Fruits and vegetables at home: child and parent perceptions.
OBJECTIVE
Examine child and parent perceptions of home food environment factors and associations with child fruit and vegetable (FV) intake.


METHODS
Research staff administered surveys to children during after-school sessions, and parents completed surveys by mail or over the phone.


METHODS
Four urban elementary schools in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving primarily low-income populations.


METHODS
Seventy-three children (55 girls, 18 boys) and 1 parent/guardian per child participated in a theater-based intervention aimed at obesity prevention.


METHODS
Perceptions of home food environment factors (home FV availability, home FV accessibility; parental encouragement to eat FV; family meal frequency).


METHODS
Descriptive statistics and paired t tests.


RESULTS
On average, child and parent perceptions of the home food environment were similar. When comparing child-parent dyad perceptions of home food environment, a moderate to high level of agreement (56%-86%) was found. Child report of home FV availability, home FV accessibility, parental encouragement to eat FV, and family meal frequency explained 26.7% of the variance in child FV intake, whereas parent report of these factors explained 4.9% of the variance.


CONCLUSIONS
It is important to understand both child and parent perceptions of the home food environment when developing interventions aimed at increasing child FV intake.
Robinson-O'Brien
Ramona
R
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. RROBINSONOBRIEN@CSBSJU.EDU
Neumark-Sztainer
Dianne
D
Hannan
Peter J
PJ
Burgess-Champoux
Teri
T
Haines
Jess
J
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005638:Fruit / Q000600:supply & distribution; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D002666:Psychology, Child; D014675:Vegetables / Q000600:supply & distribution