Change in Fruit and Vegetable Intake Over 24 Months in Older Adults: Results of the SENIOR Project Intervention

Abstract

The intervention was effective in increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables in older adults. Those who maintained their level of perceived intake as 5 or more servings per day consumed 2-4 servings per day more than those who failed to progress.

Fruit and vegetables should be targeted separately in health promotion programmes: differences in consumption levels, barriers, knowledge and stages of readiness for change

“…As there is some evidence that stage of change is a predictor of fruit and vegetable intake (14) and that intervention strategies can be more successful when targeted to a particular stage of change (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)35,37,38,52) , there are a number of key learnings from the present study that lend weight to the argument for focusing predominantly on vegetable consumption.…”

“…It shapes beliefs that in turn shape action' (23) . The transtheoretical model of behaviour change or 'stages of change' model has been used to inform the planning of many health-related interventions (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38) . The model suggests that individuals can be categorised into different stages of readiness to change health behaviours including pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance.…”

“…The aim of the interventions planned using this model is to help participants progress from their initial stage to action and maintenance. The stages of change model (39,40) has been applied to smoking, drug and alcohol addiction programmes (33,34) , physical activity (24) and to more complex behaviours such as diet, and in particular, fruit and vegetable consumption (7,(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(35)(36)(37)(38) . There has been some criticism of the stages of change model.…”

Predictors of Stages of Change in Fruit/Vegetable Consumption based on Trans-Theoretical Model: A Population-based Study

“…Hence, interventions on changing FV consumption may aim to reduce the importance of negative beliefs arising from behavior change (20). The efficacy of stagetailored nutrition education has been demonstrated in several studies though there were some differences (9,36,37,38). Although some studies have failed to find any significant pros factor for predicting the stages of change (20,39), in the present study, we found that maintaining an ideal weight, being healthy, and inducing a variation in the diet are all among the significant benefits of FV consumption.…”

Barriers to increasing fruit and vegetable intakes in the older population of Northern Ireland: low levels of liking and low awareness of current recommendations

“…In two qualitative studies, Devine et al (21) and Dye and Cason (22) also report discussion of the importance of wanting to change and the benefits of medical advice and social support to aid dietary changes. Interventions focusing specifically on individuals who are ready and willing to change also typically demonstrate greater success compared to interventions that are more general (29,35,36) . The findings of the present study suggest that f 1 v intake may be improved in the older female population by increasing willingness to change.…”