TABLE 1.

Dates of publication, titles, authors, aims, study design, population of focus and main findings for 44 studies addressing household factors of dietary quality and food security in US households of school-aged children from PubMed, years 2012 to December 2022.

Year	Title	Authors	Aim	Study Design	Population	Outcomes/Findings
2020	Associations between parent and child physical activity and eating behaviors in a diverse sample: an ecological momentary assessment study	Wirthlin R; Linde JA; Trofholz A; Tate A; Loth K; Berge JM	Examine the association between parent modeling of physical activity and dietary intake and child dietary intake and physical activity	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 150) Families w/ children (5–7 y)	Parent modeling of dietary intake was significantly linked to child dietary intake. Parent modeling of fruit and vegetable intake was associated with increased fruit and vegetable intake in children. Parent modeling of energy-dense foods (chips, fries, candy, sugar-sweetened beverages) was associated with increased intake of sugar-sweetened beverages in children. No significant association existed for parent modeling of dietary intake and child overall Healthy Eating Index-2010 score.
2019	Barriers and facilitators to healthy eating among low-income Latino adolescents	Beck AL; Iturralde EM; Haya-Fisher J; Kim S; Keeton V; Fernandez A	Explore barriers and facilitators to healthy eating among low-income Latino adolescents	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 30) Low-income adolescents (13–17 y)	Adolescents portrayed basic nutritional knowledge however had significant misconceptions about healthy eating. Adolescents reported parents showed support with healthy eating through purchasing healthy foods, providing home-cooked meals, and role modeling but also that family meals were calorie dense and had low nutrient value. Peers were mainly a negative influence in eating habits. Half reported disliking school lunch, and many reported having easy access to unhealthy food near school.
2020	Barriers to preparing and cooking vegetables are associated with decreased home availability of vegetables in low-income households	Landry MJ; Burgermaster M; van den Berg AE; Asigbee FM; Vandyousefi S; Ghaddar R; Jeans M R; Yau A; Davis JN	Examine the association of barriers to buying and preparing/cooking vegetables and how this relationship differs according to food-security status	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 1942) Parent-child dyads (third–fifth grade)	Significant association found between food-security status & availability of vegetables in the home; food-insecure households had a 15% lower availability of vegetables in the home than food-secure households. Food-insecure households were reported as more likely to report barriers to buying/cooking/preparing vegetables. Reported barriers included cost, practical food knowledge, and skills.
2021	Caregiver feeding practices as predictors for child dietary intake in low-income, Appalachian communities	McIver MB; Colby S; Hansen-Petrik M; Anderson Steeves ET	Describe the use of caregiver modeling, dietary intake, and home food availability, and determine their association with fruit, vegetable, and high-sugar/high-fat snack food intake in children	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 174) caregiver-child dyads (2–10 y)	Greater use of caregiver modeling positively predicted child vegetable intake and negatively predicted child intake of high-sugar/high-fat snacks. Higher caregiver dietary intake of fruit and vegetables was a significant predictor of child fruit and vegetable intake. Higher home availability of healthier foods was associated with child fruit and vegetable consumption and home availability of less health foods predicted child’s intake of high-sugar/high-fat snacks.
2020	Describing independent eating occasions among low-income adolescents	Banna J; Richards R; Jones B; Anderson AK; Reicks M; Cluskey M; Gunther C; Hongu NK; Lora K; Misner S; Monroe-Lord L; Topham G; Wong SS; Lim E	Describe independent eating occasions among low-income early adolescents including the environmental context, foods selected, reasons for choosing foods, and parental rules about foods consumed	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 46) adolescents (10–13 y)	About 58% of eating occasions were classified as independent eating occasions with about 65% as snacks. The top 4 most frequently consumed foods at independent eating occasions were sweets, total fruit, dairy, and whole fruit. Reasons for choosing foods included preference, it was the only option, convenience, availability, and food was given by someone else. Health was reported as the least common reason for choosing foods. Parental rules for independent eating occasions were focused on avoiding certain foods and not eating too much.
2014	Determinants of fruit and vegetable intake in low-income children and adolescents	Di Noia, J; Byrd-Bredbenner C	Identify determinants of fruit and vegetable intake in low-income children and adolescents and to identify which determinants are associated with intake	Systematic review	Articles including low-income children and adolescents (10–19 y)	Three determinants of fruit and vegetable were consistently related to intake were race/ethnicity, fruit and vegetable preference, and maternal fruit and vegetable intake.
