Exploration of parent-reported family meal dinner characteristics to inform a definition of family meals.

OBJECTIVE: To examine parent-reported key family meal characteristics to advance the conceptualization of how parents perceive family meals to inform public health interventions and clinical practice. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study design using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and online survey data from a racially and ethnically diverse population. PARTICIPANTS: Parent/child dyads (N = 631) with children ages 5-9 years old from diverse, low-income households. ANALYSIS: Multi-level logistic regression, conditional fixed effects estimators and multi-level logistic models with inverse probability weights. RESULTS: Characteristics of meals that parents considered family meals (N = 3328) included: homemade, prepared by the caregivers, eaten at home (table/counter), most of the nuclear family gathered, having a conversation and an enjoyable atmosphere (p < 0.001). Characteristics of meals that parents deemed as non-family meals (N = 562) included: watching TV/tablets, non-family members joining, chaotic/rushed atmosphere (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Parents consider family meals to be meals that take place at home around a table/counter, with homemade food prepared by the caregivers, and most family members gathered enjoying a conversation without other distractions. Study findings indicated that parents endorse specific characteristics as key for defining what "counts" as a family meal. These findings can be used by clinicians as recommendations for improving one's family meal experience and by future research as the basis for intervening on family meal characteristics and standardization of a definition of family meals.

Exploring the associations between neighbourhood food environment, household food insecurity and child weight-related outcomes in socio-economically and racially/ethnically diverse families.

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations among neighbourhood food environments (NFE), household food insecurity (HFI) and child's weight-related outcomes in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of US-born and immigrant/refugee families. DESIGN: This cross-sectional, observational study involving individual and geographic-level data used multilevel models to estimate associations between neighbourhood food environment and child outcomes. Interactions between HFI and NFE were employed to determine whether HFI moderated the association between NFE and child outcomes and whether the associations differed for US-born v. immigrant/refugee groups. SETTING: The sample resided in 367 census tracts in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN metropolitan area, and the data were collected in 2016-2019. PARTICIPANTS: The sample was from the Family Matters study of families (n 1296) with children from six racial/ethnic and immigrant/refugee groups (African American, Latino, Hmong, Native American, Somali/Ethiopian and White). RESULTS: Living in a neighbourhood with low perceived access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables was found to be associated with lower food security (P < 0·01), poorer child diet quality (P < 0·01) and reduced availability of a variety of fruits (P < 0·01), vegetables (P < 0·05) and whole grains in the home (P < 0·01). Moreover, residing in a food desert was found to be associated with a higher child BMI percentile if the child's household was food insecure (P < 0·05). No differences in associations were found for immigrant/refugee groups. CONCLUSIONS: Poor NFE were associated with worse weight-related outcomes for children; the association with weight was more pronounced among children with HFI. Interventions aiming to improve child weight-related outcomes should consider both NFE and HFI.

Kitchen Adequacy and Child Diet Quality in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample.

This study examined kitchen adequacy in a racially/ethnically diverse low-income sample and associations with child diet quality. Families with children age five to seven years old (n = 150) from non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, Native American, Hmong, and Somali families were recruited through primary care clinics. More than 85% of families had 15 of the 20 kitchen items queried, indicating that the sample had adequate kitchen facilities. Only one item (a kitchen table) was associated with higher overall diet quality of children. In contrast, children living in households with can openers and measuring spoons consumed more sodium and added sugars, respectively.

Exploration of witnessing community violence and recent death on child behavioural outcomes.

Background: Researchers are increasingly interested in understanding potentially traumatic experiences in children's lives, such as witnessing community violence (WCV) and the recent death of a close family member or friend. These experiences can be distressing and have adverse effects on children's psychological and behavioural adjustment, including externalising behaviours and internalising symptoms.Methodology: This paper reports the results of an exploratory study aimed to address knowledge gaps, particularly among children aged 5-9 years (n = 1 283), by examining the associations between WCV, recent death, and child behavioural outcomes. Additionally, the study explores the potential moderating roles of peer support and family functioning.Findings: The results indicate significant associations between WCV, recent death, and child behaviours.Conclusion: The findings underscore the important need for future research to examine the impact of WCV and recent death on children ages 5-9 years.

Ecological momentary assessment of the snacking environments of children from racially/ethnically diverse households.

