Paternal modeling, household availability, and paternal intake as predictors of fruit, vegetable, and sweetened beverage consumption among African American children

Appetite 85 (2015) 171–177

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Appetite j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a p p e t

Research report

Paternal modeling, household availability, and paternal intake as predictors of fruit, vegetable, and sweetened beverage consumption among African American children ☆ Toni S. Harris *, Michael Ramsey Department of Psychology, Virginia State University, P.O. Box 9079, Virginia 23806, United States

A R T I C L E

I N F O

Article history: Received 6 February 2014 Received in revised form 27 October 2014 Accepted 5 November 2014 Available online 11 November 2014 Keywords: African American fathers Paternal modeling Household availability Paternal intake Child dietary consumption

A B S T R A C T

The current study examined how African American fathers’ dietary practices were associated with their children’s dietary consumption. The sample consisted of one hundred and two African American fathers, who had children between the ages of three and thirteen. The fathers provided self-reports of their consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sugar sweetened beverages; modeling of healthy eating; household availability of foods and beverages; and their children’s previously mentioned consumption. Sweetened beverages are considered to be any beverage that contains added sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, and/or fruit juice concentrates. Paternal modeling and household availability of food and beverages were measured using subscales from the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ). Three separate hierarchical regressions were performed to reveal that child fruit and vegetable consumption was only predicted by parental intake. Child sweetened beverage consumption, however, was predicted by paternal intake and household availability. Modeling did not significantly predict children’s consumption of fruits, vegetables, or sweetened beverages. The findings suggest that paternal intake of fruits, vegetables, and sweetened beverages predicts child consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sweetened beverages. Family efforts should be made toward increasing father’s consumption of healthy foods while decreasing the consumption and availability of sweetened beverages. © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Introduction Children’s healthy dietary practices reduce their risk of becoming obese (Cullen et al., 2004) and of developing chronic diseases such as Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease. However, consumption trends indicate that children consume less than the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, while consuming more sweetened beverages than recommended (Cavadini, Siega-Riz, & Popkin, 2000; Sanchez et al., 2007). Parents report that they want their children to consume nutritious foods and beverages (Sherry et al., 2004). Fortunately, parents are able to control key factors (i.e., parental modeling, parental intake, and availability of foods) that have been associated with children’s consumption (Birch & Fisher, 1998; Pearson, Biddle, & Gorely,

☆ Funding: Funding for this study was provided by the National Black College and University (HBCU) Research Network for Health Services and Health Disparities. The National HBCU Research Network had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (T.S. Harris).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.11.008 0195-6663/© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

2009; Rasmussen et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2013; Webber & Loescher, 2013). Parents control children’s eating environments by choosing what foods are purchased, prepared and offered. Increased intake of fruits and vegetables has been associated with lowered intakes of fat (Fisher, Mitchell, Smiciklas-Wright, & Birch, 2002) and with lower BMI (Cullen et al., 2004). Availability of fruits and vegetables is strongly associated with increases in children’s consumption of these foods (Blanchette & Brug, 2005; O’Connor et al., 2010; Wyse, Campbell, Nathan, & Wolfenden, 2011). By early childhood, children have been observed imitating their parents’ food choices (Sutherland et al., 2008). Sutherland et al. (2008) found that when their young participants were given a chance to “shop” for toy foods, they would choose the types of items that their parents purchased from grocery stores. In addition to imitating food choice, children also imitate their parents’ consumption practices. When parents consume fruits and vegetables, their children are more likely to consume these foods as well (Fisher et al., 2002; Hall et al., 2011; Sylvestre, O’Loughlin, Gray-Donald, Hanley, & Paradis, 2007; Tibbs et al., 2001; Wang et al., 2013). Sweetened beverages are beverages that contain added sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and/or concentrated fruit juice (Brownell et al., 2009). Examples of such beverages include fruit

