Exploring self-regulatory strategies for eating behaviour in Danish adolescents

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-167
Author(s):  
Liliya Nureeva ◽  
Karen Brunsø ◽  
Liisa Lähteenmäki
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
Unhealthy Food ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Strategies ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Good Advice ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
The Right

Purpose Healthy eating behaviour in adolescence may be negatively affected by lack of self-regulation. The purpose of this paper is to discuss strategies for regulating eating behaviour as formulated by adolescents themselves. Design/methodology/approach Self-regulatory strategies were elicited with concept mapping, which is a group-based method. Three meetings were conducted with each of four school classes in Denmark. Participants in the 12-15-year age group were recruited for the study. At the first meeting, participants had to complete the phrase “Things I can do to ensure my healthy eating are: […]”. At the second meeting, participants had to group the statements. At the third meeting, the results were discussed with participants. Findings The results suggest that adolescents’ knowledge about healthy and unhealthy eating is in line with the official guidelines provided by health organisations. Adolescents made 142 statements about things they could do to ensure healthy eating; the statements were grouped by adolescents, and 12 strategies were formulated: following nutrition recommendations, developing own rules, making healthy deals with oneself, ensuring the right balance and regularity of food intake, awareness: remember to eat healthy, thinking of consequences, good advice for shopping and cooking, seeking help from parents, influencing family and others, avoiding temptations, replacing unhealthy food with a healthier option and reducing the amounts of unhealthy food in diet. Practical implications Focusing on improving adolescents’ self-regulatory skills in the domain of eating behaviour is a promising approach in developing future interventions. Originality/value The present article explores self-regulatory strategies for eating behaviour in adolescence and discusses their relevance.

scholarly journals The proof is in the eating: subjective peer norms are associated with adolescents’ eating behaviour

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1044-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Marijn Stok ◽  
Emely de Vet ◽  
John BF de Wit ◽  
Aleksandra Luszczynska ◽  
Magdalena Safron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
International Survey ◽  
Unhealthy Food ◽  
Peer Norms ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Important Target ◽  
Unhealthy Eating

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate associations of self-perceived eating-related peer norms (called ‘subjective peer norms’) with adolescents’ healthy eating intentions and intake of healthy and unhealthy food.DesignCross-sectional data were collected in a large international survey.SettingTwo types of subjective peer norms were assessed: perceived peer encouragement of healthy eating and perceived peer discouragement of unhealthy eating. Outcome variables were healthy eating intentions, intake of healthy food (fruits and vegetables) and intake of unhealthy food (snacks and soft drinks).SubjectsOver 2500 European (pre-)adolescents aged between 10 and 17 years participated.ResultsSubjective peer norms were associated with all three outcome variables. While both perceived encouragement of healthy eating and perceived discouragement of unhealthy eating were related to intentions, only peer encouragement of healthy eating was related to intakes of both healthy and unhealthy food.ConclusionsSubjective peer norms play a role in adolescent eating behaviour and as such are an important target for health promotion. Addressing norms that encourage healthy eating may be more promising in changing behaviour than norms that discourage unhealthy eating.

Are parents eating their greens? Fruit and vegetable consumption during a school intervention

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Aschemann-Witzel ◽  
Tino Bech-Larsen ◽  
Alice Grønhøj
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
School Intervention ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Based

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study the extent of change in parents' fruit and vegetable consumption during a period when their children participate in a school-based healthy eating intervention. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 256 12-year-old Danish schoolchildren took part in a text-message feedback intervention promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. One parent of each child filled out self-administered questionnaires at three points during the 40-week study period. In the questionnaire, stated consumption, perceived influence factors on their consumption and self-efficacy and self-regulation were measured. Findings – Only half of the parents stated that they met the “five a day” target. These parents reported good availability of fruit and vegetables in their household, high consumption among their friends and frequent exercise and they were characterised by high self-efficacy levels. Stated consumption increased during the period of the intervention targeted at their children. Parents that reported an increase had, at the start of the intervention, reported low levels of consumption, lack of encouragement to eat healthy at their workplace and lower autonomous self-regulation. Research limitations/implications – The consumption data is limited to self-report. Practical implications – The results indicate that parents can be influenced indirectly by school-based interventions targeted at their children. Future interventions should include the family with the intent to support positive interaction that might further promote and sustain healthy eating habits. Originality/value – The study considers the possible effects school interventions targeting children may have on the immediate family, an aspect generally overlooked in school-based health initiatives.

