Korean J Community Nutr KJCN Korean Journal of Community Nutrition 1226-0983 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition 10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.1.1 Original Article Beliefs Regarding Vegetable Consumption, Self-Efficacy and Eating Behaviors according to the Stages of Change in Vegetable Consumption among College Students Ahn Yun Kim Kyung Won Department of Food & Nutrition, Seoul Women's University, Seoul, Korea. Corresponding author: Kyung Won Kim, Department of Food & Nutrition, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul Women's University, 621 Hwarangro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 139-774, Korea. Tel: (02) 970-5647, Fax: (02) 976-4049, kwkim@swu.ac.kr 02 2012 29 02 2012 17 1 1 13 04 01 2012 05 02 2012 05 02 2012 Copyright © 2012 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine beliefs, self-efficacy and eating behaviors by the stages of change in vegetable consumption among college students (n = 297). A survey was conducted to examine study variables, and subjects were categorized into three groups based on the stages of change: precontemplation/contemplation stage (PC/C), preparation stage (P), action/maintenance stage (A/M). Subjects had 3.7 servings of vegetables a day, and vegetable consumption was significantly different by stages of change (p < 0.001). The A/M group showed higher score on beliefs regarding vegetable consumption (p < 0.001) than the other groups, and perceived benefits of vegetable consumption (e.g. cancer prevention) more strongly (p < 0.05). The PC/C group felt more barriers than the A/M group, such as disliking cooking methods, texture of vegetables (p < 0.001), bad taste and bad experience of eating vegetables (p < 0.05). Self-efficacy score was 27.2, with decreasing self-efficacy from A/M to P, PC/C (p < 0.001). The A/M group showed more confidence in nine behaviors such as "eating vegetables during meals" and "replacing menu at home with more vegetable dishes" (p < 0.001) than the other groups. The A/M group had more desirable eating behaviors (e.g, having a variety of foods, eating regularly, consumption of food groups). This study suggests that target population for education and educational strategies be different based on the stages of change. For those in the PC/C stage, education might focus on reducing barriers and increasing self-efficacy. For those in the A/M stage, it is necessary to use strategies to maintain and reinforce behaviors for enough vegetable consumption.

 vegetables stages of change beliefs self-efficacy college students

This work was supported by a special research grant from Seoul Women's University (2011).

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General characteristics of subjects

N (%)

***: p < 0.001 by t-test

1) Mean ± SE, 2) no response: 1, 3) no response: 7

Consumption of vegetables of subjects (servings/day)

*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001 by ANOVA

1) Mean ± SE. Frequency of eating vegetables per day based on a serving size (Korean Nutrition Society 2010)

2) Different alphabets with superscripts at the same row are significantly different by Duncan's multiple range test

Preference of vegetables of subjects

N (%)

1) Subjects were asked to choose five vegetables from 30 vegetable items

Beliefs regarding eating vegetables

N (%)

*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001 by ANOVA

1) Each item was measured by 4-point scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree)

For items 1-7, the higher score showed the more favorable beliefs regarding eating vegetables

For items 8-20, the higher score showed the less favorable beliefs regarding eating vegetables

2) Mean ± SE

3) Different alphabets with superscripts at the same row are significantly different by Duncan's multiple range test

4) Total score of 20 items (possible score: 20-80). To calculate the total score, the items of 8-20 were scored reversely

Self-efficacy regarding eating vegetables

***: p < 0.001 by ANOVA

1) Each item was measured by 4-point scales ranging from 1 (very difficult) to 4 (very easy). The higher score showed the higher self-efficacy

2) Mean ± SE

3) Different alphabets with superscripts at the same row are significantly different by Duncan's multiple range test

4) Total score of 10 items (possible score: 10 - 40)

Eating behavior of subjects

N (%)

*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001 by χ2-test, 1) no response: 1

2) Total score of 15 items (possible score: 15 - 45). Each item was measured by 3-point scales ranging from 1 (0 - 2days/week) to 3 (6 - 7days/week). To calculate the total score, the items from 12 to 15 were scored reversely

3) Mean ± SE, ***: p < 0.001 by ANOVA. Different alphabets with superscripts at the same row are significantly different by Duncan's multiple range test