172

T.S. Harris, M. Ramsey/Appetite 85 (2015) 171–177

juices, sports drinks, sodas, and fruit juices. These beverages are the greatest contributor to added sugar intake in the United States and are thought to promote weight gain in part because of incomplete compensation for liquid calories at subsequent meals (Malik, Popkin, Bray, Despree, & Hu, 2010). A study among middle school students over two years found that the risk of becoming obese increased by 60% for every additional serving of sugar sweetened beverages consumed per day (Ludwig, Peterson, & Gortmaker, 2001). In addition to increasing the risk for obesity, Type II diabetes, and coronary disease (Appel et al., 2005; Ludwig, 2002; Ludwig et al., 2001), sugar sweetened beverages reduce the likelihood that children find non sweetened foods palatable or appealing (Brownell et al., 2009). Similar to predicting nutritious consumption, parental consumption and availability of sugar sweetened beverages are associated with children’s consumption of these beverages (Van Lippevelde et al., 2013). Published studies have demonstrated strong links between maternal dietary practices and children’s consumption. However, when studies included fathers, the fathers were European American or European (Duncanson, Burrows, Holman, & Collins, 2013; Haycraft & Blissett, 2008; Lazzeri, Pammolli, Pilato, & Giacchi, 2011; Vanhala, Laitinen, Kaikkonen, Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, & Korpelainen, 2011). Haycraft and Blissett (2008) examined maternal and paternal controlling feeding practices and found that mothers’ and fathers’ reported and observed controlling practices did not differ significantly. Along the same lines, Vanhala et al. (2011) conducted a study to determine if consumption and parental predictors of fruit and vegetables varied between normal-weight and overweight children. Findings suggest paternal and maternal intake to be consistent predictors of child consumption of fruits and vegetables. A review of fathers’ child feeding practices (Khandpur, Blaine, Fisher, & Davison, 2014) discussed several differences between maternal and paternal feeding practices. Fathers promoted child consumption regardless of the nature of the food or beverage item. Fathers were also described as feeling obliged to contribute to meal preparation at least 50% of the time and persistently provide encouragement for consumption. Although African American fathers have reported higher levels of engagement in caregiving activities than Caucasian and Latino fathers (Leavell, Tamis-LeMonda, Ruble, Zosuls, & Cabrera, 2012), there are no published studies investigating the relationship between African American fathers’ parenting practices and their children’s consumption. African American and Caucasian parents have been noted as having different feeding practices (Spruit-Metz, Lindquist, Birch, Fisher, & Goran, 2002). This study seeks to add to the literature by investigating how African American fathers’ food and beverage intake (i.e., fruit, vegetable, and sugar sweetened beverage) and feeding practices (i.e., modeling and household availability) predict their children’s consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sugar sweetened beverages. Method Study sample One hundred and two African American males, aged 23 to 68, participated in this study. The sample consisted of males who lived with children between the ages of three and thirteen (i.e., father, stepfather, and grandfather) and non-custodial biological fathers who had visitation with their children at least 25% of the time. For the remainder of this study, the participants will be referred to as “fathers”. A convenience sample of African American fathers located in the Southeastern United States was recruited for the study. Fathers’ marital status reported were representative of the African American demographic (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012): 23% single, 71% married, 6% divorced, and 1% widowed. Median household annual income fell in the $60,000–$74,999 range (SD = 1.83), which was

higher than the current African American population. Educational backgrounds represented were as follows: 2% less than high school, 15% high school diploma, 33% some college, 27% college degree, 4% some graduate school, and 20% graduate school degree. Fathers in the current study attained substantially higher levels of education in comparison to African American population averages. Procedures African American fathers were recruited from elementary schools, daycares, fitness centers, and churches. Fathers gave written consent to participate and they completed the surveys. If fathers had more than one child, they were asked to complete surveys on their youngest child. Participation in this study was voluntary and the option to withdraw at any time was given via the survey. The research was conducted in agreement with the Ethical Principles established by the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association, 2010). The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the researchers’ university provided approval to conduct the study. Child consumption and paternal intake Fathers were asked a series of items to measure paternal intake and child consumption. Instructions were provided in the survey that described a standard serving size as one-half cup of fruits and vegetables. Regarding fresh or frozen fruit consumption, fathers were asked the following: (a) “How many servings of fresh or frozen fruit do you consume in a typical day?” and (b) “How many servings of fresh or frozen fruit does your child eat in a typical day?” Regarding fresh or frozen vegetable consumption, fathers were asked the following: (a) “How many servings of fresh or frozen vegetables do you consume in a typical day?” and (b) How many servings of fresh or frozen vegetables does your child consume in a typical day?” Regarding sweetened beverage consumption, fathers were asked the following: (a) “How many sugar-sweetened beverages do you drink in a typical day?” and (b) “How many sugar-sweetened beverages does your child drink in a typical day?” Paternal modeling and household availability Paternal modeling and household availability of food and beverages were measured using subscales from the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) (Musher-Eizenmann & Holub, 2007). The 41-item self-report measure assessed parental feeding practices within the home. Specifically, modeling reflected parental modeling of healthy eating behaviors; and household availability reflected a healthy food environment. Four items comprised the modeling subscale (“I model healthy eating for my child by eating healthy foods myself”, “I try to eat healthy foods in front of my child, even if it’s not my favorite”, “I try to show enthusiasm about eating healthy foods”, and “I show my child how much I enjoy eating healthy foods”. Six items comprised the household availability subscale (“If I make a variety of health foods available to my child, I trust that s/he will choose a healthy diet”, “There are always fresh fruits and vegetables in my house”, “Most of the food I keep in the house is healthy”, “I keep a lot of treats in my house”, “I keep a lot of sweets in my house”, and “A variety of healthy foods are available to my child with each meal served at home”. Items were measured using a five-point Likert-type scale, and responses ranged from disagree to agree. Subscale scores were determined by averaging the items within the subscale. Greater scores indicated more frequent use of the feeding practice. Previous research has found the CFPQ to be a valid and reliable measure of parental feeding practices (Doaei, Kalantari, Gholamalizadeh, & Rashidkhani, 2013).The modeling subscale (α = .87) appears to have higher internal consistency than the household availability (α = .49) subscale.

