Physical activity and consumption of fruit and vegetables: social representations in relation to age

The aim of this paper is to carry out a survey and comparative analysis of social representations of physical activity and fruit and vegetables in a sample of young, adult and elderly subjects. Four "urban" areas and four "rural" areas were selected for the purposes of the investigation. The samples used to assess social representations of fruit and vegetables and physical activity included 132 and 153 participants respectively. Verbal association was used and a factorial correspondence analysis was applied to the data. The prevention messages delivered as part of the second national program of nutrition and health were integrated by adult participants. A very limited awareness of the benefits of eating fruit and vegetable was observed in the young population. This study underlines the importance of implementing regular measures for the purposes of qualitative local evaluations that consider the specific characteristics of every age group in order to assess the psychological impact of prevention campaigns.