What’s Being Served for Dinner? An Exploratory Investigation of the Associations between the Healthfulness of Family Meals and Child Dietary Intake

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 (HOM) 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 (6–12 years old). The HOM 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 foods served at dinner meals and overall child dietary intake. Results The majority of coded meals included foods from protein and high sodium components; over half included foods from dairy and vegetable components. Nearly half of the meals had an added sugar component food (e.g., soda, 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 (i.e., dark green, non-dark green vegetables, dairy, and added sugars). The HOM 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 HOM index and video-recorded family meal methodology is needed to strengthen these research methods for use in future studies.

Associations between TV viewing at family meals and the emotional atmosphere of the meal, meal healthfulness, child dietary intake, and child weight status

“…Component scores are summed, and the maximum total score is 9, indicating a higher quality meal. A comprehensive description of the HOM index development and coding can be found elsewhere (Trofholz et al, 2015). …”

“…Dietary recalls were conducted with parents of younger children (6–8 year olds); recalls with older children (9–12 year olds) were conducted with child, although clarification by a parent was permitted. Dietary recalls were collected using Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) software version 2012, developed by the Nutrition Coordinating Center at the University of Minnesota; a detailed review was conducted by staff dietitians on 100% of recalls (Trofholz et al, 2015). Using data from these recalls, a Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI) score was calculated.…”

Home food environment factors associated with the presence of fruit and vegetables at dinner: A direct observational study

“…In considering strategies to raise fruit and vegetable consumption, there is some evidence that the foods present at family meals are associated with children and adolescent's overall dietary intake of those same foods (Arcan et al, 2007; Boutelle, Fulkerson, Neumark-Sztainer, Story, & French, 2007; Trofholz et al, 2015). For example, a longitudinal study found that adolescents who were served vegetables and milk at family dinners were more likely to consume those foods at a 5-year follow-up (Arcan et al, 2007).…”

“…For example, a longitudinal study found that adolescents who were served vegetables and milk at family dinners were more likely to consume those foods at a 5-year follow-up (Arcan et al, 2007). Another cross-sectional study found that serving vegetables, dairy, and empty calories (e.g., sugar-sweetened beverages) at dinner was significantly associated with 6-12 year olds’ overall intake of those same foods (Trofholz et al, 2015). We are not aware of any published research examining the relationship between serving fruit at family meals and children or adolescent's intake of fruit.…”

“…The data that do exist have mostly been gathered through self-reported measures rather than observational methods, and most research does not specifically target low-income or minority populations. The data examining fruit and vegetable frequency at family meals shows that vegetables are sometimes to usually available at family meals (Berge, Jin, Hannan, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2013; Hanson, Neumark-Sztainer, Eisenberg, Story, & Wall, 2007; MacFarlane, Crawford, Ball, Savige, & Worsley, 2007; Neumark-Sztainer et al, 2014; Trofholz et al, 2015; Vejrup, Lien, Klepp, & Bere, 2008), while fruit is infrequently available (Berge et al, 2013; Neumark-Sztainer et al, 2014; Trofholz et al, 2015). These studies suggest that family meals are a place where more fruits and vegetables can be offered, which may then increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables in children and adolescent's overall diets.…”