (e.g., by Szakály et al., 2018;Verain et al., 2021) and validated (e.g., by Cabral et al., 2017;Jaeger et al., 2022;Markovina et al., 2015;Santos-Antonio et al., 2021;Verain et al., 2021).Nonetheless, a systematic review of 71 studies using FCQ strongly recommended that prior to using the scale in an understudied cultural group, an initial preliminary qualitative exploration is important to investigate for (1) conceptual equivalence for the nine motives and (2) to explore other potential food choice motives, (Cunha et al., 2018).Findings of qualitative studies on food choice motives reinforce this recommendation indicating that factors such as religious beliefs (e.g., food proscriptions), how filling people find certain types of foods, and the positive experiences that participants associate with food such as satisfaction, happiness and comfort also impact food choice (e.g., Antin & Hunt, 2012;Musuva et al., 2022).These findings highlight that while the FCQ captures food choice motives deemed important by the European consumers that it was developed for, it may not fully capture the priorities of other cultures.
Food choice is a complex, layered decision, consisting of multiple motives and an understanding of these motives will enable the development of targeted interventions around promoting healthy eating.The steady increase in rates of NCDs, obesity and overweight and the low consumption of fruits and vegetables amongst Fijian adults and children (Buksh et al., 2022;Buksh et al., 2023a;Ministry of Health and Medical Sciences, 2011;World Health Organization, 2018) require an urgent in-depth assessment of what drives food choices within this community.In a previous study we documented that price, convenience and food preferences are important food choice motives which contributed to unhealthy eating amongst Pacific Islanders (Buksh et al., 2023a;Buksh et al., 2021).This study builds on the findings of the previous studies through an in-depth exploration of food choice motives of Pacific Islanders using a hybrid thematic analysis to (1) explore urban indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) mothers' perceptions on how the nine FCQ motives impact food choice (2) to examine conceptual equivalence of the nine food choice motives and (3) to identify additional food choice motives, not captured in the FCQ.iTaukei mothers are important sociocultural agents who act as food gatekeepers for their families by setting eating appropriateness standards within their households and making food decisions for their families including planning and preparing family meals (Buksh et al., 2021, 2022, Buksh et al., 2023b;McCabe et al., 2011).As such, these mothers can provide important insights into food decisions that they make for themselves and for their families.

Research design overview
An explorative qualitative approach, employing both deductive and inductive thematic analysis, was used.This hybrid version of thematic analysis permits both, the use of prior research and theory to identify coding themes and the flexibility to generate themes from the data (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006;Swain, 2018).Therefore, this research design is useful for exploring the expression of the nine food choice motives identified by Steptoe et al. (1995) within this sample and for exploring any other motives of food choice identified by urban iTaukei mothers.The latter is especially important due to the novelty of such research within PICs (Cunha et al., 2018).

Researcher description
The study's lead author, an Indo-Fijian mother residing in the greater Suva Urban Area (GSUA), oversaw study design, data collection, and analysis.All three authors have previous qualitative research experience on various aspects of nutrition and dietary behaviour within the urban iTaukei community, including (1) their positive and negative changes in diet, eating, and food purchasing experiences in response to COVID-19 safety measures,(2) the influence of sociocultural factors on unhealthy eating, overeating, and nutrition transitions, and (3) iTaukei mother's perceptions on healthy eating and how these perceptions impact the home food environment (Buksh et al., 2021(Buksh et al., , 2022;;Buksh et al., 2023b).

Study participants
iTaukei mothers were eligible to participate in the study if they were involved in family meal planning, shopping and preparation, were conversant in English and resided in the GSUA.The GSUA is the largest urban center in Fiji, housing a third of Fiji's population and 57% of urban population (United Nations Human Settlement Programme, 2012).This region has high literacy rates (97%) and 80% of women in this region are in paid employment (Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2023).Christianity is the dominant religion within iTaukei (99.2%) and nearly 60% of iTaukei are Methodist (Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2023).Participant recruitment and interviews commenced after ethical approval from the Research and Innovation Office of The University of the South Pacific (Reference Number: SoLaSS 08/22).
The sample used for this study was drawn from a pool of participants from a larger related study and only a segment of the transcript was used for this paper (Buksh et al., 2021(Buksh et al., , 2022;;Buksh et al., 2023b).Purposive sampling was used and community leaders, well versed with the scope of the study and eligibility criteria, assisted in participant recruitment and gave potential participants an overview of the study aims and procedures.Once mothers agreed to participate, the lead researcher contacted them and obtained recorded verbal consent.When obtaining consent, all participants were informed of their rights to confidentiality, participation, withdrawal from the research, and compensation.At the end of the telephone interview, participants received a compensation of FJD20 through online money transfer.
Fourteen iTaukei mothers, aged 27-49 years (M = 37.29, SD = 7.3) from GSUA participated in this study.Four of the mothers were stay at home mothers and the remaining were either working fulltime (n = 8) or studying fulltime (n = 2).All mothers self-identified as Christians with a majority from the Methodist denomination (n = 8), followed by the Seventh Day Adventist (n = 3), Pentecostal (n = 2) and Assemblies of God (n = 1) denominations.Family sizes ranged from three to ten members and six of the mothers were living in extended family settings, whilst eight lived with their nuclear families.Eight of the families' annual household income was lower than FJD30, 000 and the remaining had annual household incomes of approximately FJD40, 000 (n = 4) and approximately FJ80, 000 (n = 2).

