## 3 Results
### Epidemiological Study  
According to the demographic characteristics recorded in the epidemiological study, a total of 949 participants (524 women and 425 men) took part in the study, with 51.0% aged between 18 to 29 years old. The majority of the participants weren't married (51.3%) and had reached a higher educational level (53.8%). The demographic profile of the participants of the study is depicted in Table 2.  
In addition, most of the participants (67.7%) were nonsmokers and 35.5% of them were exercising at least two times per week. In terms of their BMI distribution, 1.7% were within the underweight range, 35.7% were evaluated as healthy, 36.2% as overweight, and 26.3% as obese.  
Consumption frequencies for the above investigated functional foods namely for the consumption of blueberries, cranberries, pomergranates, grapefruits, red peppers, almonds and mountain tea and their association with the BMI of the participants, are presented in Table 3.  
The Pearson correlation analysis between BMI and the consumption of the different foods, showed a negative correlation in the case of cranberries (r = 0.310, \(p<0.001\)),  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Gender** & **N** & **\%** \\ \hline Female & 524 & 55.2 \\ Male & 425 & 44.8 \\ \hline Age & & \\ \hline
18–29 & 484 & 51.0 \\
30–39 & 214 & 22.6 \\
40–49 & 170 & 17.9 \\
50 and above & 81 & 8.5 \\ \hline Marital Status & & \\ \hline Single/never married & 487 & 51.3 \\ Currently married & 401 & 42.3 \\ Widowed & 36 & 3.8 \\ Divorced/separated & 25 & 2.6 \\ \hline Education & & \\ \hline Primary Education & 78 & 8.2 \\ Secondary Education & 285 & 30.0 \\ Higher Education & 511 & 53.8 \\ Master/Doctoral & 60 & 6.3 \\ Other & 15 & 1.6 \\ \hline Total & 949 & 100 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: Profile of the participants of the epidemiologic study.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Food Item** & **Seldom/Never** & **1-2 Times Per** & **Once A Week** & **2 Times Per** & **3–6 Times Per** & **Everyday** \\  & **(\%)** & **Month (\%)** & **(\%)** & **Week (\%)** & **Week (\%)** & **(\%)** \\ \hline Blueberries & 0.8 & 3.8 & 7.3 & 20.5 & 60.3 & 7.5 \\ Cranberries & 25.6 & 18.0 & 11.0 & 14.5 & 24.2 & 6.6 \\ Pomergranates & 17.5 & 29.9 & 17.2 & 17.9 & 16.4 & 1.1 \\ Grapefruits & 0.1 & 2.3 & 6.5 & 19.5 & 57.6 & 14.0 \\ Red Peppers & 0.1 & 2.3 & 6.5 & 19.5 & 57.5 & 14.0 \\ Almonds & 4.3 & 9.0 & 18.3 & 43.0 & 23.0 & 2.5 \\ Mountain Tea & 15.9 & 23.1 & 20.5 & 21.0 & 15.1 & 4.4 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 3: Frequency of consumption of blueberries, cranberries, pomergranates, grapefruits, red peppers, almonds, and mountain tea by the participants.  
pomergnate (r = 0.190, \(p\) < 0.001), grapefruit (r = 0.179, \(p\) < 0.001), red peppers (r = 0.134, \(p\) < 0.05) and mountain tea (r = 0.167, \(p\) < 0.001). Specifically, the increased consumption of these functional foods correlated significantly with decreased BMI. No statistically significant correlation was observed for blueberry and almond consumption (Table 4).  
A subsample of 550 participants completed an extension of the questionnaire by answering a question regarding their functional food purchasing preferences. The participant's knowledge of the term and properties of \"functional foods\" was also evaluated. Of the participants, 62.9% correctly reported that functional foods are foods that have beneficial components and 29.8% had a wrong belief regarding functional foods, such as they are in the form of pills, are organic, genetically modified and 17.3% were not aware of the term \"functional food\". In addition, they were asked how price, taste, package, brand and reported health benefits affect their choice when buying functional foods. As seen in Table 5, price, taste, health benefits and nutritional value of functional foods significantly affected the purchasing options of both male and female consumers. Price was the only factor that statistically affected the choices between males and females (\(p\) < 0.001).