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The revised Canada's food guide released in 2019 promotes the consumption of plant-based protein foods (PBP). Yet, older adults consume little of them. This qualitative study aimed to identify older adults' beliefs about consuming PBP and to assess differences in beliefs by gender and baseline PBP consumption. Recruitment was done to obtain an equal number of men and women, 20 PBP-consumers and 40 non-consumers. Each participant completed an online questionnaire collecting sociodemographic data and took part in an individual semi-structured interview based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. A thematic analysis was performed using the Nvivo software. Health benefits, good taste and protecting the environment were perceived as advantages of consuming PBP, whereas difficulty digesting and not liking the taste were reported as disadvantages. Family members were frequently named as people who would approve and/or disapprove the consumption of PBP. Having more knowledge about PBP would facilitate consumption, while lack of motivation to change eating habits and lack of knowledge on how to prepare PBP meals were perceived barriers. Several differences in beliefs by gender and baseline PBP consumption were observed. Future interventions should focus on the beliefs that were identified as important to older adults (i.e., health benefits and food preparation skills), and should be tailored to their gender and PBP consumption.

BACKGROUND: Healthy eating behaviours are important for physical and mental well-being and developing healthy eating behaviours early in life is important. As parents are the main providers of preschool children's food the main objective of this study was to use the theory of planned behaviour, expanded to include habit and past behaviour, to predict parents' healthy feeding intention and behaviour.METHODS: Theory of planned behaviour, habit strength, and past behaviour were reported at baseline by 443 mothers. One week later, 235 mothers completed a healthy feeding questionnaire on the eating behaviours of their 2-4 year old child. Data were analysed using hierarchical regression analyses to predict parent's general healthy feeding behaviour, and five sub-behaviours: parents' perceptions of their child's fruit and vegetable consumption, healthy and unhealthy snacking behaviour, as well as healthy and unhealthy drinking behaviour.RESULTS: Intention, perceived behavioural control, habit strength and past behaviour were all positively associated with parents' general healthy feeding (47% explained variance). Perceived behavioural control was the only variable positively associated with mothers' perception of their child's fruit and vegetable consumption and unhealthy snacking behaviour. The theory did not explain the other behaviours. Moreover, habit strength only strengthened the intention-behaviour link for fruit and vegetable consumption and child's age was only positively associated with the mothers' perception of their child's unhealthy snacking behaviour.DISCUSSION: The findings suggest important differences in the predictors of different feeding behaviours that can provide direction for future intervention development.

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, sales of nonperishable food drastically increased in Germany. Reports of hoarding and panic buying flooded the media. To identify the drivers of the increased sales of these products, we carried out an online survey with n = 495 people living in Germany. We followed a concurrent triangulation design. For the quantitative analysis, we extended the theory of planned behavior to identify possible reasons for stockpiling nonperishable food. The results suggest that "attitude," "subjective norm," and the "fear of future unavailability" were main drivers of stockpiling behavior in our sample. Additionally, we analyzed answers to open questions capturing participants' own explanations of why they did or did not stockpile nonperishable food. By contrasting the results, we found that our qualitative results validate some of our quantitative findings but also deliver new insights. For instance, a key stated reason for stockpiling nonperishable food was to reduce shopping frequency.

The present study focused on adding to the understanding of meat consumption and potential drivers for its reduction in New Zealand. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the recently developed Meat-Attachment Questionnaire (MAQ), this study investigated New Zealand consumers' attitudes, motivations and behaviours in regards to meat consumption. Results derive from a questionnaire sent across New Zealand in March 2017, in which 841 responses were obtained from representative consumer panels. Consumer awareness of the severity of meat's environmental impacts was found to be quite low in comparison to other sustainable food behaviours. Motivations for reduction seem to shift across consumer groups, with different considerations rising and falling in importance depending on current meat consumption habits. Among the TPB components, only attitudes were found to accurately and consistently predict willingness and intentions to reduce personal meat intake, while both attitudes and subjective norms predicted agreement with proposed structural measures that would promote meat reduction and/or plant-based food consumption. In addition, the MAQ was found to provide explanatory power above and beyond that of the TPB components alone and this research supports its use as a tool to further understand meat consumption and potential motivations for reduction. The authors believe these results could be useful for governments or organizations wishing to implement meat reduction strategies, as well as providing a stepping stone for further research inquiry into motivations behind meat consumption and its potential reduction.

