Perceived purchase of healthy foods is associated with regular consumption of fruits and vegetables

Abstract

Objective: To identify healthy food (HF) purchase habits and intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) in parents responsible for grocery shopping for their families.

Methods: Survey with mothers and fathers (n = 216) of children aged 7-10 years in Brazil.

Results: Grocery purchases occurred mostly at supermarkets. Purchase of HF was considered to be frequent by 80% of parents, who cited FV as main examples of HF. The more frequent the reported purchase was of HF, the higher was the prevalence of regular consumption of FV (P = .002). Only 34% of respondents reported weekly intakes that could be classified as regular.

Conclusions and implications: Perceived frequent shopping for healthy foods was positively associated with regular consumption of FV but a gap between perception and behavior was identified. Nutrition education strategies need to go beyond a merely informative role and take consumers' opinions and points of view into consideration to become truly effective.

Keywords: children; consumer behavior; family; fruit; parents; supermarkets; vegetable.