Abstract
Background
Adolescents’ dietary intake often fails to meet national dietary guidelines, especially
among low-income African-American youth. The dietary habits established in adolescence
are likely to continue into adulthood, and a poor-quality diet increases the risk
of developing obesity and chronic disease. Based on principles from ecological and
social-cognitive behavior change health theories, perceptions of parental beliefs
about healthy eating, perceptions of peer eating behaviors, and parental monitoring
of what adolescents eat may positively influence adolescent diet quality.
Objective
The purposes of this study were to determine whether perceived parental beliefs about
nutrition, perceived peer eating behaviors, and reported parental monitoring of the
adolescent diet were related to African-American adolescent diet quality and whether
these relationships were moderated by adolescent age or sex.
Design
This secondary cross-sectional study used baseline data (2002 to 2004) from an urban
community sample of low-income adolescents participating in a health promotion trial.
Participants/setting
Participants were 216 African-American adolescent-caregiver dyads in Baltimore, MD.
Main outcome measures
The 2010 Healthy Eating Index was used to estimate adolescent diet quality.
Statistical analyses performed
Analyses included correlations, t tests, age- and sex-by-perception regression interactions, and multivariate regressions
adjusted for body mass index–for-age percentile, caregiver weight status, and caregiver
depressive symptoms.
Results
Higher diet quality scores were related to higher levels of perceived parental and
peer support for healthy eating behaviors among adolescents (β=.21; P<0.05; β=.15; P<0.05, respectively) and to caregiver reports of parental monitoring of adolescent
dietary behavior (β=1.38, P<0.01). Findings were not moderated by age or sex.
Conclusions
Consistent with ecological and social-cognitive theories, adolescents look to their
friends and family in making healthy food choices. The relationships uncovered by
this study describe some of the contextual, interpersonal influences associated with
diet quality among low-income, urban African-American adolescents and warrant further
exploration in future intervention studies.
Keywords
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Biography
M. M. Wrobleski is a research consultant dietitian, Department of Pediatrics, Growth and Nutrition Division, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Biography
E. Hager is an assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, Growth and Nutrition Division, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Biography
B. C. Merry is a research associate, Department of Pediatrics, Growth and Nutrition Division, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Biography
E. A. Parker is an assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Biography
K. M. Hurley is an assistant professor, Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
Biography
S. Oberlander is a social science analyst, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.
Biography
M. M. Black is a professor, Department of International Development, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 15, 2018
Accepted:
July 27,
2018
Received:
January 17,
2018
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT The research culminating in this manuscript was supported by grants R40MC00241, MCJ-240301, and R40MC04297 from the Maternal and Child Health Research Program, US Department of Health and Human Services; grant APRPA006000 from the Office of Population Affairs, US Department of Health and Human Services, the University of Maryland General Clinical Research Center; grant M01 RR16500 General Clinical Research Centers Program, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), NIH, General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids.
Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS M. M. Black designed the research and edited and approved all drafts. K. M. Hurley, S. Oberlander, and B. C. Merry formatted, scored, and cleaned the data. E. Hager, M. M. Wrobleski, and E. A. Parker contributed to the analysis. M. M. Wrobleski wrote the manuscript with contributions from M. M. Black. All authors reviewed and commented on subsequent manuscript drafts.
Identification
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© 2018 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
