Factors affecting preference of vegetable in elementary school students: based on social cognitive theory / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify the factors affecting vegetable preferences of children based on the social cognitive theory to reduce imbalances in vegetable consumption. METHODS: The survey investigated 177 elementary school students in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, in June of 2018. The subjects consisted of 44 fifth graders (27.7%) and 128 (72.3%) sixth graders. RESULTS: Among personal factors of the Social Cognitive Theory, positive outcome expectation and self-efficacy of the vegetable preference group were significantly higher than those of the non-preference group. Negative barrier scores of the non-preference group were significantly higher than those of the preference group, and the biggest barrier was that vegetables were tasteless. Among behavioral factors, the nutritional knowledge of vegetables was high, but the degree of practice was low. Practice score of the vegetable preference group was significantly higher than that of the non-preference group. Among environmental factors, the vegetable preference group was more likely to accept advice from people around them than the non-preference group and the most influential people were doctors and parents. In the vegetable intake environment, children in the vegetable preference group had high accessibility to vegetables. Correlation analysis and regression analysis of the social cognitive factors and vegetable preferences revealed all factors except nutritional knowledge showed significant correlation with vegetable preference. And surrounding people (p < 0.01), practice (p < 0.01), and self-efficacy (p < 0.05) had positive effects on vegetable preference. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that providing the health benefits from eating vegetables and educating children for improving their self-confidence are necessary for increasing the preference for vegetables and their intake by children.

Factors affecting vegetable preference in adolescents: stages of change and social cognitive theory

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Despite the importance of consuming sufficient amounts of vegetables, daily vegetable intake among adolescents in Korea is lower than the current dietary recommendation. The objective of this study was to examine determinants affecting vegetable preference in order to suggest a stage-tailored education strategy that can promote vegetable consumption in adolescents. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Adolescents (n = 400, aged 16-17 years) from two high schools participated in a cross-sectional study. Survey variables were vegetable preference, the social cognitive theory (SCT) and stages of change (SOC) constructs. Based on vegetable preference, subjects were classified into two groups: a low-preference group (LPG) and a high-preference group (HPG). SOC was subdivided into pre-action and action/maintenance stages. To compare SCT components and SOC related to vegetable preference, chi-squared and t-tests, along with stepwise multiple-regression analysis, were applied. RESULTS: In the LPG, a similar number of subjects were classified into each stage. Significant differences in self-efficacy, affective attitudes, and vegetable accessibility at home and school were detected among the stages. Subjects in the HPG were mainly at the maintenance stage (81%), and there were significant differences among the stages regarding self-efficacy, affective attitudes, and parenting practice. In the predictions of vegetable preference, self-efficacy and parenting practice had a significant effect in the “pre-action” stage. In the action/maintenance stage, outcome expectation, affective attitudes, and vegetable accessibility at school had significant predictive value. In predicting the vegetable preference for all subjects, 42.8% of the predictive variance was accounted for by affective attitudes, self-efficacy, and vegetable accessibility at school. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that different determinants affect adolescent vegetable preference in each stage. Self-efficacy and affective attitudes are important determinants affecting vegetable preference. Additionally, school-based nutrition intervention that focuses on enhancing affective attitudes, self-efficacy, and vegetable exposure may constitute an effective education strategy for promoting vegetable consumption among adolescents.

A comparison of Dietary Habits and Influencing Factors for Vegetable Preferences of Adolescents in Gyeongnam Province / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: A higher consumption of vegetables is emphasized as the core component of most dietary guidelines. Thus, this research investigated the dietary habits and influencing factors of vegetable preferences of adolescents. METHODS: This study was conducted by using a self-administered questionnaire. 400 students from two high schools in Gyeongnam (193 boys, 207 girls) participated in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of the following variables: dietary habit, dietary action guide and factors based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). RESULTS: The dietary habits of subjects showed significant differences depending on whether they prefer vegetables or not. The subjects in the group who liked vegetables had better dietary habits than the other group. Also, the study determined that the most important reason for liking or disliking vegetables is due to the taste. In the practice of dietary guidelines, the group of subjects who liked vegetables followed dietary guidelines more closely than the other group (p < 0.001). When the factors based on SCT were analyzed, personal factors showed significant differences between the groups: outcome expectation (p < 0.001), self-efficacy (p < 0.001) and affective attitude (p < 0.001). Personal factors and rated vegetable preferences showed a significant correlation in multiple regression analysis (F=42.015, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that vegetable preference is associated with a key point of desirable dietary habits among subjects. In order to increase vegetable preference or consumption, it is important to focus on strengthening not only self-efficacy of students, but also affective attitude of vegetable.

Vegetable Preferences and Their Associations with Nutritional Knowledge and Health-Related Variables in 5th and 6th Grade Schoolchildren

With recent increases in demand for women's social participation, children have tended to favor western-style foods and dislike vegetables (Veg.). The objective of this study was to evaluate dietary behavior and Veg. intake in 612 elementary school children (339 boys; 273 girls) in Gyeonggi-do. 66.5% of the subjects reported that they liked Veg. The most frequent reason given for this preference in Veg. liking group was that vegetables were 'delicious' (35.6%), followed by 'nutritious' and 'frequent intake'. The most frequent reason given for disliking Veg. in the Veg. disliking group was that vegetables are 'not delicious' (94.6%). Approximately half of the subjects had correct knowledge about vegetables. The total score of general nutrition knowledge was 7.7 points (a perfect score is 10 points) and the majority of students generally had good dietary behaviors. The Veg. liking group scored higher on knowledge about Veg., general nutritional knowledge, dietary behavior, and Veg. preference than did the members of the Veg. disliking group (p <0.001). The 'active' group had the highest score for dietary behavior (p <0.001), and the scores for dietary behavior and Veg. preference increased with increasing self-rated health status (p <0.001). The score of normal BMI group for nutritional knowledge about Veg. was higher than that of the underweight group (p <0.05). The higher self-rated academic score group showed higher on knowledge about Veg., general nutrition knowledge, dietary behavior (p <0.001) and Veg. preference (p <0.05). Dietary behavior and preference of Veg. were positively correlated with nutritional knowledge. To improve health by increasing Veg. intake, education about the nutritional importance of Veg. should be needed, and continuous nutritional education is recommended to foster good food habits and Veg. preferences in children.