T.S. Harris, M. Ramsey/Appetite 85 (2015) 171–177

173

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of child consumption, paternal intake, and paternal feeding practices. Variable

Means

Standard deviations

Skewness

Kurtosis

Child fruit consumption Paternal fruit intake Child vegetable consumption Paternal vegetable intake Child sugar sweetened beverage consumption Paternal sugar sweetened beverage Intake Paternal modeling Household availability

2.14 2.07 1.81 1.89 2.19 2.38 3.87 3.69

1.99 1.35 1.34 1.42 1.55 2.07 1.04 .61

.64 .87 .78 1.64 1.57 1.82 −.95 .21

.37 .53 .62 3.60 3.49 5.02 .31 −.18

Data analyses Cronbach’s alpha was determined for each factor to measure internal consistency. Bivariate correlation analyses were performed to identify significant relationships among variables and to reveal if any multicollinearities were present. Scatterplots and histograms were created to screen for bivariate and univariate abnormalities. A cut-off value of 0.70 was exercised to detect multicollinearity. Subsequently, three separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to examine if paternal feeding practices and father intake were significant predictors of child consumption. Predictor variables were entered in each step in an order that was based on strength of the predictor as reported in the child consumption literature and significant relationship findings. Demographic variables were controlled to reduce potential error in findings. The variables were entered as follows: Step 1, demographic variables (i.e. father’s education, household income, and father’s age); Step 2, mirrored father variable (i.e. parental intake of fresh or frozen vegetables was chosen if predicting child consumption of fresh and frozen vegetables); Step 3, household availability of foods; and Step 4, paternal modeling. Analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics, version 21.0. Results Table 1 displays descriptive statistics of child consumption, paternal intake, availability, and modeling. No multicollinearities were found within the independent variables in this study. Bivariate correlations were performed to examine the relationships between the feeding practices, paternal intake, and child consumption (see Table 2). Derived from significant correlational findings, a theoretical model hypothesizing that African American fathers’ food and beverage intake, modeling, and household availability predict their children’s consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sugar sweetened beverages was developed. Three separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to determine if paternal feeding practices predicted child consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sugar sweetened beverages, respectively. The results of the hierarchical regression predicting

child consumption of fresh or frozen fruit are reported in Table 3. Demographic characteristics (i.e., parent age, parent education, and household income) were entered in step 1 of the regression analysis as covariates. The model was not statistically significant after the first step. Paternal intake of fresh or frozen fruit was entered into step 2 increasing R2 by 24%, F (4, 89) = 9.20, p < .001. Household food availability was introduced in step 3 of the analysis, increasing R2 by 1%, which did not make a significant contribution to the model. Modeling was added in step 4 of the analysis and also did not add any prediction to the model. Results suggest that child consumption of fresh and frozen fruit is predicted by paternal intake of fresh and frozen fruit, β = .46, t (93) = 4.81, p < .001. The results of the hierarchical regression predicting child consumption of fresh or frozen vegetables are reported in Table 4. Demographic characteristics were entered in step 1 of the regression analysis. The model was not statistically significant after the first step. Paternal intake of fresh or frozen vegetables was entered into step 2 of the analysis increasing R2 by 42%, F (4, 89) = 21.92, p < .001. Household food availability was introduced in the 3rd step of the analysis and did not significantly explain any additional variance, nor did it increase R2. Modeling was added in step 4 and also did not increase the total variance of the model. Results suggest that child consumption of fresh and frozen vegetables is predicted by paternal intake of fresh and frozen vegetables, β = .65, t (93) = 7.98, p < .001. The results of the hierarchical regression predicting child consumption of sugar sweetened beverages are reported in Table 5. Demographic characteristics were entered in step 1 of the regression analysis. The model was not statistically significant after the first step. Paternal intake of sugar sweetened beverages was entered into step 2 increasing R2 by 39%, F (4, 89) = 18.76, p < .001, after controlling demographic variables. Household food availability was introduced in the 3rd step of the analysis increasing R2 by 4%, demonstrating that as healthy foods increased in the home, children’s sugar sweetened beverage consumption decreased. Modeling was added in step 4, but did not increase the total variance of the model. Results suggest that paternal intake, β = .64, t (93) = 7.31, p < .001, and household availability, β = −.19, t (93) = −2.20, p < .05, significantly predict children’s sugar sweetened beverage consumption.