Data collection
A semi-structured interview guide was used for the in-depth interviews.The interview opened with a broad, exploratory question: What are some of the things you consider when choosing or preparing meals for your family?Once the initial responses of the participants were explored in detail, participants were asked about their views on the remaining of the nine food choice motives identified by Steptoe et al. (1995) that were not covered in their initial responses.The indicators (items) for each food choice motive from the FCQ (referred to as factor) were used to develop prompts to explore the motive (Steptoe et al., 1995) (Appendix A).Where relevant, responses for each food motive were explored in detail so as to capture all possible expressions of that food choice motive within this sample.The interview was closed with asking mothers to identify their three main motives of food choice.
The interviews, averaging 45 min in length, were conducted over telephone and audio recorded with participant consent.Since theoretical saturation guided participant recruitments, data collection and analysis were treated as iterative processes and interviews were stopped after no new themes were identified after three consecutive interviews (Braun & Clarke, 2021).Interviews were transcribed verbatim at the end of the interview.

Data analysis
The initial coding was undertaken by the lead researcher, who also conducted the interviews and is well versed with the population under study.Initially, a deductive approach as outlined by Fereday and Muir-Cochrane (2006) and Swain (2018) was applied and a code book was developed using a priori codes based on the nine factors and their respective items (subcodes) derived from the FCQ (Steptoe et al., 1995).The transcripts were read multiple times and coded using the a priori codes.Once this process was completed for all 14 transcripts, an inductive process was applied.The remaining parts of transcripts that were not coded were read multiple times to derive a posteriori codes which were then mapped across all 14 transcripts.Once the initial coding was completed by the lead author, extended discussions with the second and third authors were carried out to further scrutinize the codes and the coding process until a consensus was reached.For instance, the a posteriori codes were further reviewed to ensure relevance to the research question and to ensure there was no overlap with a priori codes from the FCQ.During this process, of the five a posteriori codes, only three were retained and two codes were merged under a priori codes: Ease of physical access was regrouped under Factor 3 -Convenience as the factor encompasses ease of purchase, an element of access and culinary skills was regrouped under Factor 8 -Familiarity as participants indicated that they opted for iTaukei food due to familiarity with cooking these dishes.Finally, although the FCQ items were used to prompt for specific food motives, in the final analysis, we also considered participants' perceptions of which items they attributed to each food choice motive.This allowed us to record data on conceptual equivalence.

Results
Seven of the nine FCQ motives were identified by participants in this study (i.e., health, mood, convenience, sensory appeal, price, weight control and familiarity and considerations around natural content and ethical concern were not noted as determinants of food choice in this sample.When questioned on these two motives and their indicators, participants admitted that they don't consider these when making food decisions.For instance, when probing on Natural Content, participants admitted that they don't use food labels to screen for certain additives.Further, three new food choice motives were identified by participants: Food that is filling, religious dietary restrictions and food quality.Of the ten food motives, the 14 mothers identified food that is filling (n = 11), taste from sensory appeal motive (n = 10), convenience (n = 7), health (n = 7), and price (n = 7) as the most important factors they considered for making food decisions.Their descriptions of important food choice motives indicate that for these mothers, making food decisions was a complex, layered decision, consisting of multiple motives.The following quotes explicate this: It has to be something that is in my budget and that will keep my family full till the next time they eat … food that my family enjoys eating so that they eat well.(Stay at home mother, aged 30, extended family).
The taste, I try to make food that my son enjoys and eats properly.It is very important for me that my family eat properly, are well fed, and I try to make it tasty and nutritious.(Working mother, aged 41, nuclear family setting).
I always opt for tuna, tinned fish or sausages because you can spread it to a few meals.So, I think it is has to healthy and the price, and easy to cook … those are the main considerations.(Working mother, aged 28, extended family setting).
The first section of the results that follow discusses the food choice motives identified according to a priori themes derived from the FCQ (FCQ factors) and their indicators (Steptoe et al. al, 1995).The second section presents the a posteriori themes inductively identified in the data.However, as evident from how participants spoke about the different food choice motives, deciding what to eat is far from a simple process and while we have presented excerpts from the transcripts that most closely represent the motive, participants often discussed multiple food choice motives simultaneously and other related issues.

