title: Associations between physical home environmental factors and vegetable consumption among Norwegian 3-5-year-olds: the BRA-study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  First, to explore item pools developed to measure the physical home environment of pre-school children and assess the psychometric properties of these item pools; second, to explore associations between this environment and vegetable consumption among Norwegian 3-5-year-olds.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected in three steps: (i) a parental web-based questionnaire assessing the child's vegetable intake and factors potentially influencing the child's vegetable consumption; (ii) direct observation of the children's fruit, berry and vegetable intakes at two meals in one day in the kindergarten; and (iii) a parental web-based 24 h recall.
  
  
  METHODS
  The target group for this study was pre-school children born in 2010 and 2011, attending public or private kindergartens in the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, Norway.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 633 children participated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Principal component analysis on the thirteen-item pool assessing availability/accessibility resulted in two factors labelled 'availability at home' and 'accessibility at home', while the eight-item pool assessing barriers resulted in two factors labelled 'serving barriers' and 'purchase barriers'. The psychometric properties of these factors were satisfactory. Linear regression of the associations between vegetable intake and the factors showed generally positive associations with 'availability at home' and 'accessibility at home' and negative associations with 'serving barriers'.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This age group has so far been understudied and there is a need for comparable studies. Our findings highlight the importance of targeting the physical home environment of pre-school children in future interventions as there are important modifiable factors that both promote and hinder vegetable consumption in this environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition,Institute of Basic Medical Sciences,University of Oslo,PO Box 1046 Blindern,0316 Oslo,Norway.
authors.forename: Anne Lene
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kristiansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition,Institute of Basic Medical Sciences,University of Oslo,PO Box 1046 Blindern,0316 Oslo,Norway.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bjelland
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition,Institute of Basic Medical Sciences,University of Oslo,PO Box 1046 Blindern,0316 Oslo,Norway.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Himberg-Sundet
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition,Institute of Basic Medical Sciences,University of Oslo,PO Box 1046 Blindern,0316 Oslo,Norway.
authors.forename: Nanna
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lien
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition,Institute of Basic Medical Sciences,University of Oslo,PO Box 1046 Blindern,0316 Oslo,Norway.
authors.forename: Lene Frost
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Andersen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D005638:Fruit; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: BRA-study; Home environment; Kindergarten; Pre-school children; Vegetables