Table 2 Correlations between paternal modeling, household availability, paternal intake and child food/beverage consumption. Variable

Child vegetable consumption

Child fruit consumption

Child sweetened beverage consumption

Availability

Modeling

Paternal vegetable intake Paternal fruit intake Paternal sweetened beverage intake Household availability Modeling

.67** .26 .12 .17 .18

−.01 .51** .04 .27 .16

−.36** .03 .67** −.36** −.21*

.21* .29 −.24 ____ .38

.25* .22* −.13 .38** ____

Note: *p < .05; **p < .001.

174

T.S. Harris, M. Ramsey/Appetite 85 (2015) 171–177

Table 3 R2 values and R2 changes for fresh/frozen fruit consumption at each step in the hierarchical regression. Predictors

R

R2

Step 1 Household income Parent age Parent education Step 2 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Step 3 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Availability Step 4 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Availability Modeling

.23

.05

.54

.55

.55

.29

.31

.31

R2 change (at each step)

B

SE

β

t

−.15 .03 .10

.09 .01 .11

−.23 .23* .12

−1.66 2.01 .93

−.14 .02 .05 .45

.08 .01 .10 .08

−.14 .02 .06 .41 .25

.08 .01 .10 .08 .18

−.21 .14 .06 .50** . −.21 .14 .06 .47** .13

−.14 .02 .06 .41 .23 .03

.08 .01 .10 .09 .20 .11

−.21 .14 .06 .46** .12 .02

.24**

.01

−.1.78 1.40 .57 5.50 −.1.79 1.36 .59 4.92 1.36

.00 −1.80 1.37 .58 4.81 1.19 .24

Note: *p < .05; **p < .001.

Discussion The purpose of this study was to investigate how paternal dietary practices of African American fathers influence their children’s consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sugar sweetened beverages. Multiple factors influence children’s consumption, yet those factors do not predict consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sweetened beverages in similar ways. The current findings demonstrate that paternal dietary intake predicts child consumption, whereas parental modeling does not. Availability of healthy foods in the home is predictive of lower consumption of sweetened beverages; but availability is not predictive of fruits and vegetable consumption. This distinction is also confirmed by previous findings (Johnson, Van Jaarsveld, & Wardle, 2010; McGowan, Croker, Wardle, & Cooke, 2012). Likewise, the combination of parental intake and availability predicting sugar sweetened beverage consumption has also been

previously found (Bauer, Neumark-Stainer, Fulkerson, Hannan, & Story, 2011; Wang et al., 2013). Parental intake has strong support in the literature for being a predictor of child consumption (Fisher et al., 2002; Hall et al., 2011; Johnson et al., 2010; McGowan et al., 2012; Rasmussen et al., 2006; Wyse et al., 2011) and the current findings lend continued support to those findings by also demonstrating that paternal intake specifically predicts children’s consumption. Previous studies have suggested that parental intake may be related to child consumption as a result of availability and parental modeling (Cooke et al., 2004; Fisher et al., 2002). Our findings do not support these hypotheses as it relates to child fruit and vegetable consumption; however, we found similar associations between availability, modeling, and sweetened beverage consumption. Modeling and availability were not significant predictors of fruits and vegetables, and both have been inconsistent predictors in

Table 4 R2 values and R2 changes for child fresh/frozen vegetable consumption at each step in the hierarchical regression. Predictors

R

R2

Step 1 Household income Parent age Parent education Step 2 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Step 3 Household income Parent age Parent education Availability Step 4 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Availability Modeling

.29

.08

Note: *p < .05; **p < .001.