FCQ factorhealth
Health was a common food choice motive, identified by all the mothers and was often rated in their main three food choice motives.Several differences between the FCQ items for health and participant perception of health motive were identified.Participant descriptions of health as a food choice motive revolved mainly around the food of choice being nutritious, the nutrient content of the food (vitamins and minerals), and choosing food that prevents diseases and maintains health and wellbeing.One participant who works in the beauty industry also emphasized the importance of food being good for skin and hair.
Considerations around fiber, roughage and protein content, which are indicators for health in the FCQ, were not identified by participants as important concerns.Instead, participants identified three other food choice motives associated with health: Foods low in fat, foods low in sugar, and unprocessed foods.Unlike the FCQ, which categorizes foods low in fat as a motive associated with Factor 7-weight control, participants of this study associated "foods low in oil and fats" with a healthrelated choice.
In my family, we try to eat healthy.So, we look after our health and the health of my parents, because they are sickly too, my dad has high blood pressure.My main goal is to keep them healthy.For all of us to be healthy and not have all these diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.(Stay home mother, aged 42, extended family setting).
Healthy eating is you are what you eat, you are what you consume in your body.I am from the beauty industry and I believe what you put in your body; it will show the result.No matter how much we want to look good or feel good but if you don't feed it well, it will show.[] When I cook, I try to make food that is healthy for my family.So, I try to avoid sugar, fats … oily and fried food.[] So even for snacks I encourage my sons to have fruits … it has vitamins and minerals.And eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding oily foods is good for inside and outside.[] For packet snacks, I don't keep them at home because it isn't healthy so we avoid it.(Working mother, aged 33, nuclear family setting).

FCQ factormood
While all of the participants of this study associated food choice with all the items in the FCQ for mood, using food for coping with stressful events such as work and/or study commitments, (both for the participant or for their children) played out more strongly in their descriptions.The mothers also indicated that emotional eating was common during these negative mood states.
Oh, I drink lots of coffee.I dunno where I got that habit from, but ever since I became a working person because he (sicreferring to coffee) became my best friend.He (sic) helps me focus and stay awake![] I've also, I think I discovered about myself that nowadays when I'm not feeling right.When I'm feeling down, when I'm feeling sad or maybe over stressed, I realize umm when I eat my favorite food, it really helps me forget about it.[] I don't know why spicy food just helps me calm down from a very hectic day.So, what really works for me is a lot of spicy food and a cup of tea.(Working mother, aged 28, nuclear family).
However, mothers also associated mood with expressing positive mood states, especially during family outings, family events and celebrations.Mothers in this study described how food was used to express happiness and how these celebrations or outings resulted in greater indulgence in food and in unhealthy eating: When it's a stressful day, we go for fast foods.At times you just need it, to eat something unhealthy [laughs].And that makes you feel good.Maybe at that time.I … we get takeaways and its always refreshing to go out too.So, when there is something to celebrate like my boys' birthdays we go out and enjoy eating out.Or there is a family function, like a wedding or something.In iTaukei functions like weddings, or a village function and even funeral functions there's always a lot of food and we obviously end up overeating.(Working mother, aged 33, nuclear family setting).
Yes, we, we, my husband and I make sure that we have a time for our family, there's a family time.So usually, movie, movie, movie nights are the most, best time ever.For us so we make sure that it's [ultraprocessed snacks] not included in the shopping but if we're planning to do movie nights on Saturdays, we usually buy them on Saturday in the morning.So, potato chips … our favorite popcorn, Doritos, the normal.(Full-time student, aged 27, extended family setting).

