Electronic Physician (ISSN: 2008-5842) http://www.ephysician.ir December 2017, Volume: 9, Issue: 12, Pages: 5894-5901, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19082/5894 Corresponding author: Assistant Professor Dr. Mohabbat Mohseni, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. Tel: +98.3431325098, Mobile: +98.9131408140, Fax: +98.3431325094, Email: Mohabbat.Mohseni@gmail.com Received: May 15, 2017, Accepted: September 06, 2017, Published: December 2017 iThenticate screening: September 04, 2017, English editing: October 22, 2017, Quality control: December 11, 2017 © 2017 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Page 5894 Predicting effective factors on eating behaviors in the prevention of cardiovascular disease based on the PRECEDE model Samera Radmerikhi 1 , Seyed Vahid Ahmady Tabatabaei 2 , Yunes Jahani 3 , Mohabbat Mohseni 4 1 MSc. of Health Education, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran 2 M.D-MPH-Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran 3 Ph.D. of Biostatistics, Assistant Professor, Modeling in Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran 4 Ph.D. of Public Health and Health Promotion, Assistant Professor, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Type of article: Original Abstract Background and aim: Changes in eating behavior can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to predict the effective factors of eating behaviors in the prevention of cardiovascular disease using the PRECEDE model. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 400 subjects aged from 20 to 60 years old in Kerman, Iran in 2016. The participants were selected using a multistage random sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire including questions regarding demographic characteristics, eating behavior, and PRECEDE model constructs were completed by the participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 and STATA 12. For data analysis, Spearman correlation coefficient, univariate and multiple median regression were applied. The predictive power of the model constructs was determined by analysis of artificial neural networks. Results: Among participants, the score of knowledge was high (84.15±10.7), and the scores of perceived self- efficacy (59.1±16.57), reinforcing factors (60.66±14.01), enabling factors (56.5±12.91), and eating behavior (62.1±14.7) were intermediate, and the score of attitude was low (47.84±7.67). Attitude, self-perceived efficacy, enabling factors, and knowledge predicted 32%, 30%, 26%, and 0.93% of participants' eating behavior respectively. The relationship between all variables and eating behavior was positive and significant (p<0.0001). Perceived self-efficacy had the most, and reinforcing factors the least correlation with eating behavior. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, self-efficacy, attitude, and enabling factors were the main predicting factors for eating behaviors; therefore, to prevent cardiovascular disease and enhance healthy eating behavior, it is recommended to change attitude, and enhance self-efficacy and enabling factors in the community. Keywords: Eating behaviors, Cardiovascular disease, Predisposing factors, Reinforcing factors, Enabling factors 1. Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the main concerns of public health (1) and the major cause of disability worldwide (2). This disease causes 30 percent of all deaths in the world (3) and by 2030 this rate will increase from 17.5 in 2010 to 23 million in 2030 (4). In Iran, cardiovascular disease is the first and most common cause of death in all ages and in both genders (5). This disease causes 700 to 800 deaths (more than 39% of all deaths) in Iran each day (6, 7). Since cardiovascular disease involves many complications as well as high care expenditure for the patients, it has been considered as the main burden of diseases among non-communicable diseases (6); therefore,