A prototype-targeting intervention for the promotion of healthy eating in adolescents

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 450-469
Author(s):  
Birte Dohnke ◽  
Tanja Dewitt ◽  
Amina Steinhilber
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Intervention Mapping ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Process Characteristics ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Data Assessment ◽  
Systematic Planning

Purpose Unhealthy eating among adolescents from families with lower social status is a major concern. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and evaluation of a prototype-targeting intervention for the promotion of healthy eating in this target group. Design/methodology/approach The planning model intervention mapping (IM) was chosen to proceed systematically, to use theory and evidence herein and to make decisions transparent. A controlled study with three times of data assessment was conducted to evaluate process characteristics and effects (N=108). Findings “Provide opportunities for social comparison” (behavioural change technique 6.2) was chosen as change method and “perceived similarity” was identified as the condition for its effectiveness. An intervention unit was designed for application. The evaluation results show the feasibility of the unit; materials and activities successfully applied the change method and its condition for effectiveness; and intervention objectives were generally achieved. Practical implications A prototype-targeting intervention is provided that is based on theory and evidence, and is suitable for implementation. More generally, the paper can serve as a blueprint for the systematic planning of theory- and evidence-based interventions targeting specific personal determinants for behaviour change. Originality/value The paper makes an important contribution to the application of the prototype-related theory and a useful addition of IM to the growing field of intervention development and design.

Screen time-based sedentary behaviour, eating regulation and weight status of university students during the COVID-19 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seok Tyug Tan ◽  
Seok Shin Tan ◽  
Chin Xuan Tan
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
University Students ◽  
Sedentary Behaviour ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Body Height ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
Private University ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationships among screen time-based sedentary behaviour, eating self-regulatory skills and weight status among private university students during the Movement Control Order (MCO). Design/methodology/approach A total of 186 private university students was enrolled in this cross-sectional study using a combination of snowball and purposive sampling approaches. Anthropometric measurements, including body height, body weight before and during the MCO enforcement were self-reported by the respondents. Screen-time based sedentary behaviour sedentary behaviour was evaluated using HELENA sedentary behaviour questionnaire, whereas the Self-Regulation of Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (SREBQ) was used to determine the eating self-regulatory skills in MCO. Findings Respondents spent most of the time on the internet for non-study purposes (148 ± 77.7 min). It is also noted that 64.5% of the respondents had medium eating self-regulatory skill during the MCO, with an average score of 3.0 ± 0.5. Findings from path analysis confirmed that poor eating self-regulation significantly contributed to the weight gain during home confinement (ß = −0.24, p = 0.01). In conclusion, eating self-regulation, but not total screen time, emerged as the determinant for weight gain during the COVID-19 lockdown. Originality/value According to the authors’ knowledge, this study was among the few that investigated sedentary behaviour, eating self-regulatory skills and weight status of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals The Time Is Ripe: Thinking about the Future Reduces Unhealthy Eating in Those with a Higher BMI

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1391
Author(s):  
Betty P. I. Chang ◽  
Maria Almudena Claassen ◽  
Olivier Klein
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Stop Signal ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Unhealthy Food ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
The Future

Research suggests that being oriented more towards the future (than the present) is correlated with healthier eating. However, this research tends to be correlational, and thus it is unclear whether inducing people to think about their future could increase healthy eating. Therefore, we investigated whether inducing people to think about their lives in the future versus the present would influence their intake of healthy (muesli) and unhealthy (Maltesers) food. Across two experiments, the effect of thinking about the future versus the present interacted with participants’ body mass index (BMI) to influence their consumption of unhealthy food, but no reliable effects were found for the consumption of healthy food. Among individuals with a higher BMI, thinking about their lives in the future resulted in lower consumption of the unhealthy food compared to thinking about their lives in the present. However, this effect was reversed for those with a lower BMI. In Experiment 2, we found no evidence that this effect was due to reduced impulsivity (as measured by a delay discounting task and a stop-signal task). This suggests that thinking about the future can reduce unhealthy eating among heavier people.