FCQ factorconvenience
While Factor 3 of FCQ focuses on two aspects related to convenience: ease of preparation and ease of purchase, evidence for only the former was found in this sample.All mothers in this study shared that convenience was an important consideration in food choice and their descriptions revolved mainly around ease of preparation due to time constraints.In some cases, this admittedly led to unhealthy eating as mothers opted for convenience processed food.
Well, as a working or studying mother, it is definitely faster to cook corned mutton or beef and tinned tuna.So, I can make meal quickly than cooking fresh meat.(Full-time student, aged 27, extended family setting).
Meals that are easy and not time consuming, it's manageable for me to make.Like soups are easy for me to make, put everything in water and boil.(Stay home mother, aged 34, nuclear family setting).
Processed food should be avoided but sometimes I go for processed foods because of time constraints eh.When I am working late or running short of time, I have to just go for that option.It's the short-cut food.We would also have sausages once in a while, I buy those ready-made chicken patties for burgers and sometime corned mutton or beef.(Working mother, aged 41, nuclear family setting).
However, instead of ease of purchase, participants in this study closely aligned convenience with ease of physical access.Mothers reported that they opted for fruits and vegetables that are in season and therefore easily available and foods or ingredients that are available at home, including in their home gardens.
So, um, What, what's in season, for example, what's available in the vegetable market.Sometimes you may not get cabbage, sometimes we may not get green beans.Most of the vegetables in Fiji are seasonal, so whatever's in season, except for the important vegetables and root crops like cassava.So, when there breadfruit [flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit] on the trees, we can have breadfruit.(Working mother, aged 28, nuclear family setting).
Our meals revolve around the meat we have in the fridge.So, if we have liver, so then we have roti or rice with it.If we have fish, it would be fried fish with cassava or fish in lolo [coconut cream].(Stay home mother, aged 34, nuclear family setting).
So, it's, it's basically anything that's available in the fridge …. on the shelf.So, I look at it and make a decision, I go okay let's just have this for for for dinner.(Studying full-time, aged 27, extended family setting).

FCQ factorsensory appeal
Factor 4 of the FCQ measures considerations around the appearance, smell and taste of food and while all three were identified in participant reports, for all of the participants of this study, taste played a stronger role in the food that they chose.Most mothers also identified taste as one of their three main food choice motives.Mothers shared that when it came to taste, the likes and dislikes of their family members played a significant role in meal planning, ensuring everyone in the family enjoyed their food and ate well.Therefore, mothers shared that at times they had to cook foods that they knew to be unhealthy because of family preferences.
Definitely the taste, when I am cooking, I cook with my heart and soul.You put the best in your meal, like everyone finishes the meal and they say thank you.So, I add a lot of spices like garlic and ginger and dhaniya [coriander] in the soup and that the food is done well.Like not undercooked or overcooked.Just right.And if the food looks and and colorful, then people eat more.So, I try to add colours in my food and vegetables help.Like carrots and greens add that colour.And so, everybody eats well.[] It's the taste of the food and the presentation.You know it triggers your taste buds and you indulge more and more.(Stay at home mother, aged 44, extended family).
But if I just come back from work and my husband has cooked something, and you can smell it as soon as you enter the door … oh that's so nice!I, I, I love the smell of coffee being made in those coffee makers.It's not just my physical body that's hungry, my, my spiritual self is also very hungry.[Laughs] Apart from my physical … my stomach, my soul needs satisfying, I don't know if that is even valid [laughs].(Working mother, aged 28, nuclear family setting).
Yes, my son is very choosy about his food, I don't know he is just very picky and it has pushed me to be creative.Like I have to constantly get recipes and things like that in order to make sure he eats nicely and enjoys his meal.He enjoys sausage and fries, burgers, pizza and pasta and I have to make it even though I know it's not the healthiest.And my husband and I, we are very easy-going and we just eat the same thing.(Working mother, aged 41, nuclear family setting).