This cross-country study investigates the relative role of organic labelling in consumers’ purchase decisions for apples and the extent to which behavioral constructs, derived from an extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior, influence consumers’ choices. We apply an Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model, combining a discrete choice experiment with structural equation modelling. Empirical validation draws on data from an online survey conducted in three European countries (NGermany = 404; NNorway = 407; NUK = 401). In all countries, price is by far the most important attribute in consumers’ purchase decision of apples, followed by country-of-origin and production method. The results show considerable consistency across the investigated countries regarding the importance of behavioral constructs - attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, trust, and personal moral norms - in explaining consumers’ intentions to buy, and purchase choices for, organic apples, confirming the derived theoretical framework. This study received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme as part of the STRENGTH2FOOD project under grant agreement No 678024.

Excess intake of 'free sugars' is a key predictor of chronic disease, obesity, and dental ill health. Given the importance of determining modifiable predictors of free sugar-related dietary behaviors, we applied the integrated behavior change model to predict free sugar limiting behaviors. The model includes constructs representing 'reasoned' or deliberative processes that lead to action (e.g., social cognition constructs, intentions), and constructs representing 'non-conscious' or implicit processes (e.g., implicit attitudes, behavioral automaticity) as predictors of behavior. Undergraduate students (N = 205) completed measures of autonomous and controlled motivation, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) measures of explicit attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and intentions, past behavior, implicit attitude, and behavioral automaticity at an initial point in time, and free sugar limiting behavior and behavioral automaticity two weeks later. A Bayesian structural equation model indicated that explicit attitude, subjective norms, and PBC predicted behavior via intention. Autonomous motivation predicted behavior indirectly through all TPB variables, while controlled motivation predicted behavior only via subjective norms. Implicit attitudes and behavioral automaticity predicted behavior directly and independently. Past behavior predicted behavior directly and indirectly through behavioral automaticity and intentions, but not implicit attitudes. Current findings suggest pervasive effects of constructs representing both reasoned and non-conscious processes and signpost potential targets for behavioral interventions aimed at minimizing free sugar consumption.

Many countries recommend parental involvement to enhance the effectiveness of healthy lifestyle interventions focusing on behavioural modifications that encourage weight management in children. Our study investigates to what extent the different constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) are influencing healthy eating behaviour among mothers of pre-school and primary school children in Singapore.A total of 716 mothers of pre-schoolers, 3-6 years old (N = 358) and primary school students, 7-12 years old (N = 358) were administered a survey to assess healthy eating behaviour using the TPB constructs. Bivariate correlations among TPB constructs were calculated and tested using Pearson's correlation. Multivariate generalized regression was performed to examine the associations between TPB constructs and healthy eating behaviour.More than 80% of children consumed less than the daily recommended servings of at least 1 glass of dairy,2 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables per day advised by the Singapore Health Board. More primary school children consumed less dairy per day compared to pre-school children (48.9% vs 26.3%; p 0.001). Primary school children's healthy eating behaviours were correlated with mother's perceived behavioural control (PBC) such as adequate discipline (β = 0.40; p = 0.001), self-efficacy (β = 0.35; p = 0.01) and a lower barrier that healthy food does not satisfy hunger (β = -1.16; p 0.001). Barriers that significantly reduced pre-school children's healthy food intake were lack of motivation among mothers (β = -1.13; p 0.001) and children (β = -0.49; p = 0.02), lack of satiety (β = -1.06; p = 0.02), difficulty in changing child's eating habits (β = -0.58; p = 0.03), lack of family support (β = -0.62; p = 0.03).Findings from this study provides a formative foundation for future research and exploration of plausible interventions around improving mother's PBC, self-efficacy and reducing barriers, which could increase mother's engagement in improving their children's healthy eating behaviours in Singapore.

