Understanding adherence to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day: a theory of planned behavior perspective.

Objective: The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the utility of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in explaining the 5-A-Day intentions and behavior of college students. A secondary purpose was to determine whether any of the TPB relationships were moderated by gender or ethnicity.

Design: A prospective design that asked college students to complete a baseline TPB 5-A-Day questionnaire and a fruit and vegetable consumption measure 1 week later.

Setting: Undergraduate fitness and health classes at 2 universities in the southern United States.

Participants: 511 college students with a mean age of 19.8 years (standard deviation = 2.71).

Main Outcome Measures: TPB variables and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Analyses: Path analyses and invariance (ie, to examine ethnic and gender moderated) analyses.

Results: Affective attitude (beta = .16, P < .05) and perceived behavioral control (beta = .59, P < .05) were significant predictors of intention, which in turn was a significant predictor of behavior (beta = .32, P < .05). Follow-up invariance analyses showed that none of the TPB relationships was moderated by gender or ethnicity.

Conclusions And Implications: The TPB may be a useful framework on which to base a 5-A-Day intervention for male and female college students of different ethnic backgrounds.