FCQ factorprice
Price was a very important consideration for the mothers in this study as they shopped for food items and decided on family meal outings.This consideration was more pronounced amongst participants whose annual household income was lower than FJD30, 000 and in single-income families and these mothers identified price as one of their three main considerations of food choice (n = 11).While in many cases, this meant participants would opt for cheaper canned food, mothers who were concerned about health shared how they did their best to buy healthy foods on a low budget.
Also, the price of food, I have to adjust based on the money I am given to do my shopping, so I have to be careful what I buy.And I always buy from Shop n Save [supermarket] because it's cheaper and has more specials.(Stay home mother, aged 42, extended family setting).
Since I have a single income family, we really balance out a lot of things.I try not to compromise the quality of food just because it's cheaper.But I am careful and creative when it comes to shopping within the, my budget.Like for marketing, we go in the afternoon when prices are lower and stuff go cheap.I would check prices of food items in different stores in the newspaper and on Facebook and will go where and when there are specials.Also like for instance for fish, and my doctors encourage me to eat a lot of seafood.And what I have noticed is if you buy fish like marlin slices, it works out much cheaper than chicken and even healthier.So, I am very careful that we buy healthy food but within my budget.(Stay home mother, aged 34, nuclear family setting).
Things are more expensive, the past few months we find beef is now cheaper than chicken.And of course, sausages are cheaper then corned beef is much cheaper than the chicken.We can have two meals of beef or corned beef of instead of one meal of chicken.(Working mother, aged 33, nuclear family setting).

FCQ factorweight control
Weight control was not a popular food choice motive within this sample and upon prompting only one mother indicated that she considered weight control to some extent when making familial food decisions.Additionally, avoiding foods low in fat was associated as a motive associated with health (Also see 3.1.1).
I take in consideration about the weight because of the sports they are currently in.So that has, you know, made me to consider certain things that are cooked for them so that it helps them in participating in the sports and especially the school work.Um I want them to be fit so that can be active and not too big.And that's why a light dinner is good for my family.(Working mother, aged 45, nuclear family setting).

FCQ factorfamiliarity
All participants in this study, indicated that they preferred traditional iTaukei foods that they grew up eating and considered these to be healthy.Another aspect of familiarity, uncovered in this study, was participants' consideration of their ability to prepare a dish as a factor influencing their food choices, indicating the importance of culinary skills.Participants shared that they chose to make cuisine for their families that knew how to prepare.This is the food we grew up eating and we enjoy it.Sure, we like to try new cuisine once in a while but that's not common.At the end of the day, we enjoy our food.Also, it's easy to cook.Like we know this way of cooking and we don't have to master like a new skill.[Laughs].(Stay at home mother, aged 44, extended family).
Yes, and that's healthy because our traditional food does not have oil and fats.It's boiled and it's healthy.And also, I don't know how to cook those other types of food.(Stay at home mother, aged 30, extended family).

Food that is filling
Choosing food that is filling was also one of the t main food choice motives identified by mothers in this study.Mothers shared that they chose fod that is filling and keeps them and their families from getting hungry till the next meal.Participants also described energy dense foods as more satiating.
My main role is to feed my family well so that they don't feel hungry and to provide for them and look after them.Because I don't want them to go out somewhere looking for food or feeling hungry and go to neighbors because that's how we grew up.We were poor and at times we would go to the neighbors.[] So, I have to make stew or beef stew or chicken curry and with cassava.The cassava, it's heavy, even if you eat a little bit of curry and whole of cassava, it will take you through the night.(Working mother, aged 33, nuclear family setting).
So, it's all about planning, it's not really hard, though, it's just as long as there's something good put together and it's hearty enough and gets us full, fills our stomach.(Working mother, aged 45, nuclear family setting).
I eat once everyone else has eaten.I get full just by the smell of the food when cooking.So, if they (family members) have finish eat and there's no food left or little food, I… I just eat the boiled cassava and tea.That is very filling for me.(Stay at home mother, aged 30, extended family).

Religious dietary restrictions
The three participants from the Seventh Day Adventist denomination shared that their religious beliefs and practices such dietary guidelines and observing the Sabbath greatly impacted the foods they chose.For instance, all three participants shared that due to their religious beliefs, they avoided red meat and incorporated more seeds, legumes, fruits and vegetables in their diets.While these participants acknowledged the health benefits of this diet, they nonetheless attributed their religious guidelines as the primary reason for avoiding certain foods and incorporating others in their diets.
I think another factor to that because of the religion that belonged to, we exercise and practice more on eating wholesome foods rather than processed food and meat.[] Yes, it is, because one fundamental principles of being a Seventh Day Adventists is that its written in the bible that we have to in Genesis, where we base it from, food that is for eating is seeds, legumes, fruits and vegetables.So, I think the emphasis is from the scriptural writings where God forbids eating red meat.Anything that's red, the prawns the everything … it written in the Bible.So, I think the emphasis comes from the scripture.(Working mother, aged 45, nuclear family setting).
And I don't know if you're aware, Adventist are not allowed to start a fire or use fire during the time of Sabbath.So, from sunset to sunset, you're not allowed to turn on the stove or use a heat to cook food.So it is usually just forced the hand to just basically eat salad, every Sabbath.(Working mother, aged 28, nuclear family setting).

