title: Perceived Social Support From Friends and Parents for Eating Behavior and Diet Quality Among Low-Income, Urban, Minority Youth.
abstract: Evidence of associations between social support and dietary intake among adolescents is mixed. This study examines relationships between social support for healthy and unhealthy eating from friends and parents, and associations with diet quality.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional analysis of survey data.
  
  
  
  Baltimore, MD.
  
  
  
  296 youth aged 9-15 years, 53% female, 91% African American, participating in the B'More Healthy Communities for Kids study.
  
  
  
  Primary dependent variable: diet quality measured using Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI) overall score, calculated from the Block Kids Food Frequency Questionnaire.
  
  
  
  Social support from parents and friends for healthy eating (4 questions analyzed as a scale) and unhealthy eating (3 questions analyzed individually), age, gender, race, and household income, reported via questionnaire.
  
  
  
  Adjusted multiple linear regressions (α, P < .05).
  
  
  
  Friend and parent support for healthy eating did not have statistically significant relationships with overall HEI scores. Youth who reported their parents offering high-fat foods or sweets more frequently had lower overall HEI scores (β = -1.65; SE = 0.52; 95% confidence interval, -2.66 to -0.63).
  
  
  
  These results are novel and demonstrate the need for additional studies examining support for unhealthy eating. These preliminary findings may be relevant to researchers as they develop family-based nutrition interventions.
authors: Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. Electronic address: eander24@utk.edu.
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Anderson Steeves
authors: Global Obesity Prevention Center, Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Jones-Smith
authors: Global Obesity Prevention Center, Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Hopkins
authors: Global Obesity Prevention Center, Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
authors: Joel
authors: J
authors: Gittelsohn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011203:Poverty; D012944:Social Support
keywords: diet quality; eating behavior; healthy eating; social support; unhealthy eating