Goal setting has shown some promise in promoting dietary and physical activity behavior change among adults, but methodological issues still need to be resolved. The literature with adolescents and children is limited, and the authors are not aware of any published studies with this audience investigating the independent effect of goal setting on dietary or physical activity behavior. Although, goal setting is widely used with children and adolescents in nutrition interventions, its effectiveness has yet to be reported.

Both food assistance and education on nutrition and resource management are needed to reduce food insecurity in SNAP-eligible audiences.

Accounting for goal effort and spontaneous goal setting, this study provides some evidence that the use of guided goal setting with adolescents may be a viable strategy to promote dietary and physical activity behavior change.

Objective: The present paper examines the influence of age and gender on food patterns of Latino children. Design: Data are from baseline of a 5-year, quasi-experimental obesity prevention study: Niños Sanos, Familia Sana (NSFS; Healthy Children, Healthy Families). In 2012, the researchers interviewed Latino parents, using a thirty-item questionnaire to ask about their children's food consumption and feeding practices. Statistical tests included t tests and ANCOVA. Setting: Rural communities in California's Central Valley, USA. Subjects: Two hundred and seventeen parents (87-89 % born in Mexico) and their children (aged 2-8 years). Results: Fifty-one per cent of the children were overweight or obese (≥85th percentile of BMI for age and gender). Mean BMI Z-scores were not significantly different in boys (1·10 (SD 1·07)) and girls (0·92 (SD 1·04); P = 0·12). In bivariate analysis, children aged 2-4 years consumed fast and convenience foods less often (P = 0·04) and WIC (Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)-allowable foods more often than children aged 5-8 years (P = 0·01). In ANCOVA, neither age nor gender was significantly related to food patterns. Mother's acculturation level was positively related to children's consumption of fast and convenience foods (P = 0·0002) and negatively related to consumption of WIC foods (P = 0·01). Providing role modelling and structure in scheduling meals and snacks had a positive effect on the vegetable pattern (P = 0·0007), whereas meal skipping was associated with more frequent fast and convenience food consumption (P = 0·04). Conclusions: Acculturation and child feeding practices jointly influence food patterns in Latino immigrant children and indicate a need for interventions that maintain diet quality as children transition to school. Keywords Acculturation Food patterns Children Gender LatinoAccording to the FAO, obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ) occurs in 32·8 % of Mexican adults, an estimate exceeding that reported for many developed countries including the USA (31·8 %) (1) . When Mexican-Americans are compared with their counterparts in Mexico, a greater prevalence of obesity and overweight is observed in the USA (2)(3)(4) . As reported by a Mexican national study conducted in 2012, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Mexican 5-11-year-olds averages 34·4 %, with 36·9 % of boys and 32·0 % of girls at or above the 85th percentile of BMI (5) .Comparable US national studies from 2009-2010 report an overweight and obesity prevalence of 39·0 % among Mexican-American children aged 6-11 years, with 38·5 % of boys and 39·5 % of girls at or above the 85th BMI percentile (6) . A gender gap for Mexican-American children is apparent by adolescence (12-19 years), when 46 % of Mexican-American boys have BMI ≥ 85th percentile compared with 40 % of girls. This finding is largely due to more boys (28·9 %) than girls (18·6 %) having BMI ≥ 95th percentile for their age and gender. A smaller gender difference is seen among Mexican adolescents, with 14·5...