.70

.71

.71

.50

.50

.50

R2 change (at each step)

B

SE

β

t

−.22 .03 .09

.08 .01 .10

−.35* .23* .11

−2.61 1.99 .90

−.16 .01 .01 .53

.06 .01 .08 .06

.25* .09 02 .66**

−2.48 1.01 .16 8.56

−.16 .01 .52 .07

.06 .01 .06 .15

−.25* .09 .65** .04

−2.48 .98 8.26 .47

−.16 .01 .01 .52 .06 .02

.06 .01 .08 .07 .16 .09

−.25* .09 .02 .65** .03 .02

−2.48 1.00 .17 7.98 .36 .21

.42**

.00

.00

T.S. Harris, M. Ramsey/Appetite 85 (2015) 171–177

175

Table 5 R2 values and R2 changes for sweetened beverage consumption at each step in the hierarchical regression. Predictors

R

R2

Step 1 Household income Parent age Parent education Step 2 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Step 3 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Availability Step 4 Household income Parent age Parent education Paternal intake Availability Modeling

.26

.07

.68

.71

.71

.46

.50

.50

R2 change (at each step)

B

SE

β

t

−.06 −.02 −.17

.12 .02 .14

−.07 −.13 −.15

−.49 −1.12 −.1.21

.00 .00 .09 −.53

.09 .01 .11 .07

.00 −.16 .08 .70**

−.01 −.17 .82 7.19

−.01 .00 .08 .48 −.53

.09 .01 .11 .07 .20

−.01 −.01 .07 .65** −.21*

−.07 −.15 .69 7.39 −2.64

.00 .00 .08 .48 −.47 −.09

.09 .01 .11 .07 .22 .12

.00 −.01 .07 −.19* −.19* −.06

−.04 −.15 .69 7.32 −2.19 −.69

.39**

.04*

.00

Note: *p < .05; **p < .001.

previous studies (Befort et al., 2006; Granner & Evans, 2012; McClain, Chappuis, Nguyen-Rodriguez, Yaroch, & Spruijt-Metz, 2009; O’Connor et al., 2010; Tibbs et al., 2001). Modeling appears to be a stronger predictor for fruit and vegetable consumption when it is a proxy for parental intake (Pearson et al., 2009; Tibbs et al., 2001) and when it incorporates parental expectations regarding the minimum amount of fruits and vegetables consumed (Tibbs et al., 2001; Wyse et al., 2011). When the variable measures parents’ reports of what they do to demonstrate healthy behaviors, it does not consistently predict children’s consumption (Pearson et al., 2009; Rasmussen et al., 2006). When the variable measures children’s perceptions of their parents’ modeling it consistently predicts children’s consumption (McClain et al., 2009; Prichard, Hodder, Hutchinson, & Wilson, 2012). Household availability of fruits and vegetables has been an inconsistent predictor of children’s fruit and vegetable consumption (Granner & Evans, 2012; McGowan et al., 2012; O’Connor et al., 2010), with evidence indicating that it may not predict consumption among African American children (Befort et al., 2006; Granner et al., 2004). Instead, our findings indicate that increased availability of healthy foods along with decreased availability of unhealthy foods will lower the likelihood of children’s sugar sweetened beverage consumption. This is consistent with previous studies that have shown that household availability of unhealthy foods consistently predicts child consumption of those foods (de Coen et al., 2012; Grimm, Harnack, & Story, 2004; McGowan et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2013). This association is likely due to accessibility and preparedness of the items, as well as preference for the items. Whereas sweetened beverages can be readily consumed and are often easily accessible (de Coen et al., 2012) fruits and vegetables may be stored out of reach, and often have to be prepared for consumption. Fruits and vegetables may be in the freezer, in a cabinet, or on a refrigerator shelf out of view. Additionally, encouragement toward consumption (fruits and vegetables) and permissiveness of consumption (sugar sweetened beverages) as measures of availability have also been related to children’s consumption (de Coen et al., 2012; Wyse et al., 2011). The findings of the current study make a unique contribution to the literature because most published studies, except one (Horodynski & Arndt, 2005), have examined fathers’ feeding practices while focusing on fathers who were not African American and on themes such as pressure to eat, restriction, and perceived

