The interaction between dietary and life goals: using goal systems theory to explore healthy diet and life goals.
Objective: To examine the types of life and dietary goals individuals report and how these goal domains interact as framed by goal systems theory.Methods: This work is a cross-sectional survey study. Measures included the incidence of common life and dietary goals and how these goals interact with and facilitate each other.Results: The results of a quantitative survey (n= 46 participants), which was informed by two focus groups (n= 17 participants), showed that participants are trying to achieve several different life (e.g. achieving financial success) and dietary goals (e.g. eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, and losing weight) and that these two types of goals interact to both facilitate and conflict with each other. Having a life goal of exercising was significantly associated with healthy eating goals when compared with other life goals (p's < .05), suggesting these goals may be linked and help to facilitate one another. Being in the maintenance phase with the goal of healthy eating was associated with participants feeling like they were more successful in their other non-diet-related health goals (p< .05), suggesting maintenance of goals can facilitate success in achieving other goals.Conclusions: Life goals can have an impact on a person's ability to achieve and maintain dietary and other health goals. Health educators may help to facilitate long-term behavior change by examining a person's life goals as well as dietary goals.
Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina , Columbia , SC 29205 , USA.
Gabrielle M
GM
Turner-McGrievy
College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Boston , Boston , MA 02125 , USA.
Julie A
JA
Wright
General Internal Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine , Boston , MA 02215 , USA.
Jeffrey P
JP
Migneault
Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine , Boston , MA 02118 , USA.
Lisa
L
Quintiliani
Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine , Boston , MA 02118 , USA.
Robert H
RH
Friedman
diet; goal setting; health behavior theory