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Food preparation literacy is defined as an individual's ability to plan, manage, and prepare tasty foods with limited directions (Vidgen & Gallegos, 2014). Food preparation practices are complex and demanding but they play a crucial role in health outcomes. Low food preparation literacy may contribute to less healthy food consumption, increased diet-related diseases (hypertension, obesity, heart disease), and, ultimately, premature death (Dunn et al., 2012; Poti et al., 2014). This systematic literature review seeks to summarize published empirical studies on food preparation literacy education for children and adolescents, identify gaps, and recommend future research directions. The authors searched MEDLINE (Ovid), Academic Search Complete (EBSCO), Embrace (Ovid), and the "Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences." Thirty-eight articles were included in this study. The findings indicate a decline in publication of articles on food preparation literacy. The majority of studies identified focused on cooking; the least explored aspects were meal planning, for example, portion size, grocery list, and table setting. It is recommended an increased collaboration of family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals with other professionals and further research in areas such as food and nutrition literacy.

Objectives: This study explored US rural parents' perceived facilitators, challenges and motivators to healthy eating. Methods: Qualitative and purposive sampling was used to recruit one hundred (N = 100) parents of children enrolled in the fourth grade to participate in a series of focus group sessions. Eligibility criteria included being the head of the household and having a child enrolled in the fourth grade. Parents were questioned about factors impacting everyday lifestyle practices such as nutrition knowledge and eating habits. Data were analysed using grounded theory and constant comparative method. Results: Twelve focus groups sessions were conducted with parents who self-identified as African American (63%), Hispanic (25%) and Caucasian 2%. The majority (52%) of participants indicated they only had some high school education. Healthy eating among parents was highly dependent on socioeconomic status, time, availability and access to foods. Facilitators to healthy eating were school lunch programmes, nutrition education and family preferences. Findings demonstrate that parents tried to eat meals at home, but many factors (fear of genetically modified foods, money and time) prevented healthy eating and food preparation. Parents who consumed or prepared meals at home did so because of family influence and the fear of being unhealthy. Conclusion and implications: This study provides an in-depth understanding of rural parents' efforts to promote healthy eating at home regardless of socioeconomic challenges.

A comprehensive understanding of the barriers inhibiting physical activity among children is critical in the fight against childhood obesity. This qualitative interview study examined parents' and children's perceptions of the barriers to physical activity in rural communities of low socioeconomic status. Parents and children concurred that the absence of physical activity facilities contributed to inactivity among residents. This commonality aside, parents' perceptions of barriers were informed primarily by concerns about finances and safety, whereas children perceived academic and domestic responsibilities as hindrances to their physical activity. These findings have important implications for research and interventions aimed at promoting physical activity and decreasing obesity.

Background: Parents and teachers are important models in children's lives, but linking nutrition and health education across home and school remains a challenge. With the high prevalence of obesity in children, school stakeholders should be engaged in the process of assessment to assist in identifying possible solutions. Methods: This study compared school stakeholders' and parents' perceptions toward childhood obesity. Thirty-nine (N=39) school stakeholders and one hundred (N=l00) parents with children in the fourth grade were purposefully selected to participate in structured interviews or focus groups. Research questions were formulated to obtain information regarding awareness of childhood obesity, overall nutrition knowledge, perceptions of the contributors to the obesity problem, and perceptions of possible barriers to alleviating obesity. Responses from the interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Atlas Ti. Results: Both categories of participants acknowledged obesity as a major problem among young children. The consensus among the school stakeholders was that there are inconsistencies in the messages transmitted by the home and school. The findings also revealed that limited nutrition education in the home and school, coupled with lack of parental involvement, low-income status, and parental denial contributed to children being overweight or obese. Conclusion: This study reiterates the need to utilize a multidimensional approach in the fight against childhood obesity. Community health workers and school administrators need to work at achieving unanimity in the nutrition messages being communicated in the home and school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the study on the barriers to eating healthy food for poor families in rural areas in the U.S. It discusses how the study was conducted which involved 12 focus groups consisting of eight to 10 participants. The results reportedly revealed that several main barriers to healthy eating which include taste, food cost, seasonality, culture, and advertising. It stresses the importance for family and consumer science educators to host workshops on nutrition and food selection.