Development and Validation of a Decisional Balance Tool to Assess Perceived Benefits and Barriers of Vegetable Consumption in Adults

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a decisional balance tool for assessing the perceived benefits and barriers of vegetable intake in adults. Methods: Our study comprised 379 adults aged 20–70 years (mean age: 30.5 ± 12.6 years; men: 21.4%). Data (demographic parameters, vegetable intake, stage of change) were collected via a web-based survey. The decisional balance score was calculated by subtracting the score for perceived barriers from the score for perceived benefits.Results: The final 24 items in our questionnaire had a two-domain (“pleasure” and “healthy” for perceived benefits) or three-domain (“not attractive,” “low priority,” and “hard to get” for perceived barriers) structure with high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.82, 0.79, 0.82, 0.76, and 0.76, respectively). The intraclass correlation coefficient in a test-retest reliability study was high (0.77). The decisional balance score positively correlated with the number of vegetable servings as the external parameter (Spearman's correlation: 0.461; P <0.001).Conclusions: Our questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the pros and cons of vegetable consumption in adults.