A motivational model integrating self-determination theory, the theory of planned behaviour, and the health action process approach was tested in three samples in three behavioural contexts: fruit and vegetable, breakfast, and snack consumption. Perceived support for autonomous (self-determined) forms of motivation from parents and autonomous motivation from self-determination theory were hypothesised to predict intention and behaviour indirectly via the mediation of attitude and perceived behavioural control from the theory of planned behaviour. It was also expected that planning strategies would mediate the effect of intention on behaviour. Relations in the proposed models were expected to be similar across the behaviours. A two-wave prospective design was adopted. Three samples of high-school students (total N=1041; 59.60% female; M age=17.13 years±1.57) completed measures of perceived autonomy support, autonomous motivation, theory of planned behaviour constructs, planning strategies and behaviour for each of the three behavioural contexts. Three months later, 816 participants (62,24% female; M age: 17.13 years, SD=1.58) of the initial sample self-reported their behaviour referred to the previous three months. Structural equation models provided support for the key hypothesised effects of the proposed model for the three health-related behaviours. Two direct effects were significantly different across the three behaviours: the effect of perceived autonomy support on perceived behavioural control and the effect of attitude on intention. In addition, planning strategies mediated the effect of intention on behaviour in fruit and vegetable sample only. Findings extend knowledge of the processes by which psychological antecedents from the theories affect energy-balance related behaviours.

Background: In order to minimise the occurrence of food-borne illness, it is recommended that individuals perform safe food-handling behaviours, such as cooking food properly, cleaning hands and surfaces before preparing food, keeping food at the correct temperature, and avoiding unsafe foods. Previous research examining the determinants of safe food-handling behaviour has produced mixed results; however, this may be due to the fact that this research examined these behaviours as a totality, rather than considering the determinants of each behaviour separately. As such, the objective for the present study was to examine the predictors of the four aforementioned safe food-handling behaviours by applying an extended theory of planned behaviour to the prediction of each distinct behaviour. Method: Participants were 170 students who completed theory of planned behaviour measures, with the addition of moral norm and habit strength at time 1, and behaviour measures one week later. Results: While the influence of injunctive and descriptive norm and perceived behavioural control differed between behaviours, it appeared that moral norm was an important predictor of intention to engage in each of the four behaviours. Similarly, habit strength was an important predictor of each of the behaviours and moderated the relationship between intention and behaviour for the behaviour of avoiding unsafe food. Conclusion: The implication of these findings is that examining safe food-handling behaviours separately, rather than as a totality, may result in meaningful distinctions between the predictors of these behaviours.

Currently, there is no research in Australia that systematically investigates the underlying beliefs for mothers' decisions regarding their young child's nutritional needs based on current guidelines. We aimed to determine, using a Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) belief-based approach, key beliefs that guide mothers' decisions with regards to: (a) providing their child with a wide range of foods from the five food groups ('healthy eating'); and (b) limiting their child's intake of 'discretionary choices' (e.g. lollies). Mothers (N = 197, M age = 34.39, SD = 5.65) completed a main questionnaire either online or on hard copy (paper-based), with a 1-week phone follow-up of the target behaviours (N = 161). Correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted, and a number of key behavioural, normative, and control beliefs emerged for both healthy eating and discretionary choice behaviours. For healthy eating, mothers identified behavioural beliefs 'improving my child's health' and 'resistance from my child'; normative beliefs 'other family members' and 'spouse/partner'; and control beliefs 'child's food preferences'. For discretionary choices, behavioural beliefs 'maintain consistent energy levels in my child' for intentions, and 'give my child their required nutritional intake'; normative beliefs 'spouse/partner', 'healthcare professionals' and 'friends'; and control beliefs 'child's food preferences' were identified. These findings can inform the development of future intervention programmes aimed at modifying mothers' child feeding practices to encourage healthy eating and limit discretionary choice intake and, ultimately, increase the life expectancy of the current generation of children.

Food consumption is an important factor in shaping the sustainability of our food supply. The present paper empirically explores different types of sustainable food behaviors. A distinction between sustainable product choices and curtailment behavior has been investigated empirically and predictors of the two types of behavior have been identified. Respondents were classified into four segments based on their sustainable food behaviors: unsustainers, curtailers, product-oriented consumers, and sustainers. Significant differences between the segments were found with regard to food choice motives, personal and social norms, food involvement, subjective knowledge on sustainable food, ability to judge how sustainably a product has been produced and socio-demographics. It is concluded that distinguishing between behavioral strategies toward sustainable food consumption is important as consumer segments can be identified that differ both in their level of sustainable food consumption and in the type of behavior they employ.

