Author : Amber Marie Dewey
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (11 download)
Book Synopsis Family Meals Among Low-income Families by : Amber Marie Dewey
Download or read book Family Meals Among Low-income Families written by Amber Marie Dewey and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overweight and obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has more than tripled in the last 20 years; of great concern is the unequal number of low-income and minority children who are overweight/obese. Family meals provide children and adolescents with a foundation for developing dietary habits which may prevent overweight/obesity. Family meal frequency among children and adolescents has been explored in relation to their physical and psychological/behavioral health. However, the majority of literature has been limited to adolescents. Existing literature pertaining to younger children has focused primarily on fruit and vegetable consumption. Younger children eat more often with family as they are less independent and away from the home less often. The physical and behavioral benefits of family meals may be more significant in young children, with the influence carrying on into adolescence. The longstanding issue of family meal feasibility among low-income families is of great concern. However, families from underprivileged communities rely on government assistance, food pantries, and strict budgets to provide food for their families, and many barriers prevent them from providing nutritionally adequate and frequent family meals. This study examined the association between family meal frequency and (a) child BMI, and (b) behavioral risk of young children from a low-income population to inform future interventions on the home food environment. Quantitative results indicate that barriers to preparing family meals are related to child behavioral risk. Qualitative and mixed methods findings suggest thematic and practical differences among the challenges/facilitators to family meals among households who eat more/less often together, between those who plan meals more/less often, and between those that do/do not experience time/energy as a barrier to preparing family meals.