responsibility (Khandpur et al., 2014). Khandpur et al. (2014) found in their review that fathers tended to be most concerned with getting children to eat and not with what children were eating. According to Hendy, Williams, Carnise, Eckman, and Hedemann (2009) fathers’ tended to pressure children to eat and were less likely than mothers to place limits on snack consumption. Although our study did not examine restriction or pressure to eat, it expands previous findings and demonstrates the importance of the presence of African American fathers’ during meals by identifying fathers’ intake of foods as a strong predictor of children’s healthy and unhealthy consumption; and how the availability of healthy foods reduces the likelihood of sugar sweetened beverage consumption. Our findings lend support to the idea that being available to one’s child directly influences children’s outcomes. This study examined a gap in the literature by examining how paternal intake and feeding practices of a diverse sample of African American fathers predicts healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns of African American children. Understanding the limitations of this study is important when interpreting the data. One limitation was the use of a smaller sample size than would be ideally recommended. A larger sample size would increase the ability to generalize the results to African American families. A second limitation was the option provided to the father to select which child he preferred to discuss in the surveys. This gave the father the option to choose the child he believed to live a healthier lifestyle and surrender to social desirability bias. Another limitation was the use of self-report data supplied only by the father. The reliance of information provided by the father as the sole-source of information is also subject to social desirability bias. Also, self-report data invite dependency on the selective memory or exaggeration of the participant. In addition, fathers who are more invested in the parenting and the care of their child may be more likely to complete a questionnaire on child feeding. Lastly, the absence of data concerning mothers clouds the combined effect of mothers’ and fathers’ intake and feeding practices on child consumption. Conclusion African American fathers are nurturers, teachers, and providers to their children (Threlfall, Seay, & Kohl, 2013). When asked, the fathers

176

T.S. Harris, M. Ramsey/Appetite 85 (2015) 171–177

in the Threlfall et al., (2013) study indicated that they strive to be available to their children to teach them strategies for obtaining overall success. Repeated data have shown type of dietary consumption influences the development of chronic illnesses. Thus, understanding paternal factors that contribute to child consumption is important to developing strategies that increase healthy consumption, decrease unhealthy consumption, and improve overall health. In the current study, paternal intake was associated with African American children’s healthy and unhealthy consumption, while modeling was not associated with any of the outcomes, and availability was only associated with unhealthy consumption. The findings suggest that African American paternal intake should be targeted as a modifiable factor to improving children’s diets. A second modifiable factor would be improving the availability of healthy food and beverage options, while limiting the availability of unhealthy options in order to decrease the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages. The current study did not examine the accessibility of ready to consume foods, or frequency of offerings, as it relates to fruit and vegetable consumption; or permissiveness/allowance as it relates to sweetened beverage consumption. Examining these factors in future studies would broaden our understanding of the influence that household availability has on children’s consumption.

References American Psychological Association. (2010). The publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC.: American Psychological Association. Appel, L. J., Sacks, F. M., Carey, V. J., Obarzanek, E., Swain, J. F., Miller, E. R., et al. (2005). Effects of protein, monounsaturated fat, and carbohydrate intake on blood pressure and serum lipids. Results of the OmniHeart randomized trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 294, 2455–2464. doi:10.1001/ jama.294.19.2455. Bauer, K., Neumark-Stainer, D., Fulkerson, J., Hannan, P., & Story, M. (2011). Familial correlates of adolescent girls’ physical activity, television use, dietary intake, weight, and body composition. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8(25), 1–10. Befort, C., Kaur, H., Nollen, N., Sullivan, D. K., Nazir, N., Choi, W. S., et al. (2006). Fruit, vegetable, and fat intake among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white adolescents. Associations with home availability and food consumption setting. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 106(3), 367–373. doi:10.1016/ j.ada.2005.12.001. Birch, L. L., & Fisher, J. O. (1998). Development of eating behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 10, 539–549. Blanchette, L., & Brug, J. (2005). Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among 6–12-year-old children and effective interventions to increase consumption. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 18(6), 431–443. doi:10.1111/j.1365-277X2005.00648.x. Brownell, K. D., Farley, T., Willett, W. C., Popkin, B. M., Chaloupka, F. J., Thompson, J. W., et al. (2009). The public health and economic benefits of taxing sugarsweetened beverages. New England Journal of Medicine, 361, 1599–1605. doi:10.1056/NEJMhpr0905723. Cavadini, C., Siega-Riz, A. M., & Popkin, B. M. (2000). US adolescent food intake trends from 1965 to 1996. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 83(1), 18–24. doi:10.1136/ adc.83.1.18. Cooke, L. J., Wardle, J., Gibson, E. L., Sapochnik, M., Sheiham, A., & Lawson, M. (2004). Demographic, familial, and trait predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption by pre-school children. Public Health Nutrition, 7, 295–302. doi:10.1079/ PHN2003527. Cullen, K. W., Baranowski, T., Klesges, L. M., Watson, K., Sherwood, N. W., Story, M., et al. (2004). Anthropometric, parental, and psychosocial correlates of dietary intake of African-American girls. Obesity Research, 12(S9), 20S–31S. doi:10.1038/ oby.2004.265. de Coen, V., Vansteelandt, S., Maes, L., Huybrechts, I., de Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Vereecken, C. (2012). Parental socioeconomic status and soft drink consumption of the child. The mediating proportion of parenting practices. Appetite, 59, 76–80. Doaei, S., Kalantari, N., Gholamalizadeh, M., & Rashidkhani, B. (2013). Validating and investigating reliability of comprehensive feeding practices questionnaire. Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 15(3), 42–45. Duncanson, K., Burrows, T., Holman, B., & Collins, C. (2013). Parents’ perceptions of child feeding. A qualitative study based on the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: JDBP, 34(4), 227–236. Fisher, J. O., Mitchell, D. C., Smiciklas-Wright, H., & Birch, L. L. (2002). Parental influences on young girls’ fruit and vegetable, micronutrient, and fat intakes. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102, 58–64. doi:10.1016/S00028223(02)90017-9.

