Abstract
Background
Little is known about the healthfulness of foods offered at family meals or the relationship
between the food’s healthfulness and child overall dietary intake.
Objective
This exploratory study uses a newly developed Healthfulness of Meal Index to examine
the association between the healthfulness of foods served at family dinners and child
dietary intake.
Design
Direct observational, cross-sectional study.
Participants/setting
Primarily low-income, minority families (n=120) video recorded 8 days of family dinners
and completed a corresponding meal screener. Dietary recalls were completed on the
target child (6 to 12 years old). The Healthfulness of Meal Index was used to measure
meal healthfulness and included component scores for whole fruit, 100% juice, vegetables,
dark green vegetables, dairy, protein, added sugars, and high-sodium foods.
Main outcome measures
Child dietary intake measured by three 24-hour dietary recalls.
Statistical analyses performed
Linear regression models estimated the association between the healthfulness of foods
served at dinner meals and overall child HEI.
Results
The majority of coded meals included foods from protein and high-sodium components;
more than half included foods from dairy and vegetable components. Nearly half of
the meals had an added-sugar component food (eg, soda or dessert). Few meals served
foods from fruit, 100% juice, or dark green vegetable components. Many components
served at family dinner meals were significantly associated with child daily intake
of those same foods (ie, dark green vegetable, non−dark green vegetables, dairy, and
added sugars). The Healthfulness of Meal Index total score was significantly associated
with child HEI score.
Conclusions
This study represents the first report of a new methodology to collect data of foods
served at family dinners. Results indicated a significant association between the
majority of components served at family dinner meals and child overall dietary intake.
Validation of the Healthfulness of Meal Index and video-recorded family meal methodology
is needed to strengthen these research methods for use in future studies.
Keywords
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Biography
A. C. Trofholz is a research associate, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
M. L. Draxten is a research associate, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
A. K. Schulte is a graduate research assistant, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
J. M. Berge is an associate professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
A. D. Tate is a PhD student, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
D. Neumark-Sztainer is a professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
R. F. MacLehose is an associate professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
S. S. Rowley is a PhD student, University of Washington, Seattle.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 22, 2016
Accepted:
August 3,
2016
Received:
June 25,
2015
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT Research is supported by grant number R21DK091619 from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease (Principal Investigator: Jerica M. Berge). Content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
