Self-efficacy of monitoring eating choices associated with fruit and vegetable intake, BMI and autonomy in the MOVE'M study

Abstract

Fruit and vegetable (FV) intake is inadequate in the US. Improving FV intake is associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases and a lower BMI. Autonomy for food-related tasks and self-efficacy of monitoring dietary intake are factors that can potentially influence FV intake. In this study baseline data collected from the Move and Moderate in Balance (MOVE'M) study conducted Seattle worksites was used to evaluate the relationships between these variables (n=746). A single question with pictures of portion size examples was used to evaluate FV intake per day and BMI was measured. A mixed model regression analysis in STATA 11.1 was used to determine significant associations that included the random effects at the worksite level. Autonomy of food-related tasks was not significantly associated with FV intake or BMI, although, there was a positive trend between autonomy score and FV servings. Fruit and vegetable servings were not significantly associated with BMI, but there was an inverse trend. In this data set 29.1% of subjects were in the normal BMI category, 29.9% were overweight and 41.1% were obese. Only 12.5% of subjects consumed more than 5 FV servings per day. Self-efficacy related to regularly monitoring eating choices was significantly associated with autonomy score (p = 0.007) FV intake (p < 0.001) and BMI (p = 0.02). A 4 point increase in autonomy score is significantly associated with a 0.2 point improvement in the self-efficacy score. Every 1 point improvement in the self-efficacy score is significantly associated with a ¼ increase in FV servings per day and a 1.02 unit drop in BMI. In conclusion, greater self-efficacy related to monitoring eating choices is significantly associated with greater autonomy in food-related tasks, higher FV intake and lower BMI. Enhancing self-efficacy related to monitoring eating choices may be an important goal for future public health interventions aimed at improving diet quality and BMI.