Appealing to vanity: Could potential appearance improvement motivate fruit and vegetable consumption?

Fruit and vegetable consumption is inadequate among adults in the United States; this contributes to preventable morbidity and mortality. More effective dietary intervention strategies are needed. Recently, interventions that advertise the consequences of behavior for appearance have been successful inmodifying sun-exposure habits and tobacco use. Such an approach might also facilitate dietary improvement. Consumption of carotenoid- rich fruit and vegetables positively affects skin color, which influences perceptionsofhealthandattractiveness, andpromotingsuchan effect may motivate target audiences to increase consumption of this important food group. This approach represents a novel direction for the field and is potentially suitable for cost-effective, population-level dissemination through the visual media.