Un intervento di messaggistica istantanea per la promozione del monitoraggio del consumo di frutta e verdure

The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB - Ajzen, 1991) has been widely applied in predicting fruit and vegetable consumption. The aim of this pilot study was to test the applicabi-lity of the TPB model to the evaluation of a messaging intervention for promoting this healthy eating behaviour. Particularly, the intervention consisted in sending daily messages that promote self-monitoring of fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants (N=116 undergraduates; 30 M, 86 F; mean age=22.91, S. D.=8,33), were involved in a quasi-experimental design which manipulated the variable "messages vs no messages". After the intervention, experimental group (which received daily messages), compared with control (which did not receive messages), increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Moreover, intention mediated the effects of conditions on post-intervention consumption. Therefore, findings confirmed the predictive power of the TPB, which considers the behavioral intention as a cognitive antecedent of behavior. Although the limitations of the current pilot study, these results can be used to support new strategies for promoting healthy eating, which may use the messaging intervention as a more contextualized communication for the new generations.