Salient beliefs about eating and buying dark green vegetables as told by Mid-western African–American women

• Published in: Appetite 2013-06, Vol.65, p.205-209
• Main Authors: Sheats, Jylana L., Middlestadt, Susan E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; adults; African American; African Americans; Attitude to Health - ethnology; Culture; Diet - ethnology; Ecological model; Feeding Behavior - ethnology; Female; food and nutrition programs; Food choice; food purchasing; fruits; green leafy vegetables; Health behavior; Health Behavior - ethnology; households; Humans; ingestion; Midwestern United States; Motivation; Nutrition; purchasing; Qualitative Research; Reasoned Action Approach; Vegetable; Vegetables; women; Women’s health
• ISSN: 0195-6663; 1095-8304
• DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2013.02.001

► Use of the Reasoned Action Approach allowed for the extraction of salient beliefs. ► Salient food-related beliefs are framed within an ecological context. ► Findings may inform the development of tailored surveys or intervention components. ► Study replication may help determine differences by race/ethnicity and/or age. Vegetables in the dark green group are the most nutritious, yet intake is low. Studies suggest that an increase in fruit and vegetables may improve diet-related health outcomes of African Americans. The aim of this exploratory study was to use the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to qualitatively assess salient, top-of-the-mind, beliefs (consequences, circumstances and referents) about eating and buying more dark green leafy vegetables each week over the next 3months. Adult (n=30), Midwestern African–American women, who buy and prepare food for their household participated in a face-to-face salient belief elicitation. A content analysis of verbatim text and a descriptive analysis were conducted. Findings suggest that the RAA can be used to identify salient consequences, circumstances and referents about eating and buying more dark green leafy vegetables. The use of the RAA allowed for the extraction of specific beliefs that may aid in the development of nutrition education programs that consider the varying priorities, motivators and barriers that subgroups within the population have in regard to buying and consuming dark green leafy vegetables.