scholarly journals Fighting to eat healthfully: measurements of the military food environment

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Carins ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
Military Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nutrition Environment ◽  
Food Outlets ◽  
The Military

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a quantitative study of the food environment designed to measure aspects of support for healthy eating. Design/methodology/approach – An ecological view of eating behaviour was taken by examining the food environment that surrounded a military population of interest. Food outlets (n = 34) were assessed using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in store (NEMS-S), Nutrition Environment Measures Study in restaurants (NEMS-R) and military Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool (mNEAT) instruments to determine how well food outlets supported healthy eating. Findings – Despite better-than-average provision of healthy options on-base, the total environment surrounding the military base barely supports healthy eating. Average support to healthy eating was 45 per cent (NEMS) or 27 per cent (mNEAT) of support that could be measured. Individuals accessing this food environment would find few healthy alternatives, little information directing them to healthy choices and pricing and promotion that drives unhealthy eating behaviours. Research limitations/implications – This study focused on one food environment; replication is recommended to establish foundation data for benchmarking outlets, and further develop these measures for Australian settings. Future studies may assess the media environment to further extend the ecological model used. Practical implications – A method to measure the food environment is demonstrated which provides formative research insights for use when planning social marketing interventions. Consideration of these influences together with intra- and inter-personal influences offer the potential to better design social marketing healthy eating interventions, by addressing multiple levels within an ecological framework. Originality/value – This paper answers calls for social marketers to consider the influence of the surrounding environment, using methods not previously used in Australian settings.

scholarly journals Evaluation of an online “teachable moment” dietary intervention

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Marks ◽  
Jane Ogden
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Dietary Intervention ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
Food Intolerance ◽  
Dietary Behaviour ◽  
Teachable Moment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intention To Treat ◽  
Everyday Situation ◽  
The Individual

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate an online “teachable moment” intervention to promote healthy eating for overweight and food intolerance symptoms. Design/methodology/approach The study involves a 2×2 factorial design with two conditions: group (weight loss vs food intolerance) and condition (intervention vs control). The intervention aimed to generate a “teachable moment” by providing knowledge regarding the relationship between food and the problem (overweight or food intolerance), focussing on the negative aspects of the problem, creating a behavioural model, and encouraging hope and reinvention. Participants receiving the intervention (n=22) completed measures of dietary behaviour and either weight or food intolerance symptoms before receiving the intervention and again one month later. Control participants (n=20) provided measures but did not receive the intervention. Findings There were no significant reductions in weight or food intolerance symptoms. However, compared to control participants, participants in the intervention conditions reported greater intentions to eat healthily (p=0.01) and improved healthy eating behaviour over time, following both an intention-to-treat (p=0.046) and explanatory analysis (p=0.042). Practical implications Encouraging individuals to perceive their everyday situation as a time for change and adopt healthier behaviour early on, may prevent future diet-related medical events. This has benefits for both the individual and for health care costs. Originality/value A quick and easy-to-administer online “teachable moment” intervention improves dietary behaviour and can be minimally adapted to suit individuals with differing health needs.

