title: A systematic review of behavioral interventions to promote intake of fruit and vegetables.
abstract: Fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake in the United States remains below recommended levels despite evidence of the health benefits of regular consumption. Efforts to increase F/V intake include behavior-based interventions. A systematic review of MEDLINE PubMed and PsycINFO databases (2005-2010) was conducted to identify behavior-based intervention trials designed to promote F/V intake. Using predetermined limits and selection criteria, 34 studies were identified for inclusion. Behavior-based interventions resulted in an average increase in F/V intake of +1.13 and +0.39 servings per day in adults and children, respectively. Interventions involving minority adults or low-income participants demonstrated average increases in daily F/V consumption of +0.97 servings/day, whereas worksite interventions averaged +0.8 servings/day. Achieving and sustaining F/V intake at recommended levels of intake across the population cannot be achieved through behavior-based interventions alone. Thus, efforts to combine these interventions with other approaches including social marketing, behavioral economics approaches, and technology-based behavior change models should be tested to ensure goals are met and sustained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA. cthomson@u.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011634:Public Health; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult