| No | SDES-2017-1 |
|---|---|
| Title | Perceptive and socio-economic predictors of varied fruit and vegetable intake |
| Author | Yoshinori Nakagawa and Koji Kotani |
| Abstract | Daily consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables (FVs) has been proven to be an essential requirement for keeping good health. Despite its importance, few studies have analyzed the determinants. This study characterizes FV-intake variety by considering both perceptive and socio-economic predictors within a single analytical framework. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure FV-intake variety in terms of the number of FV items consumed in the last seven days and to collect perceptive and socio-economic information. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrates that critical thinking disposition, health locus of control, nutritional knowledge and variety seeking tendency are strong determinants for FV-intake variety, whereas a number of family members and age are the only significant variables among socioeconomic factors. Overall, this paper finds that perceptive factors have stronger influences on FV-intake variety than socio-economic factors, suggesting a relative importance of improving general perceptions and education such as awareness or the way of thinking about health and nutrition. |
| Revised version published in |