Article Critique: Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by Low-Income Black American Adolescents - Essay Example

This qualitative research used the focus group methodology to collect data from the participants. 42 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 13 years were involved in the focus groups which were divided equally into six. 21 female and 21 male adolescents were involved in this study. The advantage of this method is that it enabled the researcher to get personal opinions from the participants about the factors that influenced their consumption behavior and patterns of fruits and vegetables. Results of the research The results of the research have been divided into three main categories of the Social Cognitive Theory which include behavioral, personal, and environmental factors. Personal factors such as taste played a major role in influencing the consumption behavior of fruits and vegetables among the youths who participated in the survey.

There were both negative and positive connotations about the taste of fruits and vegetables. For instance, many youths revealed that they like fruits because of their sweet taste while the taste of vegetables produced more negative reactions. Many youths described the taste of vegetables as “nasty” and they said that they would rather prefer to eat vegetables that have been prepared with sugar or cheese since these ingredients could improve the taste. The results of the study also revealed that environmental factors have an influence on the consumption behavior of fruits and vegetables by the youths.

The aspect of availability played a major role in influencing the behavior of youths toward fruits and vegetables. Many participants pointed out that fruits and vegetables were not readily available at their homes as well as the nearby grocery shops. Some of the youths said they ate fruits and vegetables when they visit their friends’ places. This showed that the youths cannot be able to consume something they cannot readily access and this is seen as a barrier to their consumption behavior of the fruits and vegetables.