title: Maternal employment, acculturation, and time spent in food-related behaviors among Hispanic mothers in the United States. Evidence from the American Time Use Survey.
abstract: Employment is a major factor underlying im/migration patterns. Unfortunately, lower diet quality and higher rates of obesity appear to be unintended consequences of moving to the US. Changes in food preparation practices may be a factor underlying dietary acculturation. The relationships between employment, acculturation, and food-related time use in Hispanic families have received relatively little attention. We used cross-sectional data collected from Hispanic mothers (ages 18-65) with at least one child <13 years old participating in the 2003-2011 American Time Use Survey (n = 3622) to estimate the relationship between employment, acculturation (US-born vs. im/migrant), and time spent in food preparation and family dinner. Regression models were estimated separately for the employed and the non-working and were adjusted for Hispanic origin group, socio-demographic and household characteristics. Working an eight-hour day was associated with spending 38 fewer minutes in food preparation (-38.0 ± SE 4.8, p < 001). Although being US-born was associated with spending fewer minutes in food preparation, this relationship varied by origin group. Acculturation did not appear to modify the relationship between hours worked and time spent in food preparation or family dinner. Mothers who worked late hours spent less time eating the evening meal with their families (-9.8 ± SE 1.3). Although an eight-hour workday was associated with a significant reduction in food preparation time, an unexpected result is that, for working mothers, additional time spent in paid work is not associated with the duration of family dinner later that day.
authors.affiliation: Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Electronic address: sarah.sliwa@tufts.edu.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sliwa
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
authors.forename: Aviva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Must
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peréa
authors.affiliation: Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
authors.forename: Christina D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Economos
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003296:Cooking; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004032:Diet; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D004651:Employment; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D062407:Meals; D009035:Mothers; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology; D017748:Time Management; D014481:United States; D014937:Work
keywords: Dietary acculturation; Family meals; Food preparation; Maternal employment; Time use