Abstract
Recently high frequency of breakfast skipping and low intake of vegetable are common among adolescents and young adults in Japan. Based on the stages of change, which is a key concept of the transtheoretical model, this study aimed to investigate the actual situation and reveal the problems with regard to eating habits among college students and threw light on the intervention for sensible diet. Data was provided by the sample of 268 participants (mean age=19.8 years, SD=1.28).
The results of the questionnaire survey were as follows.
(1) Nearly half of participants (48.1%) were in earlier stages of change (Precontemplation and Contemplation).
(2) Participants in earlier stages of change reported higher frequency of breakfast skipping and more unbalanced diets than in later stages of change (Action and Maintenance).
(3) Participants in earlier stages of change neither cared about their diets nor realized their dietary problems.
(4) Participants in earlier stages of change reported feelings of vague lassitude more than in later stages of change.
(5) Participants in earlier stages of change evidenced lower interest in cooking, cooking skills, and knowledge about cooking scores than in later stages of change.
These results revealed participants in earlier stages of change with eating habit problems show lower competence needed to follow a sensible diet than in later stages of change. Making a classification of sample on the basis of stages of change is useful to identify targets of intervention. In order to establish healthy dietary behavior, it is essential to develop TTM-based dietary education program which promotes such behavior and apply it to college students in earlier stages of change.