Children consume nearly one-third of their daily energy intake as snacks (i.e., eating occasions that occur between meals); thus there is a growing interest in understanding what snacking occasions look like in the homes of young children. This study makes use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to 1) examine differences in the contextual factors, including location, food preparation style, people present, presence of media devices, and overall atmosphere, between meal and snack occasions; and 2) explore differences in the context of snacking occasions across children's gender and weight status. Data for the current study came from the Family Matters Study, which included 150 families with children aged 5-7 years old (n = 25 from each of the following groups: Black/African American, Hispanic, Hmong, Native American, Somali, White). Parents completed an 8-day EMA observation period, during which they were surveyed after each eating occasion with the study child; questions explored contextual factors including location, food preparation style, people present, presence of media devices, and the overall atmosphere of each eating occasion. Differences between meals and snacks were observed; a smaller percentage of snacks (compared to meals) were prepared by the parent, consisted of only homemade food, and were planned ahead of time, as opposed to being served in response to a child's request. Snacks were more likely than other meals to be eaten on the couch and in the presence of a screen. Furthermore, important differences in snacking context were observed by child gender and weight status. Findings illuminate opportunities to improve children's overall dietary intake via interventions focused on improving the quality of foods served during snacks, as well as the contextual environment in which snacks are eaten.

Application of latent profile analysis to define subgroups of parenting styles and food parenting practices.

Food parenting practices and parenting styles are associated with child weight status, dietary intake, and eating behaviors. Although parents maintain a parenting style while also engaging in food parenting practices day-to-day, most studies have examined the separate impact of these two constructs on child outcomes. An examination of both practices and styles will facilitate the identification of how they mutually co-exist and influence child weight and weight-related outcomes. The current study examined the clustering of food parenting practices and parenting styles and evaluated the relationship between these parenting characteristics and child weight status, diet quality and eating behaviors. Children aged 5-7 and their parents (N = 150) from six racial/ethnic groups were recruited through primary care clinics. Latent class analysis classified subgroups based on parenting practices and styles. Regression analyses examined relationships between subgroups and child outcomes. The best-fitting model was two subgroups. Parents in subgroup 1 (n = 37) were more likely to restrict foods, pressure children to eat and less likely to engage in food modeling compared to subgroup 2 (n = 112). Parents in subgroup 1 were more likely to report authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and less likely to report an authoritative parenting style, compared to subgroup 2. Parents in subgroup 1 were more likely to report children who ate to obtain pleasure and who lacked internal cues for hunger than those in subgroup 2. There were no association between subgroups and child weight status, diet quality and other eating behaviors. Future research and interventions should take into consideration how parenting styles and practices mutually influence child weight and weight-related outcomes.

Associations between TV viewing at family meals and the emotional atmosphere of the meal, meal healthfulness, child dietary intake, and child weight status.

BACKGROUND: Research on family meals has demonstrated that family meals are protective for many aspects of child and adolescent health. It is unclear whether distractions at family meals, such as watching TV, are associated with child weight and weight-related behaviors, the emotional atmosphere at the meal, or family meal healthfulness. METHODS: Direct observational and objective data were collected on primarily low-income and minority families (n = 120) with 6-12 year old children. Data were collected during home visits and included 24-hr dietary recalls, anthropometry, and video-recorded family meals. Video-recorded family meals were coded to assess the presence of TV, whether the family was paying attention to the TV, family group enjoyment and the dietary healthfulness of the foods served at family meals. RESULTS: The presence of TV was negatively associated with the dietary healthfulness and emotional atmosphere of the meal and the child's overall dietary quality. It was positively associated with serving fast food for family meals. Those families who were paying attention to the TV had significantly worse meal dietary healthfulness and were more likely to have fast food at family meals compared to those who were not paying attention. No significant findings were found between the presence of TV at family meals and child overweight status. CONCLUSIONS: Study results show that TV is frequently present at family meals. Even if families are not paying attention to the TV, it appears that simply having the TV on as background noise is associated with deleterious outcomes. In addition to increasing family meals, families should be given guidance on turning off the TV and making the family meal a time to connect with one another.

Social Determinants of HIV-Related Stigma in Faith-Based Organizations.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between social factors in faith-based settings (including religiosity and proximity to people living with HIV/AIDS) and HIV stigma. METHODS: A total of 1747 congregants from primarily African American faith-based organizations of Project FAITH (Fostering AIDS Initiatives That Heal), a South Carolina statewide initiative to address HIV-related stigma, completed a survey. RESULTS: Female gender (P = .001), higher education (P < .001), knowing someone with HIV/AIDS (P = .01), and knowing someone who is gay (P < .001), but not religiosity, were associated with lower levels of stigma and with lower odds of stigmatizing attitudes (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Opportunities for connection with people living with HIV/AIDS tailored to the social characteristics of faith-based organizations may address HIV stigma in African American communities.