The main aim of the study was to test a two-wave longitudinal prediction model for the consumption of at least three portions of fruit per day, that was grounded on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991), extended with measures of past behavior and self-identity as a healthy eater. Self-identity is defined as a salient part of the self-concept specifically relates to a desirable behavior, such as, in this case, healthy eating. A second aim of the study was to test the invariance of the proposed model in two samples of Italian university students (n = 208) and no-student adults (n = 321). At time 1 the questionnaire was made up of measures of TPB constructs, with the addition of past consumption and self-identity as a healthy eater. Both the affective and evaluative components of attitude were assessed. At time 2, only the target behavior was surveyed. After checking both adequacy of the measurement model and reliability estimates, data were analyzed via structural equation modelling that returned good fit indices. Results showed that intention was positively associated with subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, self-identity and past behavior. Altogether, they explained 78% of the intention variance in the student group, and 81% in the adult group. After controlling for intention, past behavior – but not self-identity – was significantly related to the self-reported behavior, and the model explained 69% and 62% of behavior variance, respectively. Multi-sample analysis supported model invariance across the two groups. Results and their possible applications are presented and discussed.

There is increasing concern about the health risks of added dietary sugar, perhaps particularly when consumed in beverages that contain no essential nutrients (e.g., sodas). The purpose of this experiment was to examine the relative and combined efficacy of three interventions based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for motivating reductions in sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. Four-hundred-thirty undergraduates were randomised in a 2*2*2 factorial design. Participants received either information designed to increase awareness of the risks of SSB consumption or control information, and received either information about SSB consumption norms or no norms information, and either made plans to reduce their SSB consumption or engaged in a control planning task. Results demonstrated that the interventions, separately and in conjunction, resulted in greater intentions to reduce SSB consumption in the future, and there was evidence that these effects were mediated by the effects the interventions had on the TPB constructs. Further, the risks information resulted in more behaviors indicative of preparations to alter SSB consumption and those who engaged in the SSB planning task reported significantly lower SSB consumption at follow-up compared to controls. The three interventions utilized showed promise for altering SSB consumption intentions and behavior and, given their brevity and low cost, have potential to be developed into large scale community-based interventions that may lead to meaningful public health benefits.

Young adults are less likely than other adults to consume fruit and vegetables. Fresh Facts is a theory of planned behaviour based intervention designed to promote fruit and vegetable consumption. The present study sought to evaluate Fresh Facts using a randomised controlled trial. Australian young adults (n = 162) were allocated to the Fresh Facts intervention or to the control group in 2011. Intervention participants received automated email messages promoting fruit and vegetable consumption every 3 days over the course of the 1 month intervention. Messages targeted attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. Theory of planned behaviour variables and fruit and vegetable intake were measured at baseline and post-intervention (Day 30). Significant increases in attitude and subjective norm relative to control were found among Fresh Facts participants. However, intention, perceived behavioural control and fruit and vegetable consumption did not change as a result of the intervention. Changes in intention reported by each participant between baseline and follow-up were not correlated with corresponding changes in fruit and vegetable consumption. Fresh Facts was not successful in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Current evidence does not support the use of the theory of planned behaviour in the design of interventions to increase fruit and vegetable intake in this population.

Although the UK consumes a substantial amount of shellfish, most is imported (e.g. prawns), while locally harvested molluscs and crustaceans (e.g. mussels, crab) tend to be exported. This study aimed to investigate whether a low rate of local shellfish consumption in the UK is due to misunderstandings or knowledge gaps about the potential health and environmental risks and benefits of consumption. Following the Mental Models Approach, the present paper reveals: 1) qualitative results from 26 stakeholder/public interviews which identified 10 key misunderstandings and knowledge gaps, including incorrect beliefs about health risks and a lack of knowledge about the relative environmental benefits compared to other foods (key misunderstandings included some parts of a crab are poisonous if eaten, and the majority of UK shellfish is farmed), and 2) quantitative results from a survey (n = 1,433) that explored the degree to which these misunderstandings and knowledge gaps may influence consumption intentions in the wider UK population. Survey results suggested the number of misunderstandings and knowledge gaps significantly predicted shellfish consumption intentions even after controlling for demographics, food related values, and past consumption behaviour. Path analyses revealed their impact on intentions was partially mediated via Theory of Planned Behaviour variables. Results could inform information campaigns supporting consumers to make more informed decisions regarding a group of foods that are potentially both healthy and relatively environmentally friendly.

