Application of the Health Promotion Model to Predict Breakfast Consumption Among Adolescent Girls: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Background: Healthy nutrition is necessary for normal growth and development. Although breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, it is ignored by many adolescents. The purpose of this study was to apply the health promotion model (HPM) to predict breakfast consumption among adolescent girls using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Methods: A descriptive-analytical study was performed on 450 Iranian female high school students in 2019. Sampling was performed through a multi-stage method. The data collection instrument was a two-part questionnaire. The first part was about demographic information and the behavior of breakfast consumption. The second part was a questionnaire based on the HPM. Data were analyzed by SPSS (version 21) and AMOS (version 21) using the Chi-square test and the regression model. Results: Based on SEM, the constructs of Pender’s HPM explained approximately 0.47 of the variation in the breakfast consumption behavior. The highest total effects on breakfasting behaviors belonged to behavioral perceptions (0.833), prior related behaviors (0.800), perceived self-efficacy (0.677), activity-related affects (0.659), perceived barriers (-0.598), and commitment to planning (0.361). Conclusion: HPM is a suitable theory for predicting commitment to the planning and behavior of breakfast consumption among Iranian adolescent girls. Accordingly, the impact of emotions and behavioral perceptions on a commitment to planning for breakfast consumption should be considered in designing nutritional interventions for female adolescents. Moreover, in planning educational interventions, pleasant experiences should be created to positively influence individual perceptions and effects related to the target behavior in order to enhance commitment to the breakfast consumption behavior.