Parental Perceived Travel Time to and Reported Use of Food Retailers in Association with School Children's Dietary Patterns

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2019-03, Vol.16 (5), p.824
• Main Authors: Alves, Mariane de Almeida, Pinho, Maria Gabriela M, Corrêa, Elizabeth Nappi, das Neves, Janaina, de Assis Guedes de Vasconcelos, Francisco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beans; Beverages; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Brazil; Child; Children; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Diet - statistics & numerical data; Family income; Fast food; Fast food industry; Fast Foods - statistics & numerical data; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Food Supply - statistics & numerical data; Fruits; Higher education; Humans; Male; Meals; Meat; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Perceptions; Questionnaires; Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data; Restaurants; Restaurants - statistics & numerical data; Secondary education; Secondary schools; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Supermarkets; Transportation - statistics & numerical data; Travel; Travel time; Vegetables
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16050824

Considering the association between the neighborhood food environment and individual eating behaviors, this study aimed to assess the association between parents' reported use of food facilities by their children, and parental perceived travel time to food facilities, with their children's dietary patterns. Parents reported the use of supermarkets, full-service and fast-food restaurants, and perceived travel time to these food retailers. To assess school children's food consumption, a previous day dietary recall was applied. Factor analysis was conducted to identify dietary patterns. To test the association between reported use and perceived travel time to food retailers and school children's dietary patterns, we performed multilevel linear regression analyses. Parents' reported use of supermarkets was associated with children's higher score in the "Morning/Evening Meal" pattern. The use of full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with children's higher score in the "Fast Food" pattern. Higher parental perceived travel time to full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with children's lower score in the "Fast Food" pattern. Although the use of full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with a less healthy dietary pattern, the perception of living further away from these food retailers may pose a barrier for the use of these facilities.