Background One promising intervention strategy to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is action planning. However, conditions of successful plan enactment, i.e., the translation of plans into action, have rarely been studied. Therefore, the relationship between plan characteristics and plan enactment is being examined. Methods Secondary analyses of an existing data set were conducted, based on a larger behavioral intervention study with a baseline assessment as well as a 2-weeks and a 4-weeks follow-up. After baseline assessment, participants completed action plan calendars for the following seven days and subsequently reported on each plan's enactment. Two independent raters coded 1732 morning, noon/afternoon, and evening plans by n = 92 individuals regarding the level of specificity (unspecific vs. specific) and type of planned behavior (fruit vs. vegetable intake). To predict plan enactment, multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted. Findings Overall specificity of plans was unrelated to plan enactment, but interacted with time of day in predicting plan enactment. Only in the morning, specific plans were more likely being enacted than unspecific plans. Overall, plan enactment decreased during the day and throughout the seven days of the plan calendar. Furthermore, fruit plans were more likely being enacted than vegetable plans. Discussion Specific morning plans were found most beneficial for the enactment of FV plans. Here, possible underlying mechanisms such as stable morning routines should be further investigated. Moreover, the nutritional choice appeared to make a difference for plan enactment: Increasing one's fruit consumption may be easier than integrating more vegetables into one's daily diet.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with the addition of risk awareness could predict breakfast consumption in a sample of adolescents from the UK and Australia. It was hypothesised that the TPB variables of attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control (PBC) would significantly predict intentions, and that inclusion of risk perception would increase the proportion of variance explained. Secondly it was hypothesised that intention and PBC would predict behaviour. Participants were recruited from secondary schools in Australia and the UK. A total of 613 participants completed the study (448 females, 165 males; mean = 14 years ±1.1). The TPB predicted 42.2% of the variance in intentions to eat breakfast. All variables significantly predicted intention with PBC as the strongest component. The addition of risk made a small but significant contribution to the prediction of intention. Together intention and PBC predicted 57.8% of the variance in breakfast consumption.

This study aims to aid in the development of more effective healthy eating intervention strategies for pregnant women by understanding the relationship between healthy eating intention and actual eating behaviour. Specifically, the study explored whether Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) constructs [attitude, subjective-norm, perceived-behavioural-control (PBC)] and additional psychosocial variables (perceived stress, health value and self-identity as a healthy eater) are useful in explaining variance in women's 1) intentions to consume a healthy diet during pregnancy and 2) food consumption behaviour (e.g. adherence to food group recommendations) during pregnancy. A cross-sectional sample of 455 Australian pregnant women completed a TPB questionnaire as part of a larger comprehensive web-based nutrition questionnaire. Women's perceived stress, health value and self-identity as a healthy eater were also measured. Dietary intake was assessed using six-items based on the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. Hierarchical multiple linear regression models were estimated (significance level

Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study investigates weight control in overweight and obese participants (27kg/m(2)BMI

We hypothesized that adolescents misperceive social norms for food consumption, and aimed to test this, and examine associations between perceived norms and dietary behaviours. School pupils (n=264) in the UK, aged 16-19 years, completed a questionnaire about their own attitudes to, and intake of, fruits and vegetables, unhealthy snacks and sugar-sweetened drinks, and their perceptions of their peers' attitudes to (injunctive norms), and intake of (descriptive norms), the same foods. Misperceptions were calculated from differences between perceived norms and median self-reports of peer groups. Respondents overestimated their peers' intake of snacks by 1.8 portions a week, and sugar-sweetened drinks by 5.2 portions, and overestimated how positive their peers' attitudes were towards these behaviours. They underestimated their peers' consumption of fruits and vegetables by 3.2 portions per week and how positive their peers' attitudes were towards fruit and vegetables. Descriptive norms were strongly associated with intake of fruit and vegetables, sugar-sweetened drinks, and unhealthy snacks, explaining between 17% and 22% of the variance in consumption. There was no association between injunctive norms and intake. Descriptive norms indicated that misperceptions of peers' food intake were associated with respondents' own intake. Interventions to correct misperceptions have the potential to improve adolescents' diets.

