title: The role of action control and action planning on fruit and vegetable consumption.
abstract: Globally, fruit and vegetable intake is lower than recommended despite being an important component to a healthy diet. Adopting or maintaining a sufficient amount of fruit and vegetables in one's diet may require not only motivation but also self-regulatory processes. Action control and action planning are two key volitional determinants that have been identified in the literature; however, it is not fully understood how these two factors operate between intention and behavior. Thus, the aim of the current study was to explore the roles of action control and action planning as mediators between intentions and dietary behavior. A longitudinal study with three points in time was conducted. Participants (N = 286) were undergraduate students and invited to participate in a health behavior survey. At baseline (Time 1), measures of intention and fruit and vegetable intake were assessed. Two weeks later (Time 2), action control and action planning were assessed as putative sequential mediators. At Time 3 (two weeks after Time 2), fruit and vegetable consumption was measured as the outcome. The results revealed action control and action planning to sequentially mediate between intention and subsequent fruit and vegetable intake, controlling for baseline behavior. Both self-regulatory constructs, action control and action planning, make a difference when moving from motivation to action. Our preliminary evidence, therefore, suggests that planning may be more proximal to fruit and vegetable intake than action control. Further research, however, needs to be undertaken to substantiate this conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Science and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Guangyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: ygan@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Kyra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Science and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Knoll
authors.affiliation: Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield, Australia; University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwarzer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D005638:Fruit; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010349:Patient Compliance; D000068356:Self-Control; D014495:Universities; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Action control; Action planning; Fruit and vegetable intake; Intention