Factors Behind Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among the Elderly with Functional Constipation: A Study Based on the Health Belief Model

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Background and Aim: Functional constipation is one of the most common health problems in older adults. Its development greatly depends on nutritional status in that a high fiber diet including fruits and vegetables can prevent or manage it. The present study aimed at assessing vegetable and fruit consumption among the elderly with functional constipation, based on the health belief model. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 163 elderly people aged 60 and older, who referred to retirement houses located in Isfahan, Iran, in 2013. The Rome III diagnostic criteria were used for functional constipation screening. Moreover, a demographic questionnaire, a researcher-made questionnaire developed based on the constructs of the health belief model, and a researcher-made 24-hour fruit and vegetable consumption checklist were used for data collection. Data analysis was done using SPSS Software (V, 20.0) and by running independent sample t test, Pearson correlation analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis at a significance level of less than 0.05. Results: The mean of participants’ age was 70.04 ± 6.41, while the means of their fruit consumption and vegetable consumption were 1.61 ± 0.73 and 1.31 ± 0.87 servings daily, respectively. Almost 44.2% of the participants consumed less than 2 servings of fruits and 55.8% consumed less than 2 servings of vegetables daily. Fruit and vegetable consumption was directly correlated with perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and knowledge and was inversely correlated with perceived barriers (P < 0.001). Moreover, perceived severity, perceived self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and knowledge explained 58% of the total variance of fruit consumption, while perceived self-efficacy, and perceived benefits, and knowledge explained 65.7% of the total variance of vegetable consumption. The most important cues to fruit and vegetable consumption were television (57.7%) and family and relatives (46%). Conclusions: This study revealed that the elderly with functional constipation consume inadequate amount of fruits and vegetables and the health belief model is a significant predictor of fruit and vegetable consumption among the elderly. Educational interventions based on the health belief model can be helpful in promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetable consumption in the elderly.