Sibling eating behaviours and parental feeding practices with siblings: similar or different?

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about whether siblings have similar or different eating behaviours or whether parents tailor their feeding practices to different siblings. The main objectives of the present study were to examine similarities and differences in child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices with siblings and to determine whether child eating behaviours and parental feeding practices differ depending on sibling concordant (i.e. both siblings overweight or healthy weight) or discordant (i.e. one sibling overweight and one sibling healthy weight) weight status. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, mixed-methods study. SETTING: In-home visits were conducted by research staff. Surveys were conducted with parents and anthropometry was collected on parents and siblings. SUBJECTS: Children (n 88) aged 6-12 years (mean age 9 (sd 2) years), their parents (mean age 34 (sd 7) years) and near-age siblings (mean age 9 (sd 4) years) from diverse racial/ethnic and low-income households participated. RESULTS: Results indicated that siblings with higher BMI engaged in higher levels of emotional eating compared with siblings with lower BMI. Additionally, results indicated that when families had sibling dyads discordant on weight status, the sibling who was overweight had higher food enjoyment and lower levels of food satiety. Additionally, within siblings with discordant weight status, parents were more likely to use restrictive feeding practices with the overweight sibling and pressure-to-eat and encouragement-to-eat feeding practices with the healthy-weight sibling. CONCLUSIONS: Family-based childhood obesity interventions may need to assess for sibling weight status when researching the home environment and intervene with parents to avoid using restriction or pressure-to-eat feeding practices when siblings are discordant on weight status.

Home food environment factors associated with the presence of fruit and vegetables at dinner: A direct observational study.

BACKGROUND: Little research exists about the factors influencing the foods available at family meals. This study examines the home food environment factors contributing to the presence of fruit and vegetables at family meals. METHODS: Home food inventory (HFI) and survey data were collected from low-income, minority families (n = 120) with children 6-12 years old. Observations from video-recorded family dinner meals, totaling 800 videos, were used to measure the frequency at which fruit and vegetables were served. Multiple regression was used to investigate how the fruit and vegetables in the HFI and other home food environment factors were related to the number of days fruit and vegetables were served at dinner during the observation period. RESULTS: Availability and accessibility of fruit and vegetables in the home were each found to be significantly associated with the presence of fruits and vegetables at family dinners. Of the fruit and vegetable categories (i.e., fresh, canned, or frozen), having fresh fruit and vegetables available in the home was found to be most strongly associated with serving fruit and vegetables at dinner, respectively. Higher parent intake of vegetables was associated with the presence of vegetables at dinners, and parent meal planning was associated with the presence of fruit at dinners. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing the availability and accessibility of fresh fruit and vegetables in the home may be an effective approach to increasing the presence of fruits and vegetables at family dinners, especially among low-income, minority households. It is also essential to understand why families are not using all fruits and vegetables (e.g., canned and frozen) available in the home for family meals. Family meals are a place to promote the increased presence of both fruit and vegetables.

Does child temperament modify the overweight risk associated with parent feeding behaviors and child eating behaviors?: An exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Child temperament is a measure of an individual's behavioral tendencies. The primary objective of this study was to examine whether child temperament modified the overweight risk associated with parent feeding behaviors and child eating behaviors. METHODS: A sample of predominantly African American, Midwest families (N = 120) recruited from four metropolitan primary care clinics participated in this cross-sectional, mixed methods study. Parents reported on feeding practices, child eating behaviors, and child temperament. RESULTS: Difficult temperament was not statistically related to parent feeding practices or child eating behaviors (p > 0.05). Tests of interaction indicated that the risk of child overweight differed by difficult temperament and easy temperament for two child eating behaviors (emotional eating and food fussiness, p < 0.05). For example, the effect of food fussiness decreased the risk of overweight for difficult temperament children but increased overweight risk for easy temperament children. Further, the effect of emotional eating increased the risk of overweight for difficult temperament children but decreased overweight risk for easy temperament children. CONCLUSIONS: Tailoring parent-level interventions to child temperament or promoting environments that trigger less reactive individual responses may be effective in lowering risk of child overweight.

