ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health and Nutrition
This article is part of the Research TopicAssessing and Addressing Public Health and Community Nutrition Challenges in the Arab RegionView all 22 articles
Expanding the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Fruits and Vegetables Consumption among a Sample of Women in Saudi Arabia
Provisionally accepted
Howeida Abusalih1Sarah A Alasmari2Suha Hashim Abduljawad3Asmaa Fatani4Manal Almughamisi3Ameerah Almaski3
Bayan Tashkandi4
Abeer Aljehani4Afnan H. Saaty4
NADA BENAJIBA5*- 1Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 2Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 3Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia
- 4King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 5Universite Ibn Tofail, Kenitra, Morocco
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Background: Adequate fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake is a key component of a healthy diet and is influenced by both psychological and environmental factors. Aim: to explore determinants of F&V consumption among Saudi adult women, applying an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model. Methods: A cross-sectional survey recruited 476 Saudi adult women aged 18–59 across all five regions of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using a validated online questionnaire assessing TPB constructs, socio-demographics, lifestyle behaviors, and dietary patterns. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test both the original and extended TPB models. Results: Participants held positive attitudes but demonstrated low adherence, consuming a mean of 3.33 F&V servings daily. In the original TPB model, intention, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) significantly predicted behavior (R²=31%), while attitude, subjective norms, and PBC predicted intention (R²=75%). The extended model explained 45% of the variance in behavior, with PBC as the sole direct significant predictor. Knowledge and family meal frequency positively influenced attitudes, while F&V purchasing, and a healthy diet were associated with higher PBC. Conclusion: PBC emerged as the only direct predictor of behavior in the extended model. Moreover, this study highlighted the crucial role of PBC in translating intention into the actual consumption of fruits and vegetables among Saudi women. Family-centered strategies that strengthen women's confidence and skills in healthy meal planning may effectively bridge the intention–behavior gap.
Keywords: Fruits and vegetables consumption, Adult women, Perceived behavioral control, Intention, social norms, Attitude, Theory of Planned Behavior, Saudi Arabia
Received: 08 Oct 2025; Accepted: 14 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Abusalih, Alasmari, Abduljawad, Fatani, Almughamisi, Almaski, Tashkandi, Aljehani, Saaty and BENAJIBA. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: NADA BENAJIBA, benajibanada@gmail.com
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