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Research Project: DEVELOPMENT AND PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Location: Children Nutrition Research Center (Houston, Tx)

Title: Correlates of availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables in homes of low-income Hispanic families

Authors
item Dave, Jayna -
item Evans, Alexandra -
item Pfeiffer, Karin -
item Watkins, Ken -
item Saunders, Ruth -

Submitted to: Health Education Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: August 1, 2009
Publication Date: February 1, 2010
Citation: Dave, J.M., Evans, A.E., Pfeiffer, K.A., Watkins, K.W., Saunders, R.P. 2010. Correlates of availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables in homes of low-income Hispanic families. Health Education Research. 25(1):97-108.

Interpretive Summary: Obesity is a major issue facing American children, especially minorities. We evaluated the link between parental factors (practices to promote healthy eating, role modeling, etc.), child’s likes and dislikes for fruit and vegetables (FV), and availability and accessibility (AA) in homes of poor Hispanic families with young children. One hundred and eighty-four parents from low-income families completed a survey, including factors such as age, gender, income, education, language spoken at home and food insecurity among others. We were able to conclude that language spoken at home; parental practices that promote intake of FV, parental role modeling and perceived benefits of fast food were linked with AA of FV at home. These results are important as health education programs should consider the language spoken at home and target at improving parental factors in order to improve AA of FV.

Technical Abstract: Availability and accessibility (AA) has been consistently shown across studies as the most important correlate of fruits and vegetables (FV) intake. However, there is little data on factors that influence AA of FV, especially in Hispanic families. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between parental factors, child’s preferences for FV and AA of FV in homes of low-income Hispanic families with children 5–12 years old. A convenience sample of 184 parents of low socioeconomic status recruited through public elementary schools completed a self-administered questionnaire about demographics, language spoken at home, and food insecurity (FI). Parental factors and child’s preferences were measured using a 16-item questionnaire, which was developed specifically for the study. AA of FV was measured using a validated nine-item index. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that language spoken at home, parental practices that promote consumption of FV, parental role modeling, and perceived benefits of fast food had significant and independent associations with AA of FV at home. Intervention programs should take into consideration the language spoken at home and target at improving parental factors in order to improve AA of FV.

   

 
Project Team
Upchurch, Dan
Thompson, Deborah - Debbe
 
Publications
   Publications
 
Related National Programs
  Human Nutrition (107)
 
Related Projects
   BEHAVIORAL PATHWAYS OF BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON ENERGY BALANCE
   PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY THROUGH LIFESTYLE CHANGES
   WEB-BASED AND MULTI-MEDIA INTERVENTIONS TO PROMOTE HEALTHY EATING AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN FAMILIES AND YOUTH
   DEVELOPMENT OF OBESITY-RELATED EATING BEHAVIORS IN CHILDHOOD
   UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES FOR CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION
   PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS TO PREVENT CHILDHOOD OBESITY
   CHILDHOOD OBESITY RISK FACTOR CHARACTERIZATION
 
 
Last Modified: 05/18/2013
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