title: Low-income young adults report increased variety in fruit and vegetable intake after a stage-tailored intervention.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine if a fruit and vegetable (FV) intervention, previously demonstrated to increase amount of FV per day, also increased the variety consumed. Variety in FV intake was assessed using a 26-item FV (12 fruit and 14 vegetable) food frequency questionnaire on 1255 low-income adults, with ages from 18 to 24 years (control = 684 vs experimental = 571), after completion of a stage-tailored intervention to increase FV intakes. The food frequency questionnaire was administered at 12 months to assess how often and how much participants ate of each item over the previous year. Variety was defined as the number of different types of fruits and vegetables consumed. At completion, the experimental group vs the control group had significantly greater variety in number of fruit items (9.5 +/- 0.1 vs 9.1 +/- 0.1, P < or = .001) and vegetable items (11.5 +/- 0.1 vs 11.2 +/- 0.1, P < .01) as well as greater total intake of fruits (2.73 +/- 0.09 vs 2.33 +/- 0.11 cups, P < .01) and vegetables (1.87 +/- 0.10 vs 1.62 +/- 0.01 cups, P < or = .001) and a greater consumption of the categories of seasonal fruits (P < .05), juices (P < .01), and high-beta-carotene vegetables (P < or = .001). This is one of the first studies to document an increase in FV variety as a result of an educational intervention for low-income young adults.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition, Food Science and Hospitality Department, South Dakota State University, Box 2275A, Brookings, SD 57007-0497, USA.
authors.forename: Miyoung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Do
authors.forename: Kendra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kattelmann
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Boeckner
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: Adrienne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoerr
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horacek
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lohse
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nitzke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult