Correlates of vegetable consumption among young men in the Norwegian National Guard

The aim of this study was to investigate socio-environmental, personal and behavioural factors associated with vegetable consumption among young men in the military. Respondents included 578 male recruits (mean age 19.7) in the Norwegian National Guard (response rate 78%). Data were collected with a food diary (4-day record) and an attitudinal questionnaire. A model including items on personal factors (attitudes, preferences, self-efficacy, knowledge and perceived availability), socio-environmental factors (social influence, socio-economic status, eating habits at home) and behavioural factors (meal frequency, number of hot meals, snack consumption, smoking) was developed to assess correlates of the recruits’ vegetable intake. The study showed that the recruits’ consumption of vegetables (including potatoes) varied from 0 to 957 g/day with an average of 244 g/day. Overall, 32% of the variance in vegetable consumption was explained by factors included in the model. The most important correlates were occupational status of the parents, frequency of vegetable consumption when living at home, social influence, preferences for cooked vegetables, weight beliefs, number of hot meals for lunch and dinner and smoking habits. In conclusion, the present study indicates that in addition to cognitive factors, socio-environmental and behavioural factors can explain the variance in vegetable intake among young men in the military.