title: Reported Motivations for and Locations of Healthy Eating Among Georgia High School Students.
abstract: Understanding how youth perceive eating healthy foods can inform programs and policies that aim to improve healthy eating. We assessed the reasons for and the most common locations of eating healthy foods among Georgia's (GA) high school (HS) students.
  
  
  
  Using the 2013 GA HS Youth Risk Behavior Survey, we examined motivations for and locations of eating healthy foods by sociodemographic characteristics and daily fruit and vegetable intake. Weighted chi-square tests were used to examine differences in responses for each perception.
  
  
  
  Nineteen percent of GA HS students consumed fruit ≥3 times/day and 11% consumed vegetables ≥3 times/day. The most frequently chosen response to motivations for eating healthy foods was the desire to be healthy (42%), followed by enjoying their taste (18%). The most likely location to eat healthy foods was at home (80%), followed by at school (13%).
  
  
  
  GA HS students are most motivated to eat healthy foods by the desire to be healthy and their enjoyment of the taste of healthy foods. Incorporating messages that align with students' motivations to eat healthy foods could be considered when developing promotional programs/policies targeting healthy eating.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, Georgia 30341.
authors.forename: Gayathri S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Georgia Department of Public Health, 2 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.affiliation: Georgia Department of Public Health, 2 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
authors.forename: Rana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bayakly
authors.affiliation: Georgia Department of Public Health, 2 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drenzek
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, Georgia 30341.
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Merlo
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, Georgia 30341.
authors.forename: Geraldine S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Perry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D005638:Fruit / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D014675:Vegetables / Q000600:supply & distribution*
keywords: Georgia; adolescents; healthy foods; motivations