Descriptive Assessment of the Home Food Environment in a Diverse Sample of Families with School-Aged Children

Background:  Availability of foods in the home influences children’s dietary behaviors.  It is important to understand the home food environment (HFEnv) to better develop intervention strategies aimed to increase healthy options in the home.

Objective:Describe and characterize the HFEnv in households with children 6-11 years old living in an ethnically diverse community within a Southwestern metropolitan area.

Methods:  The HFEnv was assessed using a modified version of the Home Food Inventory, adapted for cultural appropriateness of foods.  This inventory focused on food availability and variety of fruits, vegetables, and sugar-containing foods.

Results:Participants (n=13) were 69% Latino; mean household size was 2.8 adults (range 1-7) and 2.6 children (range 1-5).  Families had 8.1±2.2 different fruits (range 4-11) and 6.9±3.2 different vegetables (range 1-10) available in their homes.  Sugar-sweetened beverages were present in all households (n=13), with fruit-flavored drinks being the most common (69% of households) and ice cream was available in 69% of households.  Households had 3.3±2.3 different types of sweets, with cookies, cupcakes, brownies, snack cakes, and donuts being available in 54%, 39%, 31%, 54%, and 46% of households, respectively.  Breakfast cereals were present in 92% of households with equal amounts of sugary (2.3±1.5) and non-sugary (2.3±1.7) cereals available.

Conclusions: These preliminary data show that there is significant opportunity to increase availability of fruits and vegetables and reduce availability of sugar-containing products in the homes of participants in our sample. Interventions are need that focus on modifying the HFEnv to promote healthier eating behaviors of children.