In Australia and other developed countries there is poor adherence to guidelines recommending the introduction of complementary feeding to infants at 6 months of age. We aimed to investigate, via adopting a theory of planned behaviour framework and incorporating additional normative and demographic influences, mothers' complementary feeding intentions and behaviour. Participants were 375 primiparas who completed an initial questionnaire (infant age 13±3 weeks) that assessed the theory of planned behaviour constructs of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control, as well as group norm and additional maternal and infant variables of mothers' age, education level, weight status perception, current maternal feeding practices, and infant birth weight. Approximately, 3 months after completion of the main questionnaire, mothers completed a follow-up questionnaire that assessed the age in months at which the infant was first introduced to solids. The theory of planned behaviour variables of attitude and subjective norm, along with group norm, predicted intentions, with intention, mothers' age (older more likely), and weight status perception (overweight less likely) predicting behaviour. Overall, the results highlight the importance of attitudes, normative influences, and individual characteristics in complementary feeding decision-making which should be considered when designing interventions aimed at improving adherence to current maternal feeding guidelines.

Soft-drink consumption is one of the important target behaviours for the prevention of excessive weight gain among adolescents. To be able to modify these behaviours in obesity prevention interventions, further understanding of the underlying factors and mediational pathways is required. The present study aimed to explore associations between home environment variables and adolescent soft drink consumption and potential mediation of these associations by individual cognitions derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour and habit strength. The ENDORSE study (N = 1005) provided data on soft drink consumption and on home environment variables related to soft drink consumption (availability, accessibility, parental modelling, and parental rules), cognitive variables (intention, attitude, perceived behaviour control, and parental norm) and habit strength. Multiple mediation analyses were conducted using regression analyses according to the steps described by MacKinnon to assess the association between home environment variables and soft drink consumption and mediation of these associations by cognitive variables and habit strength. The bootstrapping method was used to calculate the confidence intervals. There were significant associations between the home environment variables and soft drink consumption. After inclusion of the mediators the strength of these associations was reduced. In the multiple mediator models, habit strength (39.4-62.6%) and intention (19.1-36.6%) were the strongest mediators. Intention and habit strength partly mediate the associations between home environment factors and soft drink consumption, suggesting that home environment variables influence soft drink consumption both indirectly and directly. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The present study sought to test the efficacy of a brief theory-based intervention to promote regular consumption of breakfast, and to expand previous results suggesting that the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) can be meaningfully applied to breakfast consumption. A four-armed randomised controlled trial was conducted. Participants (n = 349) were allocated to receive either a (1) positively framed attitude intervention, (2) negatively framed attitude intervention, (3) Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) intervention, or (4) control task. Attitude, subjective norm, PBC and behaviour were measured at baseline and 4-week follow-up. All three interventions employed persuasive communication and an implementation intention task. The intervention did not result in expected increases in breakfast consumption, or in changes in attitude, subjective norm or PBC. However, baseline attitude, subjective norm and PBC predicted 39.3% of baseline intention. Baseline intention in turn predicted 33% of breakfast consumption at 4 weeks. Change in breakfast consumption was predicted by change in attitude, subjective norm, and PBC between baseline and follow-up. Despite a lack of intervention effects, the TPB provided a good model of breakfast consumption over the four-week follow-up period. By expanding on previous work investigating breakfast consumption using the TPB, this study provides further support for the argument that that theory based interventions could result in meaningful increases in breakfast consumption.

There is ample evidence to suggest that a significant part of daily eating behaviours consists of habits. In line with this, the concept of habit is increasingly incorporated into studies investigating the behavioural and psychosocial determinants of food choice, yielding evidence that habit is one of the most powerful predictors of eating behaviour. Research shows that habitual behaviour is fundamentally different from non-habitual behaviour: when behaviour is habitual, people require little information to make decisions, intentions are poor predictors of behaviour, and behaviour is triggered by situational cues. These insights have vast implications for research in the food domain that are only just beginning to be addressed. Also, theorizing on habits has important implications for behaviour change interventions, yet few interventions that are based on habit theory have been tested in a food context. The present article provides an overview of habit research and discusses possibilities to increase our knowledge of the role of habits in eating behaviour. It is shown that interventions targeting habitual behaviour can try to (i) change the situation that triggers the habitual behaviour, (ii) promote or inhibit the habitual response and (iii) change relevant contingencies. These insights can act as a starting point for future intervention research.

