Influence of the Home Food Environment on Children's Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: A Study of Rural Low-Income Families

• Published in: Health promotion practice Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 689 - 698
• Main Authors: Amuta, Ann O., Jacobs, Wura, Idoko, Ehikowoicho E., Barry, Adam E., McKyer, E. Lisako J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2015
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; African Americans; Child; Child, Preschool; Feeding Behavior; Food and Exercise in Rural Areas; Fruit; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Middle Aged; Obesity; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Parents; Poverty; Regression Analysis; Rural Population; Schools; Surveys and Questionnaires; Texas; Vegetables; Young Adult; United States > US; minority health; nutrition; health promotion; rural health; child/adolescent health
• ISSN: 1524-8399; 1552-6372
• DOI: 10.1177/1524839915589733

Background. This investigation sought to identify micro-level built and sociocultural characteristics of a home food environment that have been theoretically linked with fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption. Method. We examined rural families (n = 298) from the southeastern United States. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses determined the association between the outcome variable (F&V consumption) and micro-level built and sociocultural characteristics of a home food environment. Results. Demographic characteristics were entered at Step 1, explaining 14% of variance in vegetable consumption and 9% in fruit consumption. After entry of sociocultural factors in the home food environment, such as parenting styles and so on, in Block 2, the total variance explained increased by 25% for vegetable consumption and 12% for fruit consumption. Micro-level built environmental factors such as the availability of F&V in the home was entered at Block 3, total variance explained by the model for vegetable consumption was 67%, F(17, 111) = 13.5, p < .001, and for fruit consumption was 57%, F(17, 160) = 12.5, p < .001. Conclusion. F&V availability was the most important variable influencing a child's consumption of F&V. There are modifiable factors within the rural low-income home that could serve as priorities for intervention to improve F&V consumption.