A causal model of eating behaviors among Thai pregnant women working in industrial factories

Objective:This study aimed to examine the causal model of eating behaviors among pregnant women working in industrial factories.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted on 210 participants,attending 4 healthcare centers,at a tertiary care hospital in Chonburi province,Thailand.Data were collected using 7 questionnaires:demographic form,eating behavior questionnaire,perceived benefits of the healthy eating questionnaire,perceived barriers to the healthy eating questionnaire,perceived self-efficacy questionnaire,social support questionnaire,and accessibility to healthy foods questionnaire.Descriptive statistics and path analysis were used for data analysis.Results:The participants had relatively high mean scores for eating behaviors.The final model fitted well with the dataχ^(2)=12.86,df=10,P=0.23;χ^(2)/df=1.29;comparative fit index(CFI)=0.98;goodness-of-fit index(GFI)=0.98;adjusted goodness-of-fit index(AGFI)=0.95;root mean square error of approximation(RMSEA)=0.04.Four factors-perceived benefits(β=0.13,P<0.05),perceived self-efficacy in healthy eating(β=0.22,P<0.001),pregnancy planning(β=0.28,P<0.001),and accessibility to healthy foods in the factory(β=0.12,P<0.05)-positively affected eating behavior,while only perceived barriers to healthy eating had a negative effect on eating behavior(β=−0.24,P<0.001).All the above factors explained 27.2%of the variance in eating behaviors.Conclusions:Nurses or healthcare providers can apply these findings to create an eating behavior modification program,focusing on pregnancy planning,behavior-specific variables,and interpersonal and situational influence,to promote the nutritional status of pregnant women working in industrial factories.