Abstract: The objectives of this study were to assess data on the consumption of yogurt, especially by young, adults and elderly subjects, and finally to determine their opinion about functional food as a diagnosis and prevention factor. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the town of Matelândia city with 16,078 inhabitants and in the town of Medianeira, with 41,817 inhabitants, State of Paraná, Brazil. Three hundred subjects (123 men and 177 women), between 18 and 66 years old were randomly selected. A socio-demographic and market research questionnaire was applied via supermarket visits including questions on socioeconomic, anthropometric characteristics concerning the consumption and purchase motivation factors of yogurt, knowledge about functional food, and focus group technique was applied to obtain consumption data as well. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated using the Quetelet Index and compared with the World Health Organization Technical Report Series, 894. The Ethics Committee for Research with Human Beings from the Federal University of Technology-UTFPR approved this research. The body mass index showed that 56.66% are within the normal weight limit. According to the market research data, it was observed that 23% of the respondents had no knowledge about the meaning of a functional food, which demonstrates that there is a need to share this knowledge with the population. Also 81% of respondents said they know that yogurt is a functional food, which indicates that this population is concerned about the meaning of functional food. The focus group technique pointed out that the participants described their personal definition of functional product and the majority of respondents (83.33%) defined functional foods as a beneficial food to the body which will bring benefits in general. The study showed that the participants are expressing much concern about their eating habits, which may inspire the food industries in the future.