2019	Diet and physical activity changes among low-income families: perspectives of mothers and their children	Zhen-Duan J; Engebretsen B; Laroche HH	Explore how mothers and their children influence each other’s diet and physical activity	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 18) low-income women with diabetes and their children (10–17 y)	Two approaches to behavior change were identified from the study, collaborative and noncollaborative approaches. A collaborative approach involved accepting change, encouraging each other, abstaining from buying and eating certain foods, leading by example, mutual expectations, and compromise. Noncollaborative approaches were individualistic with poor communication. Barriers identified included resource constraints and lack of information regarding healthy diets and recipes.
2017	What's being served for dinner? an exploratory investigation of the associations between the healthfulness of family meals and child dietary intake	Trofholz AC; Tate AD; Draxten ML; Rowley SS; Schulte AK; Neumark-Sztainer D; MacLehose RF; Berge JM	Investigate the specific foods available at family meals, the overall healthfulness of the meals, and their association with children’s dietary intake	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 120) Families with children (6–12 y)	Foods from protein and high sodium components were included in most meals and over half had foods from dairy and vegetable components, whereas few had fruit, juice or dark green vegetable components, and almost half had added sugar components. Significant association existed between majority of components served at family dinner meals and child overall dietary intake.
2018	Understanding the process of prioritizing fruit and vegetable purchases in families with low incomes: “A peach may not fill you up as much as hamburger”	Askelson NM; Meier C; Baquero B; Friberg J; Montgomery D; Hradek C	Understand the strategies and priorities of families with low-income related to purchasing fruit and vegetables	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 127) Parents of children in third grade	Parents reported 3 common themes considered when purchasing fruit and vegetables: Shopping strategies were a common and involved making lists, basing meals on sale items, coupon use, limiting shopping trips, buying cheap and in season foods and basing shops around pay checks Prioritizing food purchases based on budget involved sale buying, foods to bulk out meals, shelf-life, likely to be eaten, lack of preparation, cost, and health. Paying for fruit and vegetables a theme. High cost was the most commonly mentioned barrier to fruit and vegetable purchasing. Participants indicated that fruit and vegetable are not a high priority when food budgets are tight as of perceived low satiety level but “junk foods” were perceived as cheaper.
2017	“Stretching” food and being creative: caregiver responses to child food insecurity	Burke MP; Martini LH; Blake CE; Younginer NA; Draper CL; Bell BA; Liese AD; Jones SJ	Examine the strategies and behaviors caregivers use to manage household food supply when children experience food insecurity	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 746) Caregivers of children (<18 y)	Behaviors caregivers reported included making changes in foods purchased or obtained for household meals, which involves prioritizing some foods (hot dogs, chicken, rice) and using foods that can be used to bulk out meals (stew, pasta, soups). Monetary and shopping strategies were also used and involved buying food according to price and shopping at budget stores. Other strategies used were making changes in household meal pattern (eg, smaller portions, cut adult portions or adult not eating, and adapting home preparations like using leftovers and freezing meals). Behaviors to decrease/increase specific foods in children’s diet included reducing protein foods (meat, chicken, beef), followed by reducing veg, grains & starches (bread and rice) and increase grains & starches (bread, rice), protein foods (hot dogs, beans), mixed dishes.
2016	A qualitative investigation of parents’ perspectives about feeding practices with siblings among racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse households	Berge JM; Trofholz A; Schulte A; Conger K; Neumark-Sztainer D	To describe parent feeding practices with siblings	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 88) Parents with at least 2 children (6–12 y)	Most parents reported that decisions on how to feed siblings impacted the foods prepared for meals. Sibling food preferences, planning meals, and in-the-moment decisions were the most common influencers to food choices. Parents managed picky eating by making one meal or providing food option flexibility. Parents report engaging in different feeding practices based on child weight status. Food restriction was reported to be used if the child was overweight, and pressure-to-eat feeding practices were used when one child was a healthy weight.
