Factors Driving Individuals’ Attitudes toward Sugar and Sweet-Tasting Foods: An Analysis within the Scope of Theory of Planned Behavior

Public health authorities are undertaking initiatives aimed at reducing sugar intake because it is linked to detrimental health outcomes. Individuals' attitudes and intentions toward sugar can be significant factors affecting intake. Therefore, we here aimed to evaluate individuals' attitudes and intentions toward sugar intake by combining the theory of planned behavior with different frameworks. Accordingly, we developed an online questionnaire and reached 940 participants. We observed that subjective norms (β = -0.140; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and perceived behavioral control (β = -0.138; <i>p</i> < 0.001) as defined in the theory of planned behavior significantly affected attitude. Subsequently, examining the effect of attitude (β = -0.209; <i>p</i> = 0.018) and intention (β = 0.717; <i>p</i> < 0.001) on sugar intake showed that intention had a positive effect, whereas attitude had no significant effect. Mediation analysis showed that attitude influenced sugar intake through intention (β = -0.286; <i>p</i> = 0.001). Furthermore, we determined that components including habits, perceived understanding, perceived nonautonomy, negativity, and apathy can affect attitude toward sugar intake (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Analyzing the effects of sociodemographic factors revealed that sugar intake was lower in individuals with food allergies (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In conclusion, these findings suggest that the theory of planned behavior, when combined with different frameworks, can be effective in predicting sugar intake and individuals' intentions.