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Do good intentions lead to healthy food choices? Emily KotheSchool of Psychology, Deakin University@emilyandthelime
People consistently fail to translate good intentions into
good behaviour
Inclined abstainers Inclined actors
Disinclined abstainers Disinclined actors
People consistently fail to translate good intentions into
good behaviour
Inclined abstainers Inclined actors
Disinclined abstainers Disinclined actors
People consistently fail to translate good intentions into
good behaviourAcross behaviours, median proportion of people who intend to act and then fail to do so is 47% (Sheeran, 2002)
57% of women who indicate they intend to undergo cervical cancer screening fail to do so within 1 year (Orbell & Sheeran, 1998)46% of people who intend to exercise, do not (Rhodes & de Bruijn, 2013)
The extent to which intention to engage in dietary behaviours translates to adherence to dietary behaviours has not been systematically investigated.
Inclined abstention within dietary behaviour
Study 1: adherence to dietary guidelines among pregnant women Study 2: gluten-free diet adherence among individuals with coeliac disease Study 3: young adults’ consumption of breakfast
Motivated abstention in pregnant women
250 pregnant women reported motivation to engage in a healthy diet (18 weeks) and adherence to dietary guidelines (32 weeks).Motivation was operationalized as scoring above neutral on measures of importance, confidence, and readiness.Adherence to dietary guidelines was assessed using a FFQ.
Consumption of mostly reduced fat dairy Consumption of 2+ serves of dairy each dayConsumption of 2+ serves of fruit each dayConsumption of 4+ serves of vegetables each day*
Motivated abstention in pregnant women
78% of the pregnant women meet the criteria of “motivated”90% of motivated women failed to adhere to at least one dietary guideline
Inclined abstention in gluten-free diet
105 individuals with biopsy confirmed coeliac disease reported intention to strictly adhere to the gluten free diet and adherence to the diet at a single timepoint.Intention was measured using a single item from the Biagi coeliac adherence measure Gluten free diet adherence was measured using the Coeliac Dietary Adherence Test (CDAT)
Inclined abstention in gluten-free diet
Participants were classified as according to statusInclined abstainersReported never intentionally
consuming glutenLess than strict adherence according
to the CDAT
Inclined actorsReported never intentionally
consuming glutenStrict adherence according to the
CDATDisinclined abstainersReported intentionally consuming
glutenLess than strict adherence according
to the CDAT
Disinclined actorsReported intentionally consuming
glutenStrict adherence according to the
CDAT
Inclined abstention in gluten free diet
30% of adults with biopsy confirmed coeliac disease who intended to always follow the diet failed to do soInclined abstainers accounted for 90% of inadequate adherence
Inclined abstention in breakfast consumption
349 university students reported intention to eat breakfast (Time 1) and actual breakfast consumption (Time 2).Intention was measured on a 7 point scale where higher scores indicated stronger intention.Breakfast consumption individuals indicated the number of days in the previous week they had consumed breakfast on a self-report questionnaire
Kothe, E. J., Mullan, B. A., & Amaratunga, R. (2011). Randomised controlled trial of a brief theory-based intervention promoting breakfast consumption. Appetite,
56(1), 148-155.
Inclined abstention in breakfast consumption
Participants were classified as according to statusInclined abstainers
Scored 5 or above in intention at Time 1
Skipped breakfast 3 or more times a week at Time 2
Inclined actorsScored 5 or above in intention at
Time 1Ate breakfast 5 or more times a
week at Time 2Disinclined abstainersScored 5 or above in intention at
Time 1Skipped breakfast 3 or more times a
week at Time 2
Disinclined actorsScored 3 or below in intention at
Time 1Ate breakfast 5 or more times a
week at Time 2
Kothe, E. J., Mullan, B. A., & Amaratunga, R. (2011). Randomised controlled trial of a brief theory-based intervention promoting breakfast consumption. Appetite,
56(1), 148-155.
Inclined abstention in breakfast consumption
63% of young adults who intended to regularly consume breakfast failed to do so. Inclined abstainers made up 77% of all breakfast skippers
Kothe, E. J., Mullan, B. A., & Amaratunga, R. (2011). Randomised controlled trial of a brief theory-based intervention promoting breakfast consumption. Appetite,
56(1), 148-155.
Summary of resultsIntention to engage in healthy dietary choices was very high across all samples. However, all three studies showed that highly motivated people often failed to translate good dietary intentions into healthy food choices. Inclined abstention accounted for the majority of poor adherence to healthy dietary patterns across all contexts.
ImplicationsDifficulty in achieving healthy diet cannot be accounted for by a lack of motivation.It appears that intention may be a necessary but not sufficient determinant of healthy diet. Interventions that attempt to change dietary behaviour by increasing motivation will have limited impact.
My collaboratorsStudy 1
A/Prof Helen Skouteris (Deakin University)Dr Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz (Deakin University)Dr Skye McPhie (Deakin University)Briony Hill (Deakin University)
Study 2A/Prof Barbara Mullan (Curtin University)Lauren Smith (University of Sydney)
Study 3A/Prof Barbara Mullan (Curtin University)