Motivation in healthy eating in African American men: Preliminary findings and practical implications

African American men have the lowest rate of healthy eating of any race by gender group in the United States. Traditionally, interventions to promote healthy eating have focused on the health benefits of behavior change and teaching practical skills and knowledge around healthier eating. Self-Determination Theory, however, suggests that it is also important to identify and promote intrinsic motivation, or how the behavior change is consistent with an individual’s interests, preferences and goals. In this presentation we will describe our preliminary findings from a study designed to individually-tailor healthy eating messages to African American men as part of a health communications intervention. Using data from our phenomenological analysis of 64 individual interviews with 35-74 year old African American men, we highlight the importance of identifying key sources of intrinsic motivation to create and maintain healthier eating patterns. The men who tended to have healthier daily eating practices also tended to find creative ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into each meal. They noted that they ate healthier because they felt better and had more energy when they did.  These men also tended to balance accessibility, cost effectiveness and taste in their efforts to eat healthier.  While it was sometimes challenging to identify healthy food options given time pressures, gender norms and environmental constraints, when African American men connected healthy eating with personally important social roles they tended to be more successful in maintaining healthy eating patterns. This research highlights the critical role that intrinsic motivation plays in behavior change and maintenance.