Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Objective: Health benefits of diet with sufficient fruit and vegetable (F&V) are well documented. However, large proportions of students in Hong Kong do not fulfill the World Health Organization recommendation of F&V daily consumption. The aim of this paper is to measure and investigate the intention and behaviour of F&V consumption among adolescents in Hong Kong by examining the variables of Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Methods: As a case study, one secondary school in Hong Kong was selected to participate in this research. There were 327 (51.7%) males and 305 (48.3%) females, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years, enrolled in this study. All participants were Chinese. Valid data of 632 students from Form 1 to 5 were measured by self-administered questionnaire with help of class teachers. A validated questionnaire was used to measure the constructs of TPB regarding the F&V consumption behaviour from December 2011 to February 2012. Results: The overall F&V consumption in this study was generally low. Attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control (PBC) accounted for 45% and 37% of the variance in the intention of F&V consumption for male and female respectively, whereas PBC was the strongest predictor and subjective norm was the weakest. In general, the TPB model could explain 14% of the variance in the F&V consumption behaviour. Conclusion: The TPB model provides a useful framework for the study of F&V consumption intention amongst secondary school students in Hong Kong. However, the weak performance of predicting behaviour is still the persistent fault of TPB.

Biography

Dr. W. K. MOK, BEng, LLB, MBA, Ph.D., Lecturer, in the Department of Applied Science, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Vocational Training Council, 30 Shing Tai Road, Chai Wan, Hong Kong.