Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB)

About

The Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) Survey was developed by staff at NCI with the goal of evaluating a variety of factors that may be related to fruit and vegetable intake among adults. The FAB Survey contains 65 questions in 8 sections. FAB measures attitudes and beliefs, general health, shopping, fruit and vegetable consumption, eating behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and food preferences. Conventional constructs include self-efficacy, barriers, social support, and knowledge of recommendations related to fruit and vegetable intake. Novel constructs include shopping patterns, taste preferences, views on vegetarianism, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, and environmental influences. The FAB Survey was administered using a Consumer Opinion Panel in Fall 2007 and the final sample consisted of 3,397 adults, with an oversampling of African-Americans. The final response rate was 57 percent.

To access the FAB survey, references and analytic guide, please select and download the following files:

FAB Survey Instrument, Annotated Version (PDF)

FAB Survey Item Sources and References (PDF)
The FAB Survey contains new, existing, and modified items. The FAB Survey Item Sources and References document is an item-by-item account of all of items on the FAB Survey, where items were derived from, as well as any associated references for the source.

FAB Analytic Guide (PDF)
The FAB Analytic Guide provides background on the FAB Survey, as well as other pertinent information for a FAB data user, including the survey deign and sample selection, calculation and recommended use of survey weights application, and benefits and limitations in using the weights.

FAB Codebook (PDF)
The FAB Codebook document contains formatting information (e.g., variable labels), source information, inclusion criteria and a simple frequency table for every FAB Survey item, including both unweighted and weighted percentages.

Publications and Resources

Select FAB Survey Publications:

1. Blanck, H.M., Thompson, O.M., Nebeling, L., & Yaroch, A.L. Improving fruit and vegetable consumption: use of farm-top-consumer venues among U.S. adults. Preventing Chronic Disease 2011;8(2). https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2011/mar/10_0039.htm. Accessed [05-10-11].
2. Thompson, F.E., Willis, G., Thompson, O.M., & Yaroch, A.L. The meaning of "fruits" and "vegetables". Public Health Nutrition, 2011 Jan 28:1-7; Epub 2011
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21272414
3. Yaroch AL, et al. Evaluation of Three Short Dietary Instruments to Assess Fruit and Vegetable Intake: The National Cancer Institute's Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012 Oct;112(10):1570-7.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23017567
4. Erinosho TO, Moser RP, Oh AY, Nebeling LC, Yaroch AL.Awareness of the Fruits and Veggies-More Matters campaign, knowledge of the fruit and vegetable recommendation, and fruit and vegetable intake of adults in the 2007 Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) Survey. Appetite. 2012 Aug;59(1):155-60. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.04.010. Epub 2012 Apr 21
5. Emanuel AS, McCully SN, Gallagher KM, Updegraff JA. Theory of Planned Behavior explains gender difference in fruit and vegetable consumption. Appetite. 2012 Dec;59(3):693-7. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.08.007. Epub 2012
6. Goodman AB, Blanck HM, Sherry B, Park S, Nebeling L, Yaroch AL. Behaviors and Attitudes Associated With Low Drinking Water Intake Among U.S. Adults, Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, 2007. Appetite. 2012 Aug;59(1):155-60. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.04.010. Epub 2012 Apr 21.
7. Ferrer RA, Bergman HE, Klein WM. Worry as a predictor of nutrition behaviors: results from a nationally representative survey. Health Educ Behav. 2013 Feb;40(1):88-96. doi: 10.1177/1090198112439410.
8. Erinosho TO, Pinard CA, Nebeling LC, Moser RP, Shaikh AR, Resnicow K, Oh AY, Yaroch AL. Development and implementation of the National Cancer Institute’s Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey to assess correlates of fruit and vegetable intake in adults. PLoS One. 2015;10(2):e0115017. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0115017

Literature Review Prepared for FAB:

1. Shaikh, A.R., Yaroch, A.L., Nebeling, L., Yeh, M-C, & Resnicow, K. Psychosocial predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption in adults: A review of the literature. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2008:34(6):535-43.
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18471592