Granner, M. L., & Evans, A. E. (2012). Measurement properties of psychosocial and environmental measures associated with fruit and vegetable intake among middle school adolescents. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 44(1), 2–11. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2010.12.008. Granner, M., Sargent, R. G., Calderon, K. S., Hussey, J. R., Evans, A. E., & Watkins, K. W. (2004). Factors of fruit and vegetable intake by race, gender, and age among young adolescents. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 36(4), 173–180. doi:10.1016/14499-4046(06)60231-5. Grimm, G. C., Harnack, L., & Story, M. (2004). Factors associated with soft drink consumption in school-aged children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104(8), 1244–1249. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2004.05.206. Hall, L., Collins, C. E., Morgan, P. J., Burrows, T. L., Lubans, D. R., & Callister, R. (2011). Children’s intake of fruit and selected energy-dense nutrient-poor foods is associated with fathers’ intake. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111, 1039–1044. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2001.04.008. Haycraft, E., & Blissett, J. (2008). Maternal and paternal controlling feeding practices. Reliability and relationships with BMI. Obesity, 16, 1552–1558. Hendy, H. M., Williams, K. E., Carnise, T. S., Eckman, N., & Hedemann, A. (2009). The parent mealtime action scale (PMAS). Development and association with children’s diet and weight. Appetite, 52(2), 328–339. Horodynski, A. M., & Arndt, M. J. (2005). “Eating-together” mealtimes with African-American fathers and their toddlers. Applied Nursing Research, 18(2), 106–109. Johnson, L., Van Jaarsveld, C., & Wardle, J. (2010). Individual and family environment correlates differ for consumption of core and non-core foods in children. The British Journal of Nutrition, 105, 950–959. doi:10.1017/S0007114510004484. Khandpur, N., Blaine, R. E., Fisher, J. O., & Davison, K. K. (2014). Fathers’ child feeding practices. A review of the evidence. Appetite, 78, 110–121. Lazzeri, G., Pammolli, A., Pilato, V., & Giacchi, M. V. (2011). Relationship between 8/9-year-old school children BMI, parents’ BMI and educational level. A cross sectional survey. Nutrition Journal, 10, 76. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-10-76. Leavell, A. S., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Ruble, D. N., Zosuls, K. M., & Cabrera, N. J. (2012). African American, white and Latino fathers’ activities with their sons and daughters in early childhood. Sex Roles, 66, 53–65. Ludwig, D. S. (2002). The glycemic index. Physiological mechanisms relating to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 287(18), 2414–2423. Ludwig, D. S., Peterson, K. E., & Gortmaker, S. L. (2001). Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity. A prospective, observational analysis. Lancet, 357(9255), 505–508. Malik, V., Popkin, B., Bray, G., Despree, J. P., & Hu, F. (2010). Sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease risk. Circulation, 121(11), 1356–1364. doi:10.1161/circulationaha.109.876185. McClain, A. D., Chappuis, C., Nguyen-Rodriguez, S. T., Yaroch, A. L., & Spruijt-Metz, D. (2009). Psychosocial correlates of eating behavior in children and adolescents. A review. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 6, 54–73. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-6-54. McGowan, L., Croker, H., Wardle, J., & Cooke, L. (2012). Environmental and individual determinants of core and non-core food and drink intake in preschool aged children in the United Kingdom. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 66(3), 322–328. Musher-Eizenmann, D., & Holub, S. (2007). Comprehensive feeding practices questionnaire. Validation of a new measure of parental feeding practices. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 32(8), 960–972. O’Connor, T. M., Hughes, S. O., Watson, K. B., Baranowski, T., Nicklas, T. A., Fisher, J. O., et al. (2010). Parenting practices are associated with fruit and vegetable consumption in pre-school children. Public Health Nutrition, 13(1), 91–101. doi:10.1017/S1368980009005916. Pearson, N., Biddle, S. J., & Gorely, T. (2009). Family correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption in children and adolescents. A systematic review. Public Health Nutrition, 12(2), 267–283. doi:10.1017/S1368980008002589. Prichard, I., Hodder, K., Hutchinson, A., & Wilson, C. (2012). Predictors of motherdaughter resemblance in dietary intake. The role of eating styles, mothers’ consumption, and closeness. Appetite, 58(1), 271–276. doi:10.1016/ j.appet.2011.10.012. Rasmussen, M., Krolner, R., Klepp, K., Lytle, L., Brug, J., Bere, E., et al. (2006). Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among children and adolescents. A review of the literature. Part I. Quantitative studies. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 3, 22–41. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-3-22. Sanchez, A., Norman, G. J., Sallis, J. F., Calfas, K. J., Cella, J., & Patrick, K. (2007). Patterns and correlates of physical activity and nutrition behaviors in adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(2), 124–130. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2006. 10.012. Sherry, B., McDivitt, J., Birch, L., Cook, F. H., Sanders, S., Prish, J. L., et al. (2004). Attitudes, practices, and concerns about child feeding and child weight status among socioeconomically diverse White, Hispanic, and African-American mothers. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104(2), 215–221. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2003.11.012. Spruit-Metz, D., Lindquist, C. H., Birch, L. L., Fisher, J. O., & Goran, M. I. (2002). Relation between mothers’ child-feeding practices and children’s adiposity. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 75(3), 581–586. Sutherland, L. A., Beavers, D. P., Kupper, L. L., Bernhardt, A. M., Heatherton, T., & Dalton, M. A. (2008). Like parent, like child. Child food and beverage choices during role playing. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 162(11), 1063–1069. doi:10.1001/archpedi.162.11.1063.