Spillover from parent stress to family meals among diverse families: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Family meals are beneficial for youth healthy development. However, parents' experiences of daily stressors may hinder their capacity to facilitate family meals, serve healthful foods, and have implications for the family meal atmosphere. Using data from ecological momentary assessment, we examined whether family meals are less likely to occur, meals are less healthful, and meal atmosphere is less positive on days when parents experience higher-than-usual stress and whether coparenting support buffers these associations. We also explored the role of family stressors in these links. Participants were 497 parents (Mage = 35.86 years; 91% female) of 5- to 9-year-old children who identified as Asian (15%), Black (17%), Hispanic (10%), Native American (10%), Native Hawaiian (< 1%), White (38%), multiracial (8%), or other (< 1%). Results from multilevel models indicated that daily deviations in parents' stress levels were not correlated with family meal occurrence, healthfulness, or positive atmosphere. However, on days when the source of parents' stress was family related (e.g., family demands), odds of a positive meal atmosphere were significantly lower (OR = 0.92, 95% CI [0.88, 0.96]), adjusting for other sources of stress. Coparenting relationship quality was positively associated with family meal occurrence (OR = 1.34, 95% CI [1.01, 1.79]) and healthfulness (γ = 0.20, p < .001), however, it did not moderate links between stress and family meal occurrence, healthfulness, or atmosphere. Findings suggest that day-to-day fluctuations in parents' stress levels may not disrupt whether a family meal occurs, the healthfulness of foods served, or the atmosphere of family meals. However, family stressors and coparenting relationship quality merit investigation as potential intervention targets. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Momentary Factors and Study Characteristics Associated With Participant Burden and Protocol Adherence: Ecological Momentary Assessment.

BACKGROUND: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has become a popular mobile health study design to understand the lived experiences of dynamic environments. The numerous study design choices available to EMA researchers, however, may quickly increase participant burden and could affect overall adherence, which could limit the usability of the collected data. OBJECTIVE: This study quantifies what study design, participant attributes, and momentary factors may affect self-reported burden and adherence. METHODS: The EMA from the Phase 1 Family Matters Study (n=150 adult Black, Hmong, Latino or Latina, Native American, Somali, and White caregivers; n=1392 observation days) was examined to understand how participant self-reported survey burden was related to both design and momentary antecedents of adherence. The daily burden was measured by the question "Overall, how difficult was it for you to fill out the surveys today?" on a 5-item Likert scale (0=not at all and 4=extremely). Daily protocol adherence was defined as completing at least 2 signal-contingent surveys, 1 event-contingent survey, and 1 end-of-day survey each. Stress and mood were measured earlier in the day, sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics were reported using a comprehensive cross-sectional survey, and EMA timestamps for weekends and weekdays were used to parameterize time-series models to evaluate prospective correlates of end-of-day study burden. RESULTS: The burden was low at 1.2 (SD 1.14) indicating "a little" burden on average. Participants with elevated previous 30-day chronic stress levels (mean burden difference: 0.8; P=.04), 1 in 5 more immigrant households (P=.02), and the language primarily spoken in the home (P=.04; 3 in 20 more non-English-speaking households) were found to be population attributes of elevated moderate-high burden. Current and 1-day lagged nonadherence were correlated with elevated 0.39 and 0.36 burdens, respectively (P=.001), and the association decayed by the second day (ß=0.08; P=.47). Unit increases in momentary antecedents, including daily depressed mood (P=.002) and across-day change in stress (P=.008), were positively associated with 0.15 and 0.07 higher end-of-day burdens after controlling for current-day adherence. CONCLUSIONS: The 8-day EMA implementation appeared to capture momentary sources of stress and depressed mood without substantial burden to a racially or ethnically diverse and immigrant or refugee sample of parents. Attention to sociodemographic attributes (eg, EMA in the primary language of the caregiver) was important for minimizing participant burden and improving data quality. Momentary stress and depressed mood were strong determinants of participant-experienced EMA burden and may affect adherence to mobile health study protocols. There were no strong indicators of EMA design attributes that created a persistent burden for caregivers. EMA stands to be an important observational design to address dynamic public health challenges related to human-environment interactions when the design is carefully tailored to the study population and to study research objectives.

Associations Between Neighborhood Racialized Economic Segregation with Cardiometabolic Health and Cortisol in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample of Children from Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Introduction: Past research shows that structural racism contributes to disparities in cardiometabolic health among racially/ethnically minoritized populations. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the correlation between census tract-level racialized economic segregation and child health metrics among a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of 350 children (ages 6.5-13.8) from Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Results: A consistent cardiometabolic and cortisol outcome gradient was observed across the index of concentration at the extremes tertiles, such that health risk factors increased as tract privilege decreased. Conclusion: Racialized economic segregation was associated with less favorable child health outcomes, underscoring the potential importance of place-based interventions for promoting children's health.

