Habit is the Bridge between Intention and Behavior: A Look at Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Low-Income Older Adults

Abstract

Objective To examine the influence of habit and theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables in predicting low-income older adults’ fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting A city in the southeast United States. Participants A total of 372 low-income older adults participated in this study. Results Participants completed a validated survey measuring TPB variables (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention), F&V intake using the Block Dietary Fruit-Vegetable Screener, and self-reported habit index to measure F&V consumption. Perceived behavioral control was the largest factor influencing intention to consume F&V, followed by attitude and subjective norm. In addition, there was a significant interaction between habit strength and intention, such that intention influenced F&V consumption only among individuals with average or higher habit strength. Conclusions Findings from this study suggest health promotion programs aimed at increasing F&V intake among low-income older adults should focus on establishing F&V intake as a habit so that an individual's intentions to consume F&V can be transformed into actual F&V intake. Also, emphasizing how to overcome potential barriers would improve low-income older adults’ actual F&V intake by increasing their sense of control over consuming F&V.