This article examines the processes that occur within the consumer's head as they make a choice between alternative market offers at a low level of involvement. It discusses recent research that indicates that the Theory of Planned Behaviour and its derivatives have restricted validity as a predictor of food consumers' evaluations and purchase patterns. This has significant implications as Planned Behaviour is the dominant paradigm within food industry research. The article demonstrates that Planned Behaviour has acquired this status more by default than by proven merit. The specific reasons for the failure of Planned Behaviour are discussed. An alternative paradigm, Cue-Based Decision Making is developed from an existing literature, and is proposed as a basis for increasing our understanding of the uninvolved food consumer in order to predict and influence their behaviour.

The additive and interactive effect of habit strength in the explanation of young adults’ fruit consumption was studied within the context of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Additionally, behavioural and control beliefs were modelled as predictors of profile membership based on current fruit consumption, motivation and habit strength towards fruit consumption. Cross-sectional data were available from undergraduate students (n = 538; mean age = 21.19; S.D. = 2.57) who completed measures of fruit consumption, habit strength, TPB-concepts, and behavioural and control beliefs. Data were analyzed using stepwise regression analysis, simple slope analysis, and discriminant function analysis. Results showed that, based on a significant intention × habit interaction (β = .13), the intention-fruit consumption relationship was more than twice as strong at low levels of habit strength (β = .39) than at high levels of habit strength (β = .16). Furthermore, beliefs regarding health and weight management were relatively unable to distinguish profiles created from motivation, habit strength and current fruit consumption. Rather, beliefs about controllability of fruit consumption were amongst the most consistent discriminating beliefs. Findings suggest that stronger fruit consumption habits make fruit consumption less intentional and that interventions aiming to increase fruit consumption may need to develop persuasive messages focusing on situational beliefs, rather than emphasizing health outcomes.

This study investigates the association between traditional food consumption and motives for food choice in six European countries. Cross-sectional data were collected through the TRUEFOOD pan-European consumer survey (n = 4828) with samples representative for age, gender and region in Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, Poland and Spain. Importance attached to familiarity with a product is found to be strongly and positively associated with general attitude toward traditional food as well as traditional food consumption. The importance attached to convenience was negatively related to both general attitude toward traditional food and traditional food consumption, while the importance of weight control negatively influenced the general attitude. Natural content of food was positively associated with the attitude toward traditional food and traditional food consumption. The importance of price when purchasing food failed to be significantly related with general attitude and traditional food consumption both for the pooled sample as well as within each country except in Spain. The proposed model contributes to a better understanding of factors shaping the image and influencing the consumption of traditional foods in Europe. General attitude toward traditional foods, familiarity, and importance of food naturalness emerged as drivers for traditional food consumption. Importance attached to convenience and health acted as direct barriers to traditional food consumption, whereas importance of weight control emerged as an indirect barrier through lowering general attitude toward traditional foods.

Clustering refers to the co-occurrence of behaviour and may be particularly relevant in light of the present obesity epidemic. Since evidence regarding clustering of motivational and habitual constructs within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is limited, clustering effects of TPB cognitions and habit strength regarding soft drink consumption and television viewing were studied in a sample of Dutch adolescents (n = 312; mean age = 14.62; SD = 1.62) using cross-sectional data. Results showed that not only soft drink consumption and television viewing cluster (r = .42), but also their intentional (r = .36) and habitual (r = .37) constructs. Furthermore, unmediated effects were found between habit strength and its respective behaviour, whereas habit strength was associated with its clustered behaviour through decreased perceptions of controllability. Our findings suggest that interventions that aim to change habitual soft drink consumption and television viewing may need to incorporate an environmental component, as well as explore the potential usefulness of synergistic effects of incorporating multiple clustered behaviours, as well as their corresponding beliefs and habits in health behaviour change interventions.