1. Describing Independent Eating Occasions among Low-Income Adolescents
- Author
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Rickelle Richards, Alex Kojo Anderson, Mary Cluskey, Scottie Misner, Nobuko Hongu, Glade L. Topham, Blake L. Jones, Carolyn Gunther, Lillie Monroe-Lord, Eunjung Lim, Karina Lora, Marla Reicks, Siew Sun Wong, and Jinan Banna
- Subjects
Low income ,Male ,Adolescent ,030309 nutrition & dietetics ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,lcsh:Medicine ,Context (language use) ,Convenience sample ,Diet Surveys ,Article ,Food group ,Interviews as Topic ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,independent eating occasions ,Environmental health ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,adolescents ,Child ,Poverty ,Qualitative Research ,0303 health sciences ,digestive, oral, and skin physiology ,lcsh:R ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,parents ,MyPlate ,Feeding Behavior ,diet quality ,United States ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Diet quality ,Fruit ,Early adolescents ,Female ,low-income ,Snacks ,Psychology ,Energy Intake - Abstract
The purpose of this formative, cross-sectional study was to describe independent eating occasions (iEOs) among a convenience sample of low-income early adolescents (10&ndash, 13 years, n = 46) in 10 U.S. states, including environmental context, foods selected and reasons for selection, and parental rules about foods consumed. Participants took pictures of all foods consumed over 24 h and participated in semi-structured interviews to describe the context of each eating occasion using the pictures as a guide. Responses based on a total of 304 eating occasions were coded to classify foods based on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate food groups and to characterize parental rules and reasons for food selection. Average age was 10.9 ±, 1.1 years and 60% were female. Approximately 58% of eating occasions were classified as iEOs with approximately 65% as snacks. Most iEOs took place at home. Foods frequently consumed during iEOs were from the sweets, total fruit, dairy, and whole fruit food categories. Primary parental rules for iEOs focused on avoiding certain foods and not eating too much. Early adolescents selected foods for convenience, taste preferences, and availability. Foods selected during iEOs were based on parent, household and early adolescent factors, which could be addressed to influence overall diet quality.
- Published
- 2020