The present study sought to test the efficacy of a brief theory-based intervention to promote regular consumption of breakfast, and to expand previous results suggesting that the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) can be meaningfully applied to breakfast consumption. A fourarmed randomised controlled trial was conducted. Participants (n = 349) were allocated to receive either a (1) positively framed attitude intervention, (2) negatively framed attitude intervention, (3) Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) intervention, or (4) control task.Attitude, subjective norm, PBC and behaviour were measured at baseline and 4-week followup. All three interventions employed persuasive communication and an implementation intention task. The intervention did not result in expected increases in breakfast consumption, or in changes in attitude, subjective norm or PBC. However, baseline attitude, subjective norm and PBC predicted 39.3% of baseline intention. Baseline intention in turn predicted 33% of breakfast consumption at 4 weeks. Change in breakfast consumption was predicted by change in attitude, subjective norm, and PBC between baseline and follow-up. Despite a lack of intervention effects, the TPB provided a good model of breakfast consumption over the four-week follow-up period. By expanding on previous work investigating breakfast consumption using the TPB, this study provides further support for the argument that that theory based interventions could result in meaningful increases in breakfast consumption.Keywords: Diet; Intervention study; Food habits; Breakfast; Theory of planned behaviour;
Randomised controlled trial
Randomised controlled trial of a brief theory-based intervention promoting breakfast consumptionResearch suggests that the regular consumption of breakfast has wide ranging implications for physical and psychosocial wellbeing (Rampersaud, Pereira, Girard, Adams, & Metzl, 2005), including lower body mass index (Ma et al., 2003), improved appetite control (Burley et al., 1993; Speechly & Buffenstein, 1999), and better nutritional profile (Nicklas et al., 2000). A number of experimental studies have shown that breakfast consumption may lead to improvements in memory over the short term (Michaud et al., 1991, Smith et al., 1994 Wesnes et al., 2003), and that breakfast skipping may result in a decrease in positive affective states (Lluch et al., 2000; Yang et al., 2006
The theory of planned behaviourThe theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is one of the most widely used models of behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). Like other models of health behaviour, the TPB focuses on the cognitive factors that predict "behavioural intention". In this model intentions are the immediate precursor to the performance of any behaviour. In general, the stronger the intention to perform a behaviour, the more likely that it will be performed (Ajzen, 1991). The TPB includes three independent predictors of intention: attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control (PBC).In the TPB, attitude refers to a person's ev...