T.S. Harris, M. Ramsey/Appetite 85 (2015) 171–177

Sylvestre, M. P., O’Loughlin, J., Gray-Donald, K., Hanley, J., & Paradis, G. (2007). Association between fruit and vegetable consumption in mothers and children in low-income, urban neighborhoods. Health Education & Behavior: The OfficialPublication of the Society for Public Health Education, 34(5), 723–734. doi:10.1177/109019806290758. Threlfall, J. M., Seay, K. D., & Kohl, P. L. (2013). The parenting role of African-American fathers in the context of urban poverty. Journal of Children & Poverty, doi:10.1080/ 10796126.2013.764846. Tibbs, T., Haire-Joshu, D., Schechtman, K. B., Brownson, R. C., Nanney, M. S., Houston, C., et al. (2001). The relationship between parental modeling, eating patterns, and dietary intake among African American parents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 101, 535–541. doi:10.1016/S0002-8223(01)00134-1. U.S. Census Bureau. The Black alone population in the United States: 2012. Allegany County, N.Y. (2012). . Van Lippevelde, W., te Velde, S. J., Verloigne, M., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Manios, Y., Bere, E., et al. (2013). Association between home and family-related factors and

177

fruit juice and soft drink intake among 10- to 12- year old children. The ENERGY project. Appetite, 61(1), 59–65. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2012.10.019. Vanhala, M., Laitinen, J., Kaikkonen, K., Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, S., & Korpelainen, R. (2011). Parental predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption in treatmentseeking overweight children. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 24, 47– 53. Wang, L., III, Dalton, W. T., Schetzina, K. E., Fulton-Robinson, H., Holt, N., Ho, A., et al. (2013). Home food environment, dietary intake, and weight among overweight and obese children in Southern Appalachia. Southern Medical Journal, 106(10), 550–557. doi:10.1097/SMJ.0000000000000008. Webber, K., & Loescher, L. J. (2013). A systematic review of parent role modeling of healthy eating and physical activity for their young African American children. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 18(3), 173–188. doi:10.1111/jspn. 12033. Wyse, R., Campbell, E., Nathan, N., & Wolfenden, L. (2011). Associations between characteristics of the home food environment and fruit and vegetable intake in preschool children. A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 11, 938–947.