Skip to main content

Table 3 Characteristics of participants’ personalised habit goals and frequency of sub-optimal goals, by feeding domain

From: Putting habit into practice, and practice into habit: a process evaluation and exploration of the acceptability of a habit-based dietary behaviour change intervention

Characteristic

Observed values

Verbatim examples

Observed frequency

(* = prejudged to be suboptimal)

   

FV goals

Snack goals

Drink goals

(n = 54)

(n = 56)

(n = 53)

Characteristics of target behaviours

 

`To give my child...’

n (%)

n (%)

n (%)

1. Number of target behaviours

a. One behaviour

a. `... a bottle of water after school’

51 (94.4%)

52 (92.9%)

29 (54.7%)

b. Two behaviours*

b. `... milk in the morning and more water’

3 (5.6%)

4 (7.1%)

19 (35.8%)

c. Three behaviours*

c. `... juice with breakfast, water with lunch and dinner and milk at bedtime’

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

5 (9.4%)

 

Total suboptimal goals

3 (5.6%)

4 (7.0%)

24 (45.3%)

2. Frequency of target behaviour

a. Once a day

a. `... a healthy afternoon snack’

49 (90.7%)

43 (76.8%)

10 (18.9%)

b. Twice a day or more

b. `... one vegetable with lunch and one with dinner’

2 (3.7%)

3 (5.4%)

6 (11.3%)

c. Unclear or unspecified*

c. `... extra water during the day’

3 (5.6%)

10 (17.9%)

37 (69.8%)

 

Total suboptimal goals

3 (5.6%)

10 (17.9%)

37 (69.8%)

3. Behaviour specified in absolute or relative terms

a. Absolute

a. `... two vegetables with dinner’

50 (92.6%)

53 (94.6%)

29 (54.7%)

b. Relative*

b. `... more water’

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

8 (15.1%)

c. Combination of absolute and relative (where multiple behaviours specified)

c. `...one glass of fruit juice a day and more water’

4 (7.4%)

2 (3.6%)

16 (30.2%)

d. Unclear*

d. `To choose a healthy snack from the list’

0 (0%)

1 (1.8%)

0 (0%)

 

Total suboptimal goals

0 (0%)

1 (1.8%)

8 (15.1%)

4. Increase or decrease in target behaviour

a. Increase in healthy behaviour

a. `... more water’

54 (100%)

52 (92.9%)

22 (41.5%)

b. Decrease in unhealthy behaviour*

b. `... less fruit juice’

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

4 (7.5%)

c. Combination of increase in healthy and decrease in unhealthy behaviour (where multiple behaviours specified)

c. `... less milk and squash and more water’

0 (0%)

4 (7.1%)

24 (45.3%)

d. Unclear or unspecified*

d. `... one cup of milk’

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

3 (5.7%)

 

Total suboptimal goals

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

7 (13.2%)

Characteristic of context

     

5. Type of cue

a. Time of day*

a. `... a healthy snack at 3 pm’

9 (16.7%)

28 (50.0%)

1 (1.9%)

b. During or after a meal

b. `... two vegetables with dinner’

40 (74.1%)

0 (0%)

9 (17.0%)

c. During or after any other event

c. `... a bottle of water after nursery’

3 (5.6%)

10 (17.9%)

7 (13.2%)

d. As a substitute for less healthy food

d. `... water instead of milk during the day’

1 (1.9%)

1 (1.8%)

7 (13.2%)

e. None specified*

e. `... a cup of milk every day’

1 (1.9%)

17 (30.4%)

34 (64.2%)

 

Total suboptimal goals

10 (17.9%)

45 (80.4%)

35 (66.0%)

Total `goal suboptimality’ score**

 

0 (non-suboptimal)

39 (72.2%)

9 (16.1%)

7 (13.2%)

  

1

14 (25.9%)

36 (54.3%)

13 (24.5%)

  

2

1 (1.9%)

9 (16.1%)

8 (15.1%)

  

3

0 (0%)

2 (3.6%)

20 (37.7%)

  

4

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

5 (9.4%)

  

5 (most suboptimal)

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

  1. Unless otherwise specified, all goals followed the words `to give my child...’ or equivalent. Emphases added. *Value deemed suboptimal for habit formation. **`Suboptimality’ scores indicate the number of the five characteristics above on which the goal was deemed to be suboptimal.