Social, attitudinal and behavioural correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption among Cypriot adolescents

Objective: To examine the prevalence and correlates of fruit and vegetable (FV)consumption in Cypriot adolescents. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: The Republic of Cyprus. Subjects: A total of 1966 adolescents with a mean age of 14.7 (SD 2.2) years from nine elementary (n 448), six middle (n 657), five high (n 475) and five technical/vocational schools (n 386) in Cyprus. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing FV consumption using a two-item screening measure and a number of social, attitudinal and behavioural correlates of FV consumption. Results: Overall, 19.3% of adolescents reported consuming five or more portions of FV daily, with elementary and middle school students more likely to meet recommendations (23.8% and 24.4%, respectively) compared with high and technical/vocational school students (14.0% and 12.5%, respectively). Consuming five or more portions of FV was associated with preference for FV (OR=2.2),family eating patterns (OR=1.5), friends’ FV consumption (OR=1.2) and school support for FV consumption (OR=0.8). Consuming at least one portion of fruit daily was significantly associated with preference for FV (OR=2.0) and family eating patterns (OR=1.7). Consuming at least one portion of vegetables daily was associated with preference for FV (OR=4.2) and eating while watching television (OR=0.8). Conclusions: Targeting individual and family-based components may enhance the effectiveness of intervention programmes to promote FV consumption