Personal, Social and Environmental Factors regarding Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Schoolchildren in Nine European Countries
- 1 August 2005
- journal article
- Published by S. Karger AG in Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism
- Vol. 49 (4), 255-266
- https://doi.org/10.1159/000087332
Abstract
Children in Europe are consuming less fruit and vegetables than recommended. Knowledge about the potential determinants of fruit and vegetable intake is vital to understand discrepancies in intake and to guide interventions. The aim of the present study was to assess personal, social and environmental factors regarding fruit and vegetable intake among 11- to 12-year-old children in Europe. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken, with nationally or regionally representative samples of in total 13,305 children (mean age 11.4 years) from nine European countries. Pupils in the classroom completed a self-administered questionnaire measuring fruit and vegetable intake and personal, social and environmental factors during one school lesson. Age-adjusted covariance analyses were carried out by gender, for the full sample and for each country separately. Proportions responding positively to the constructs are presented. Overall, European children held a positive attitude towards fruit and vegetable intake. For some constructs, large between-country differences were found. Children had a more positive attitude towards fruit than towards vegetables, and girls were on average more positive than boys. The children perceived their social environment as supportive towards fruit and vegetable intake. They reported good to very good availability of fruit and vegetables at home. However, availability at school and during leisure time activities seemed to be low, both for fruit and for vegetables. A large majority of the children reported positively to the personal and social factors regarding fruit and vegetable intake. As regards availability of fruit and vegetables at school and leisure time, and accessibility of fruit and vegetables at home, there is room for improvement.Keywords
This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- Fruit and Vegetable Intake in a Sample of 11-Year-Old Children in 9 European Countries: The Pro Children Cross-Sectional SurveyAnnals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2005
- Promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among European schoolchildren: Rationale, conceptualization and design of the Pro Children ProjectAnnals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2004
- Longitudinal changes in diet from childhood into adulthood with respect to risk of cardiovascular diseases: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns StudyEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2004
- SummaryAnnals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2004
- Correlates of fruit and vegetable intake among adolescentsPreventive Medicine, 2003
- Stability in Consumption of Fruit, Vegetables, and Sugary Foods in a Cohort from Age 14 to Age 21Preventive Medicine, 2001
- PSYCHOSOCIAL CORRELATES OF DIETARY INTAKE: Advancing Dietary InterventionAnnual Review of Nutrition, 1999
- Social Cognitive Model of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Elementary School ChildrenJournal of Nutrition Education, 1999
- Theory as mediating variables: Why aren't community interventions working as desired?Annals of Epidemiology, 1997
- Psychosocial predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption among elementary school childrenHealth Education Research, 1996