A Theory of Planned Behavior-Based Fruit and Vegetable Intervention for College Students

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a brief Theory of Planned Behavior- based nutrition intervention to address fruit and vegetable consumption in college students. Design: Two in-person lessons utilizing activities based around TPB were implemented to a class of college students. A Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)-based pretest and posttest assessed constructs regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. Fruit and vegetable intake was measured by a pre-and-post 3-day dietary record. Results gathered from all parts of this intervention were analyzed with paired t-tests in SPSS. Setting: Bridgewater State University; Health Promotion Strategies Class Participants: 16 Bridgewater State University Students, ages 21 and older, and mostly female Results: Survey results about TPB constructs and fruit and vegetable consumption did not significantly increase between pre-and-posttests. Yet a high intention to consume the daily recommend amount existed. Conclusion: Though students showed high intention to consume fruits and vegetables through their responses to the pre-and-posttests, students did not consume the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. This showed that the intervention did not have an impact on behavior change but slightly increased intention to consume fruits and vegetables. The study supported the idea that college students do not consume the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.