Correlations between positive affect & fruit/veg intake

Establishing Correlations Between Positive Affect & Fruit/Vegetable Intake on the LC Campus Megan Bailey & Sonja Arneson Ecklund Introduction In our society, and especially in a college setting, it is easy to fall into the trap of cheap, convenient, and completely unhealthy food consumption. Microwaving a pack of Ramen Noodles is much easier than purchasing ingredients to make a fresh salad in one’s dorm room. In effect, the cafeteria here at Luther College should provide us with the means by which to consume 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. However, the lack of decent fruit and vegetable choices in the cafeteria is, in fact, what inspired this experiment. We all know that limiting our consumption of fruits and vegetables is physically unhealthy, but we wanted to see if the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed actually had the potential to decrease or increase one’s positive mood/affect. Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine and establish a correlation between the intake of fruits and vegetables and positive affect in students on the Luther College campus. Establishing a correlation on campus was particularly important because students who regularly eat meals in the Cafeteria, Oneota Market, Marty’s, and Sunnyside Café are somewhat limited in their ability to regularly consume fruits and vegetables based on what the college is serving. Participants A total of 40 Luther students ages 18-22 were asked to complete a pencil and paper questionnaire to measure positive and negative affect schedules. All students who were invited to participate reside on campus (the representative sample came from five different dormitories) and regularly eat meals in the Cafeteria, Oneota, Marty’s, and /or Sunnyside Café. Of the 40 students, 33 actually participated in this research study, a total retention rate of 82%. The Hypothesized Model Based on our research about the positive physical effects of fruit and vegetable consumption , we hypothesized that manipulating the number of fruits and vegetables consumed per day by college students will have a direct effect on positive affect. Similarly, we also hypothesized that those who consumed fewer servings would have lower scores on positive affect. Thus, the non-specific conceptual hypothesized model for this research project is of the following form: Results Pre-Positive Affect Scores Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Decreased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Increased Post-Positive Affect Scores Decreased Post-Positive Affect Scores Design & Procedure To ensure that the sample of participants used in this research study was representative of the whole campus, the surveys were split up among three members of the group. They were then administered randomly to friends, classmates, coworkers, and other students on campus. After completing the PANAS and Marci Campbell’s Two Item Nutrition Measure, the research participants were randomly assigned to increase or decrease their fruit and vegetable consumption over a period of three days. It was suggested that the students in the increase group increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables by a margin of two to three servings per day. Similarly, it was suggested that the individuals in the decrease group decrease their consumption by the same margin. Thus, participants consumed between 0 and 7 servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the course of the study. Conclusions 40% of the change in positive affect was due to the changed consumption in fruits and vegetables, so it is very unlikely that the results of this study were caused by random error. The decreased change in fruit and vegetable consumption was 0.196, or a 20% attribution of change in negative affect. The Unstandardized Coefficient B was representative of the increased and decreased changes in fruit and vegetable consumption. A one-serving increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables had a statistically significant direct effect on the PANAS scores; there was approximately a 3-point increase in positive affect. Consequently, a decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables also had a direct effect on positive affect; for every one-serving decrease in fruit and vegetable consumption, there was a 1.5-point decrease in positive affect. The two-Tailed Significance of Correlations displayed a significant result for positive change: 0.000. This means that there is less than one in 1000 of a chance that the results of this study were due to chance or random error. For negative change, the significance was 0.010, which means that there is approximately one in one hundredth of chance that the negative change in affect was caused by random error. Measures The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) consists of 20 items designed to measure the balance between positive and negative affect. There are 10 items to measure positive affect (interested, excited, strong, enthusiastic, proud, alert, inspired, determined, attentive, and active) and 10 items to measure negative affect (distressed, upset, guilty, scared, hostile, irritable, ashamed, nervous, jittery, and afraid). Participants were asked to rate these 20 items on a scale from 1 (“Very slightly or not at all”) to 5 (“Extremely”). Following the PANAS was Marci Campbell’s Two Item Nutrition Measure, which asked participants to circle the number of fruits and vegetables they consume on an average day. Change in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 0 1 2.5 3.0 3.0 2 3 7.5 9.1 12.1 3 7 17.5 21.2 33.3 4 8 20.0 24.2 57.6 5 10 25.0 30.3 87.9 6 1 2.5 3.0 90.9 7 3 7.5 9.1 100.0 Total 33 82.5 100.0 Missing System 7 17.5 Total 40 100.0 Model Summary for Change in Positive Affect Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .639 a .408 .389 7.02941
Predictors: (Constant), Change
in Fruit and Vegetable
Consumption
Model Summary for Change in Negative Affect Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .443 a .196 .170 6.09034
Predictors: (Constant),
Change in Fruit and Vegetable
Consumption

Correlations between positive affect & fruit/veg intake

by iowafoodandfitness on Jan 12, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

1 Embed 1

Statistics

Correlations between positive affect & fruit/veg intake — Presentation Transcript