Beliefs about eating orange vegetables every week: A comparison of people who do and do not meet government recommendations for orange vegetables

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommends eating 2 cups of orange vegetables (OV) every week, but men and women consume less than half this amount.  Increasing intake of vegetables may reduce long-term risk of obesity.  An elicitation study was conducted to identify social referents and perceived consequences for the behavior of eating 2 cups of OV every week for the next three months.  Adults at four worksites in Indiana were recruited to answer four open-ended questions based on the Theory of Reasoned Action.  Subjects were 87% White and 11% African-American; 83% were women.  Content analysis of verbatim text was conducted to identify salient beliefs.  Responses of those who ate ≥2 cups OV every week (DOERS, n=21) were compared to those who did not (NONDOERS, n=32) using Fisher's exact test (α≤.05).  The most frequently mentioned approving referents were “coworkers,” “family,” and “friends;” though DOERS and NONDOERS did not differ significantly.  The most frequently reported advantages were “provides vitamins and minerals,” “makes me healthier,” and “helps vision.”  DOERS reported “provides vitamins and minerals” as a consequence more frequently than NONDOERS (62 vs. 34%, p=.046).  The most frequently mentioned disadvantages were “contains too much sugar,” “do not like the taste,” and “will take time to prepare.”  NONDOERS reported the consequence “do not like the taste” more frequently than DOERS (22 vs. 0%, p=.022).  Addressing these consequences, “provides vitamins and minerals” and “do not like the taste,” may help adults meet their recommendations for OV.  Supported by Special State Funds to Indiana University.