Building a Platform for Change: Identifying Salient Beliefs Surrounding Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Abstract

Numerous governmental and international organisations have developed nutritional guidelines outlining recommended daily intakes of fruit and vegetables (National Health and Medical Research Council 2013; World Health Organisation 2004). Australians, for example, are advised to consume 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables each day (National Health and Medical Research Council 2013). Unfortunately, data suggests that few Australians actually meet these recommendations (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009), placing them at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease (Dauchet et al. 2006; Lock et al. 2005) or receiving a diagnosis of cancer (Feskanich et al. 2000; Key 2010). Given the deleterious health outcomes associated with limited fruit and vegetable intake, considerable scholarly attention has been directed towards understanding the factors that curtail fruit and vegetable consumption in an effort to promote healthful behaviour change (Guillaumie et al. 2010; Kamphuis et al. 2006). One method that can assist in understanding these factors is to examine the beliefs associated with the consumption of adequate quantities of fruit and vegetables. From a theoretical perspective, this approach is consistent with Ajzen’s (1991) notion that beliefs ultimately underpin the enactment of behaviour. As such, understanding the beliefs associated with the consumption of fruit and vegetables may provide insights into the factors that could be targeted in social marketing campaigns aimed at improving fruit and vegetable consumption. The aim of this study was therefore to quantitatively ascertain the beliefs associated with meeting recommended intakes of fruit and vegetables.