A Qualitative Analysis of High School Student and Caregiver Perceptions of Food Access and Adherence to Nutrition Guidelines Across Home and Community Settings

Federal nutrition education initiatives ("MyPlate") intend to facilitate healthful eating behaviors in families; however, little is known about how minoritized students and caregivers perceive adherence to MyPlate guidelines or perceptions of importance of eating in alignment with guidelin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of health education 2023-11, Vol.54 (6), p.472-482
Main Authors: Loiacono, Bernardo, Mansfield, Dana, Sagan, Dylan, O'Donnell, Alex J., Clark Withington, Margaret H., Cory, Molly, Buscemi, Joanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Caregivers
Costs
Diet
Dietary intake
Dining Facilities
Diseases
Eating
Eating behavior
Eating Habits
Education
Educational Practices
Family Environment
Focus Groups
Food
Food groups
Food intake
Guidelines
Health Behavior
High School Students
Meals
Metabolism
Nutrition
Nutrition Instruction
Parent Attitudes
Prevention
Purchasing
Qualitative analysis
Restaurants
Student Attitudes
Students
Visual Aids
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Summary:Federal nutrition education initiatives ("MyPlate") intend to facilitate healthful eating behaviors in families; however, little is known about how minoritized students and caregivers perceive adherence to MyPlate guidelines or perceptions of importance of eating in alignment with guidelines. Study aims included: 1) determine how students and caregivers perceive their dietary intake as it relates to MyPlate in both home and community environments and 2) assess motivations to adhere to MyPlate guidelines. In-person focus groups with 47 high school students and 24 caregiver interviews were conducted and coded using qualitative thematic analysis. Meals at home differed from restaurants regarding food group portions. Caregivers highlighted food cost as a major factor when purchasing for specific food groups. Reasons for eating in accordance with MyPlate included: 1) health status/disease prevention, 2) weight status, 3) nutritional balance, 4) increased energy. Nutrition campaigns may benefit from images that do not put food categories into narrow boxes. Work is needed to address systemic, environmental, and individual factors in food accessibility across settings that affect guideline adherence. Findings can support local and federal funding initiatives addressing barriers to healthful eating and provide targeted educational tools beyond MyPlate.
ISSN:1932-5037
2168-3751
DOI:10.1080/19325037.2023.2253880