Mobile Goal-setting Intervention to Improve Vegetable Intake Among Young College Students

Effectiveness of Self-Monitoring and Goal Setting on Improving Consumption of Red/Orange Vegetables Among Undergraduate Students: A Pre-Posttest Experiment

This study used a two-group pre-posttest experimental design. After completing a background survey, participants used their smartphones to uploaded photos and/or descriptions of their meals to an online platform for three days. In addition, those in the intervention group were asked to use a checklist to count the number of times they ate red/orange vegetables and to set a goal to eat one more time the next day. The dependent variable was a measure of eating behavior-an estimate (number of times/day) of red/orange vegetable intake on that day based on review of uploaded photos and descriptions. Those in the intervention group, who were asked to use a checklist to count their red/orange vegetable intake and set a goal to eat one more the next day, improved their vegetable intake.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18 and above
• Undergraduate at the university
• Currently lived in a dorm
• Owned a smartphone
• Had internet access on their smartphone

Exclusion Criteria:

• Already part of a study to change their eating behaviors