Food quality
Another determinant of food choice identified by participants related to issues around quality of food.Participants indicated that they tried their best to select fresh fruits and vegetables and preferred fresh meat and fish from wet markets as opposed to processed, frozen or canned food from the commercial supermarkets.It was evident from the descriptions of these mothers that fresh food from the gardens or from the markets was more desirable and valued in their community.However, they also shared how time and financial constraints negatively affected their access to fresh foods.
We go marketing on Saturday, we go go in the morning because the vegetables are fresh and we can get good fish.So we buy vegetables for the, the week only.[] Fresh, fresh fish would be specifically for the weekend maybe on a Sunday lunch, but during the week we wouldn't have fresh fish.I don't know but the fresh fish is like for a certain meal that we have as a family.But then, the other days, most of the days, it's just tuna and corned beef because it's easier and more convenient.(Studying full-time, aged 27, extended family setting).
I do my vegetable shopping weekly; I go on Saturday because everything is nice and fresh and you can really choose your vegetables and fruits.But of course, I have rourou and bele (green leafy vegetables) at home, cassava too so I can cut them fresh when I need them.(Working mother, aged 33, nuclear family setting).

Discussion
This study explored the food choice motives of urban iTaukei mothers involved in family meal planning and preparation.The results indicated that food choice is a complex, layered decision driven by multiple considerations, some of which were perceived as more important than others.Mothers in this study identified food that is filling from the a posteriori themes and, sensory appeal (especially taste), convenience, health, and price from the a priori FCQ motives in their three most important food choice motives.They also indicated how these food choice motives impact the food decisions they make for their families.The findings of this study also further reinforce the recommendations of Cunha et al. (2018) to assess the FCQ for conceptual equivalence and to explore additional food choice motives that may impact food choice motives in understudied populations.
From the a posteriori themes, food that is filling was a highly important food choice motive for this sample.Other studies on determinants of food choice also indicate perceived satiety of food as a food choice motive (e.g., Musuva et al., 2022;Pelly & Thurecht, 2019).Choosing food that is filling may be pronounced in this sample of mothers responsible for feeding their families due to the strong societal expectations for iTaukei mothers in this regard.In an earlier study we recorded that as providers of food, iTaukei mothers were expected to ensure that they provided "good meals" in abundance and that their family members were well-fed and satiated till the next meal (Buksh et al., 2022, p. 6).This may also explain why from the a priori FCQ food choice motives, sensory appeal, especially taste, was also frequently identified as an important food choice motive for these mothers.While this finding is consistent with previous research using FCQ (e.g., Alsini et al., 2023;Flax et al., 2021), mothers explained that in addition to their own food preferences, they also considered family preferences when choosing food as this meant that their family members will eat well.Also consistent with most studies using the FCQ, price was also frequently identified as an important food choice motive and was particularly important for participants from single income families and lower socioeconomic backgrounds (e.g., Jaeger et al., 2022;Konttinen et al., 2021;Markovina et al., 2015;Prescott et al., 2002).This finding implies that public health interventions and policies aimed at promoting healthier eating habits need to address affordability and economic accessibility to be effective for these populations.
Convenience was also an important food choice motive for this sample which comprised mainly of working mothers and mothers studying fulltime.In line with previous studies (e.g., Slater et al., 2012;Smit et al., 2017), mothers in this sample shared that time constraints often resulted in opting for convenience food items and processed foods which could be cooked easily and quickly.However, issues with conceptual equivalence and content validity were identified with the items of this FCQ motive.Mothers of this study did not associate items on ease of purchase with convenience.Instead, mothers shared that ease of physical access such as the availability of ingredients at home, including in their home gardens, was another consideration associated with convenience.There is a strong literature base that supports the relationship between ease of physical access and food consumption (e.g., Li et al., 2018;Titis et al., 2022;Wade, 2018;Zenk et al., 2014).This finding also underscores the importance of home gardens and expands the discussion on how access to home gardens may increase consumption of fruits and vegetables and increase dietary diversity in this sample (Buksh et al., 2021;Kegler et al., 2020;Phulkerd et al., 2020).It is noteworthy that all four aforementioned food choice motives (i.e., food that is filling, sensory appeal (taste), price and convenience) reportedly contributed to unhealthy eating and over-eating in this sample.