Culture as mediator

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford ◽  
Morgan Z. Faison ◽  
Mei-Lin Chang
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Math Achievement ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Regulatory Strategies ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Self-regulation is defined as strategic, metacognitive behavior, motivation and cognition aimed at a goal (Zimmmerman and Schunk, 2011). Co-regulation, arguably more aligned with norms in communal cultures, is the process of learners sharing “a common problem-solving plane” through which self-regulatory strategies are learned (Hadwin and Oshaige, 2011, p.247). This paper aims to investigate the impact of co-regulation on self-regulation and math achievement for culturally diverse students. Design/methodology/approach This empirical study used structural equation modeling framework to estimate the effects of co-regulation on self-regulation and math achievement, as measured by the statewide-standardized test. Surveys measuring students’ use of co-regulatory and self-regulatory strategies and standardized math test scores were collected from 625 seventh- and eighth-grade students in a suburban district outside a southeastern urban center in the 2011-2012 academic year. Findings Results indicated that co-regulation is positively and significantly related to self-regulation strategy use among students in the sample. Self-regulation and co-regulation were positively related to math achievement. Data suggest the modeled relationship of co-regulation, self-regulation and achievement may vary by ethnic group. Originality/value A large body of literature documents the impact of self-regulation on student achievement, although there is less focus on students of color. This work expands that body of literature by examining co-regulation as a predictor of self-regulation and its mediated effects on student achievement for students of color.

Nordic children’s conceptualizations of healthy eating in relation to school lunch

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Berggren ◽  
Sanna Talvia ◽  
Eldbjørg Fossgard ◽  
Unnur Björk Arnfjörð ◽  
Agneta Hörnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Lunch ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
School Lunches ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Year ◽  
Unhealthy Eating

Purpose Pupils’ perspective should be better taken into account when developing nutrition education at school. The purpose of this paper is to explore Nordic children’s perspectives on the healthiness of meals in the context of school lunches. Design/methodology/approach In total, 78 focus group discussions were conducted with 10-11-year-old girls and boys (n=457) from schools in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, which were participating in the Nordic school meal project ProMeal during the school year 2013-2014. A flexible discussion guide and stimulus material in the form of 14 photographs displaying different school lunch contexts were used. The discussions were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings These Nordic children seem to share the adult-set aim of healthy eating in the school context as a socio-cultural norm. Although healthy eating was constructed as a rational, normative and acceptable way to eat at school, unhealthy eating was emphasized as negotiably acceptable when eaten occasionally and under certain circumstances (e.g. at special occasions). Unhealthy eating also comprised emotionally laden descriptions such as enjoyment and disgust. Practical implications Children’s conceptualizations of healthy eating are connected to nutritional, socio-cultural, emotional and normative dimensions, which should be reflected also when developing nutrition education in school. Originality/value The need for research exploring children’s experiences of, and understandings about, school lunch motivated this unique multicenter study with a large number of participating children. In the focus groups a child-oriented, photo-elicitation method was used.

How does incidental curiosity affect consumers’ unhealthy eating?

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 784-793
Author(s):  
Chen Wang
Keyword(s):  
Food Choice ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Effect Study ◽  
Situational Factor ◽  
Grocery Shopping ◽  
Unhealthy Food ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Additional Support

Purpose This paper aims to examine how, why and when incidental curiosity might have an influence on consumers’ unhealthy eating behaviors in a subsequent, irrelevant context. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted. Study 1 tested the basic main effect; Study 2 further tested the proposed process; Study 3 identified an important moderator and offered additional support for the mechanism. Findings Study 1 demonstrated the basic main effect that incidental curiosity increases consumers’ preference for unhealthy food. Study 2 replicated the effect in a simulated grocery-shopping task and further provided direct process evidence that a reward-approaching orientation underlies the effect of curiosity on unhealthy food choice. Finally, Study 3 identified information nature as an important moderator of the effect. That is, when people are curious about threatening information, they are likely to adopt an avoidance motivation, which prevents them from seeking any unhealthy food. Practical implications On the one hand, consumers could benefit from being educated that incidental exposure to curiosity cues might lead to unhealthy eating behaviors. On the other hand, public policymakers and responsible marketers should be mindful that, though widely used in marketing, the tactics that elicit consumers’ curiosity might sometimes backfire and undermine their healthy food choices. Originality/value This research contributes to the curiosity literature by demonstrating that incidental curiosity could have motivational impacts in the non-information domain, such as food choice. It also adds to the food decision literature by documenting incidental curiosity as an important situational factor of consumers’ food decisions.

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