Virtual fitness buddy ecosystem: a mixed reality precision health physical activity intervention for children.

6-11-year-old children provide a critical window for physical activity (PA) interventions. The Virtual Fitness Buddy ecosystem is a precision health PA intervention for children integrating mixed reality technology to connect people and devices. A cluster randomized, controlled trial was conducted across 19 afterschool sites over two 6-month cohorts to test its efficacy in increasing PA and decreasing sedentary behavior. In the treatment group, a custom virtual dog via a mixed reality kiosk helped children set PA goals while sharing progress with parents to receive feedback and support. Children in the control group set PA goals using a computer without support from the virtual dog or parents. 303 children had 8+ hours of PA data on at least one day of each of the 3 intervention time intervals. Conversion of sedentary time was primarily to light-intensity PA and was strongest for children with low baseline moderate-to-vigorous PA than children above 45 min of baseline moderate-to-vigorous PA. Findings suggest that the VFB ecosystem can promote sustainable PA in children and may be rapidly diffused for widespread public health impact.

Potential Points of Intervention to Minimize the Impact of Parents' Adverse Childhood Experiences on Child Mental Health.

OBJECTIVE: Children of parents who experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at elevated risk for mental health (MH) issues. The goal of this study was to explore the relationships between parent ACEs and child MH and to identify potential mediators and points of psychosocial intervention. METHODS: Participants were 1307 children aged 5 to 9 years from diverse backgrounds and their primary caregivers. Using cross-sectional questionnaire data, we used structural equation modeling to examine the research questions. RESULTS: Parent ACEs were directly related to child MH issues (ß = 0.189, p < 0.001). This relationship was fully mediated by parent MH (ß = 0.374, p < 0.001; ß = 0.246, p < 0.001) and positive parenting behaviors (ß = -0.237, p < 0.001; ß = -0.556, p < 0.001). High parent ACEs were negatively associated with parent MH (ß = 0.374, p < 0.001), which was then negatively associated with parenting behaviors (ß = -0.500, p < 0.001), which was then negatively associated with child MH (ß = -0.600, p < 0.001). Parent MH maintained a significant, though attenuated, direct relationship with child MH (ß = 0.102, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Parents with high ACEs but who have good mental health and positive parenting behaviors demonstrated no impact of their ACEs on their children's mental health. Providing MH care to parents and parenting programs may be strategies for improving children's MH. Parenting behavior assessment is recommended for clinicians when pediatric patients present with MH concerns.

Health Inequity in Georgia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Ecological Analysis Assessing the Relationship Between County-Level Racial/Ethnic and Economic Polarization Using the ICE and SARS-CoV-2 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths in Georgia as of October 2020.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disproportionately burdens communities of color in the United States. The prevalence of preexisting conditions in these populations has not accounted for the observed health inequities. A growing body of research indicates a significant role of racialized residential segregation and income inequality on health outcomes. The Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE) is a metric which captures socio-spatial and economic polarization that has proven to be a valuable predictor of a large variety of health outcomes. Objectives: The primary objective of this ecologic study was to determine the impact of socio-spatial and economic segregation on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) morbidity and mortality in Georgia. Methods: The ICE scores for racial/ethnic, economic, and racialized economic segregation for each county in Georgia (n=159) were calculated and investigated as predictors of increased SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate, case-hospitalization rate, and case-mortality rate after controlling for the prevalence of preexisting conditions (diabetes, obesity, and smoking) and potential barriers to care (uninsured rate). Results: Counties with the largest income disparity had 1.57 times the case rate (p<0.0001) and 1.7 times (p<0.01) the case-mortality rate compared to the most privileged counties. Cases in counties with the largest racialized economic segregation were 1.8 times more likely to be hospitalized (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Racialized economic segregation is a strong correlate of pandemic health inequities in Georgia and highlights the need for structural interventions to address barriers to minority and vulnerable population health. Increased focus and efforts to address the structural and systematic barriers faced by communities of color is necessary to address health inequities.