A promising finding was that health, which often ranks highly in other samples (e.g., Jaeger et al., 2022;Markovina et al., 2015;Prescott et al., 2002), was also frequently identified in the most important food choice motives in this sample.This food choice reportedly contributed towards healthy eating in the sample.However, both issues with conceptual equivalence and content validity were identified with items from the health motive of the FCQ.First, participants of this study associated "foods low in fat" with the health motive, as opposed to the weight control motive from the FCQ.Second, participants did not associate the items "Is high in protein" and "Is high in fibre and roughage" with the health motive.And finally, consistent with the findings of Buksh et al., 2023a, participants identified two additional items for the health motive: "Is low in sugars" and "Is unprocessed or minimally processed".The authors also identified significant gaps in iTaukei mothers' knowledge about unhealthy processed foods, which was mostly confined to ultra-processed packaged snacks, soft drinks, and canned meat (Buksh et al., 2023b).This finding suggests a need for targeted educational interventions to broaden understanding of the wide range of unhealthy processed foods that is widely consumed in this community.
On the other hand, three of the a priori FCQ food motives (i.e.familiarity, mood and weight control) and two emergent food motives (i.e.religious food restrictions and food quality) were not identified as important food choice motives by mothers in this study.Of the a priori FCQ food motives, only familiarity had issues with content validity.While participants shared that they preferred traditional iTaukei foods that they grew up eating, they also shared that they opted for these foods because they knew how to prepare them.Other studies have also recorded that cooking skills impacts food choice, often resulting in healthier food choices (e.g., Hartmann et al., 2013;Laila et al., 2023;Lavelle et al., 2020).The findings on mood as a food choice motive in this study confirm the findings of studies which relate this food choice motive to unhealthy eating (e.g., Buksh et al., 2022;Sato et al., 2023;Shen et al., 2020;Zorbas et al., 2020).Participants indicated that negative mood states brought about by stressful situations such as work and study stressors led to emotional eating and often unhealthy eating.Similarly, positive mood states during family outings and celebrations also resulted in over-eating and unhealthy eating (Buksh et al., 2022).
Weight control was also not an important food choice motive in this sample of mothers.This finding signals to bigger sociocultural norms and expectations that might be at play.In an earlier study, we recorded that mothers in this community reported being judged based on the body sizes of their family members and that smaller body sizes and weight loss of family members were often regarded as a mother not fulfilling her responsibilities of feeding her family (Buksh et al., 2022).These negative connotations associated with weight-loss might explain why this food choice motive was not regarded important in this sample.
Furthermore, only the three Seventh Day Adventist participants in this study indicated that religious food restrictions impacted the food they chose for themselves and their families.Similar findings of religion inspired food choices have been widely recorded by other studies which indicate that religious beliefs and practices are important determinants of food choice for certain denominations of Christians (D'Haene et al., 2019;Musuva et al., 2022), Islamic (Koksal, 2019) and Hindu (Mazumdar & Mazumdar, 2015) faith traditions which have clear proscriptions on diet and eating practices.Considerations around food quality were also identified as a food choice motive in this study, similar to findings of other studies with mothers involved in shopping for food items for their family (e.g., Alsini et al., 2023).
Lastly, a priori FCQ food motives, ethical concern and natural content were not noted as important determinants of food choice in this sample.While the finding for ethical concern is consistent with other studies suggesting that environmental and political views did not impact food choice for these participants (e.g., Jalali-Farahani & Amiri, 2022;Markovina et al., 2015;Ooi et al., 2015), the findings for natural content contrasts starkly from studies with Polish and Taiwanese participants who ranked is as the most important determinant of food choice (e.g., Markovina et al., 2015;Prescott et al., 2002).This finding is especially interesting given that participants of this study spoke on the negative impact of processed foods on health and emphasized eating fresh foods.Previously identified knowledge gaps about unhealthy processed and ultra-processed foods, high in salts, sugars and unhealthy fats and among iTaukei mothers (Buksh et al., 2023b) might explain why these mothers did not consider natural content an important food choice motive.

