Factors related to the intention of healthy eating behaviors based on the theory of planned behavior: focused on adults residing in Beijing, China / 한국영양학회지

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to investigate how the psychological constructs of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) affect the individual intention of behaviors in adults. Social support is also important in enabling the stability of healthy eating. This study examined the relationship between three major constructs of TPB as well as social support and the intention of healthy dietary behaviors in adults residing in Beijing, China using the extended TPB. @*Methods@#The study questionnaire was based on previously validated items and an online survey was conducted from October to November 2020. Using a total of 244 Chinese adults in Beijing, multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the relationships between three major constructs of TPB as well as the social support and intention of healthy eating. @*Results@#Among the three major constructs of TPB, subjective norms (p = 0.044) and PBC (p = 0.000) were significantly related to the behavioral intention of healthy eating (p = 0.000), and the model explained 76.6% of the variance of the behavioral intention from the three constructs of TPB included in the multiple linear regression model. The additional inclusion of social support to the model did not increase the explanatory power of the model to describe the behavioral intention of healthy eating. The subjective norms (p = 0.040) and PBC (p = 0.000) were still significant where social support did not explain the variance of the behavioral intention adequately. @*Conclusion@#The subjective norms and PBC may be potential determinants of the behavioral intention of healthy eating in adults residing in Beijing, China. These study results can be used to promote healthy eating in Chinese adults living in urban areas. Large-scale intervention studies will be needed to determine if social norms and PBC predict the actual behaviors of healthy eating in Chinese adults