CHAOS in the Home Environment and Child Weight-Related Outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Biopsychosocial approaches to health care are critical to addressing childhood obesity. This study aimed to examine how multiple indicators of the home environment related to child weight-related outcomes. We hypothesized that families with home environments of higher chaos and stress, and lower quality parent-child interactions, would have children with a higher body mass index (BMI), less healthy dietary intake, and less healthy eating behaviors. METHODS: Data were drawn from the cross-sectional Phase I of the Family Matters study. Participants were 150 racially/ethnically diverse families with a child between 5 to 7 (mean, 6.4) years old. We used a latent profile analysis approach. A 4-class solution fit the data well, and we used predicted class posterior probabilities to assign families to classes. We then regressed the results onto the distal outcomes of child BMI, healthy dietary intake, and healthy eating behaviors. RESULTS: Families were classified as Collaborative-Chill (n = 38), Busy Bees (n = 37), Engaged (n = 61), and Inconsistent-Distant (n = 14). Collaborative-Chill was used as the reference class. Inconsistent-Distant families had children with higher BMI (P < .001) that were more food responsive (P < .001). Busy Bees families had children who were more food responsive (P = .04) and more satiety responsive (P = .02). Engaged families had children who were marginally more food responsive (P = .06). CONCLUSION: Household chaos, parent stress, and parent-child interactions are important components of the home environment implicated in children's weight-related outcomes. Health care providers should consider these indicators with child patients who struggle with obesity.

Compared to Pre-prepared Meals, Fully and Partly Home-Cooked Meals in Diverse Families with Young Children Are More Likely to Include Nutritious Ingredients.

BACKGROUND: Interest in initiatives that promote home cooking has been increasing, but no studies have examined whether home cooking is associated with dietary quality using longitudinal data on meals served in a diverse sample of families. OBJECTIVE: The present study examined data on multiple meals per family in diverse households to determine whether home-cooked meals are more likely to contain nutritious ingredients than pre-prepared meals. DESIGN: Data for the study came from the National Institutes of Health-funded Family Matters Study. As part of this study, between 2015 and 2016, 150 families provided ecological momentary assessment data on 3,935 meals over an 8-day observation window. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: In this study, investigators followed 150 families with children aged 5 to 7 years old from six racial/ethnic groups (n=25 each non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, Native American, Hmong, and Somali families). Recruitment occurred through primary care clinics serving low-income populations in Minnesota. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcomes were participants' self-reports of whether they served fruits, vegetables, and whole grains at a meal, and reports were made within hours of the meal. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Within-group estimator methods were used to estimate the associations between meal preparation and types of food served. These models held constant time-invariant characteristics of families and adjusted for whether the meal was breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack and whether it was a weekend meal. RESULTS: For all racial/ethnic and poverty status groups, meals that were fully or partly home-cooked were more likely to contain fruits and vegetables than pre-prepared meals (P<0.001). Meals that were partly home-cooked were the most likely to contain whole grains (P<0.001). Restaurant meals were more likely to contain vegetables than pre-prepared meals (P<0.001) but were equally likely to contain fruits and/or whole grains as pre-prepared meals. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions or initiatives that encourage fully or partly home-cooked meals may help families incorporate nutritious foods into their diets. In addition, evaluations of potential strategies to increase the likelihood of supplementing pre-prepared and restaurant meals with nutritious meal ingredients warrants further investigation.

An exploration of the frequency, location, and content of parents' health- and weight-focused conversations with their children and associations with child weight status.

INTRODUCTION: Although parental weight-focused conversations with children have been associated with more unhealthy weight and weight-related outcomes in children and adolescents, little is known about the content and context of these conversations or conversations about healthy eating in the home environment. This study examines the frequency, location, and content of health- and weight-focused conversations in the home environment and examines the association between specific types of health- and weight-focused conversations with child overweight status. METHODS: Mixed-methods data were collected from parents of children from primarily low-income, minority homes (n = 110). Quantitative data included the frequency and location (i.e., "the context") of different types of health- and weight-focused conversations, while open-ended, write-in survey questions investigated "the content" of these conversations. RESULTS: Parents reported having more health-focused conversations with their child compared to weight-focused conversations; parents of children who were overweight had more frequent health- and weight-focused conversations than parents of children who were not overweight. The most frequent location for these conversations was during a family meal. In addition, parental health- and weight-focused conversations were more common with overweight children (p < 0.05). Open-ended, write-in responses from parents for both health- and weight-focused conversations included conversations about moderation/portion control, unhealthy foods, and healthy foods. DISCUSSION: Open-ended, write-in results suggested that parental conversations about healthy eating were similar to conversations about weight. Results of this mixed-methods study provide an incremental next step in better understanding the nature of parental health- and weight-focused conversations with children.