Planned Behavior Theory and Healthy Eating of Greek Adults

Fevronia Karkaletsi, Emmanuil Skordilis, & Dimitra Koutsouki

Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kapodestrian University of Athens, Hellas

Abstract

The main purpose of the current study was to examine the intention of Greek adults to adopt healthy eating. A secondary purpose was to examine if the eating behavior differs according to demographics or other character- istics such as the age, body mass index, residence, participation in physical activities and family income. A total of 80 adults participated by filling out the questionnaires based on the Planned Behavior Theory and the Consuming Food Frequency. The results showed that their intention to adopt healthy nutrition was positive (MO=5.72), and the most influential reason was the perceived behavioral control (p<.001). Finally, statistically significant differ- ences were found in relation with the body mass index, the participation in physical activities and the place of residence.

Keywords: Theory of Planned Behavior, intention, adults, healthy eating, social and economical factors