Public health implications
The findings of this study give some insights into why health interventions, including population-based dietary regulation initiatives and health campaigns encouraging healthy eating have had limited success in PICs like Fiji (Pillay et al., 2017;Webster et al., 2018).In addition to the health food choice motive, which reportedly led to healthier food choices, this study identified four competing motives, identified as important by the participants, which led to over-eating and unhealthy eating: food that is filling, convenience, price and sensory appeal (especially taste).This suggests that in addition to promoting healthy dietary choices, public health interventions need to also take into account other factors that may prevent healthy food choices.Based on these findings, it appears that nutrition education identifying healthy food options that are also satiating, affordable, easily prepared and accessible may have more success in diet-related obesity and NCD interventions in this community.The finding on physical access as an important determinant of food choice also further supports earlier findings on the potential role that home gardens can play in encouraging healthy eating, including increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, in this community (e.g., Buksh et al., 2021).Therefore, initiatives that facilitate home gardening should be considered by policy makers for this community.Furthermore, the importance these participants placed on satiety coupled with the overdependence on energy dense foods for satiation recorded within this community (Buksh 2021;2022) may be one of the driving factors of obesity and overweight in this population.This misconception around energy dense foods and satiety needs to be addressed in nutrition education for this community.
The findings on religious food restrictions as a food choice motive for these urban indigenous mothers presents a unique opportunity of faithbased organizations and other community leaders to foster a culture of wellness through endorsing and encouraging healthier dietary practices.Considering the important engagement with religion in this community, churches and community leaders can actively advocate for healthier food choices and disseminate messages about healthy eating to their congregations and communities.To enhance their reach, it is important that public health initiatives actively incorporate faith-based organizations and community leaders in dissemination of public health messaging in this community.

Strengths and limitations
This study is the first of its kind to undertake an in-depth exploration of the food choice motives of food gatekeepers in a PIC and to identify how these motives impact family meals.Further, using a hybrid thematic analysis it identified issues with conceptual equivalence and content validity of four of the FCQ motives (i.e., convenience, health, weight control and familiarity) and identified three new motives that impact food choice in this community (i.e., food that is filling, religious food restrictions and food quality).These findings highlight the importance of adaption and validation of the FCQ before using it with this population.It also underscores the need for adaptation and validation of any instrument for use in understudied populations like PICs.
However, the study has several limitations which need to be considered when interpreting findings.The study used a small, generally homogenous, urban sample that led to some findings such as a focus on satiation and food quality being more pronounced here.This study also relied on self-reports of participants which is open to memory and socialdesirability biases.Nonetheless, the participants of this study were especially selected on the basis of their experience and knowledge of food choice motives: These mothers not only spoke of the own food choice motives but those of their family members and described how these motives impact the meals they prepare for their families.The study also used established data saturation method and used a hybrid thematic analysis which used both deductive and inductive procedures to exploring food choice in this community.
Future studies should consider further adapting the FCQ through exploration of food choice motives with other members of the family that influence food choices, such as fathers and older family members, from other regions in Fiji and the Pacific.Validation procedures for the FCQ with larger samples to increase its effectiveness in measuring food choice motives in PICs should also be considered.Moreover, while mothers described how food motives impacted family meals, the descriptive design of this study does not allow assumptions of causality.Therefore, future studies should also consider triangulation of findings using other methods that permit inferences on the relationship between food choice motives and food consumption.

Conclusion
The foodscape in PICs is changing and nutrient transitions have been widely recorded.However, literature is sparse on the motives behind food choice decisions of Pacific Islanders.This study is the first of its kind in PICs and contributes to the understanding of food choice motives of Pacific Islanders and how it impacts family food decisions.This study found that for urban iTaukei mothers, food choice is a complex, layered decision, driven by multiple considerations, some more important than others.Notably, while choosing foods that promote general health and well-being was an important food choice motive, mothers also identified four other important motives (i.e., food that is filling, sensory appeal (especially taste), convenience, health, and price), which lead to overeating and unhealthy eating.These findings can inform policy and nutrition education within this population.Nonetheless, further research is needed on food choice motives in PICs to inform intervention and policy targeting the exceptionally high rates of obesity, overweight, NCDs and premature deaths in the population.Our study also revealed issues with conceptual equivalence and content validity of four FCQ motives (convenience, health, weight control, and familiarity) and identified three new motives influencing food choice.These findings emphasize the need for adapting the FCQ through further qualitative exploration by including other regions of Fiji and more broadly in PICs, and validating the adapted FCQ with larger samples will increase its effectiveness in measuring food choice motives in PICs.

Data and code availability
The data used in this study is not publicly accessible due to the constraints imposed by the informed consent acquired for this research.

Ethical statement
Ethical approval was granted from The Research and Innovation Office of The University of the South Pacific.Reference Number: SoLaSS 08/22.