ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Digital Literacy, Ecological Values, and Green Food Consumption: An Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model in Chinese Universities
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
- 2Xi'an International Studies University, Xi'an, China
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Promoting green food consumption is crucial for public health and environmental sustainability. Understanding the drivers of this behavior among young adults, particularly university students, is key to designing effective health promotion strategies. This study investigates how digital literacy and ecological values shape green food consumption intentions and behaviors among Chinese university students, using an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model. Based on survey data from 836 students, our expanded TPB model reveals three main findings: (1) Digital literacy is not only directly positively associated with purchase intention (β = 0.257, p < 0.001) but also attitudes (β = 0.317, p < 0.001) and perceived behavioral control (β =290.292, p < 0.001), suggesting it can serve as a form of cognitive capital essential for navigating digital food environments. (2) Ecological values are found to exert a pervasive influence, both directly on purchase intention (β = 0.234, p < 0.001) and indirectly through attitudes, norms, and perceived control, supporting their foundational role in motivating sustainable dietary behaviors. (3) Contrary to traditional TPB assumptions, digital literacy did not significantly influence subjective norms (β = 0.069, p = 0.145), suggesting a shift in social influence toward algorithm-driven, decentralized networks in the digital age. In conclusion, this study validates an extended TPB model that integrates digital literacy and ecological values, offering a more nuanced understanding of the determinants of green food consumption among Chinese university students. The findings underscore the dual role of digital and value-based factors in shaping sustainable consumption behaviors, providing a theoretical foundation for future research and practical interventions.
Keywords: Green consumption, Digital Literacy, Ecological values, Extended TPB, public health nutrition, Health Promotion, university students
Received: 12 Oct 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 He, Liu, He and Ma. 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: Jiaxin He
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