title: Fruits and vegetables at home: child and parent perceptions.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. RROBINSONOBRIEN@CSBSJU.EDU
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Robinson-O'Brien
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neumark-Sztainer
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hannan
authors.forename: Teri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Burgess-Champoux
authors.forename: Jess
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haines
mesh_terms: 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