2018	A qualitative investigation of how mothers from low-income households perceive their role during family meals	Trofholz AC; Schulte AK; Berge JM	Investigate mother’s role during family mealtimes	Observational, qualitative, cross- sectional	(n = 83) Mothers of children (6–12 y)	Mothers described their roles in family meals as helping children make healthy choices at family meals, making the meal happen, monitoring children’s food intake, managing behaviors at the family meals, making the family meal atmosphere enjoyable, and facilitating conversation.
2020	Qualitative evaluation of drivers of eating decisions among SNAP participants in Mississippi	Gray VB; Hardman AM; Byrd SH	Explore food-related decision patterns among SNAP recipients with regard to barriers to healthy eating, perceptions of healthy eating, and healthy eating strategies	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 126) Female caregivers of children (<13 y)	Major drivers of food selection and preparation were cost, convenience, eating habits, family food preferences. Health was a driver when disease was established. Strategies used by participants included couponing, using sale ads, buying in bulk, freezing, shopping at dollar stores, price matching. Participants reported they used food parenting practices in the home. These practices included encouraging healthy eating and changing habits in relation to purchasing food.
2020	Putting knowledge into practice: low-income women talk about food choice decisions	Palmer SM; Knoblauch ST; Winham DM; Hiller MB; Shelley MC	Explore low-income women’s perceived influences of their food choices	Observational, quantitative and qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 36) Low-income women (19–50 y)	Main barriers to healthy eating were convenience/preparation time, cost, family food preferences, and limits to food assistance programs. Facilitators to healthy eating included self-efficacy for nutrition change and nutritional and health knowledge. Sometimes, type of food and amount were modified because of not having enough money for food.
2021	Perceived produce availability and child fruit and vegetable intake: the Healthy Communities Study	Moffat LF; Ritchie LD; Gosliner W; Plank KR; Au LE	Determine the association of parent’s perception of the home food environment and child fruit and vegetable intake and BMI and differences by food-security and income status	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 5138) Children and their parents (4–15 y)	Parent perceptions of produce access was linked to household fruit and vegetable availability. Household fruit and vegetable availability was also linked with child fruit and vegetable intake. A higher fruit and vegetable intake among children was related to lower BMI z-score. Weaker relationships were present among children living in food-insecure or low-income households.
2019	Parents as role models: associations between parent and young children’s weight, dietary intake, and physical activity in a minority sample	Coto J; Pulgaron ER; Graziano PA; Bagner DM; Villa M; Malik JA; Delamater AM	Examine the relationship between child and parent BMI, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity levels	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 86) Parent- children dyad (5–7 y)	Most parents were not healthy role models, and most parents and children did not meet guidelines for healthy weight, fruit and vegetable intake, or physical activity. A significant association was found between the healthy parent role model index score and child-reported fruit and vegetable intake, indicating that parents who were healthier role models had children with higher fruit and vegetable intake.
2021	Family function and eating behaviors among Hispanic/Latino youth: results from the Hispanic Community Children's Health Study/Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth)	Colón-Ramos U; Monge-Rojas R; Smith-Castro V; Wang J; Cheng YI; Perreira KM; Van Horn L; Sotres-Alvarez D; Isasi CR; Gallo LC	Investigate family function, home environment, and eating behaviors among youth	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 1466) Children (8–16 y)	Family support was associated with increased youth fruit and vegetable consumption. Higher youth acculturative stress and increasing youth age was associated with reduced family function and closeness. Household food security was indirectly linked with higher fruit and vegetable intake through family closeness and support. Being older was linked to higher intake of empty calories through family closeness. Authoritarian parenting style was associated with reduced youth fruit and vegetable consumption.
2019	Disrupted relationships, chaos, and altered family meals in food-insecure households: experiences of caregivers and children	Rosemond TN; Blake CE; Shapiro CJ; Burke MP; Bernal J; Adams EJ; Frongillo EA	Investigate the relationships between food insecurity, household chaos, and family meals in the circumstances of food-insecure household	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 20) Caregiver-child dyads (9–15 y)	In food-insecure households, meals varied in frequency, location, and quality, especially when there was less food. Household chaos like conflicts with work and afterschool schedules, little food, child visits, and coping with poverty influenced the frequency and location of meals and strained family interactions during mealtimes. During food shortages, parents reported planning meals to allocate scarce food and using convenience foods.
2016	Eating breakfast together as a family: mealtime experiences and associations with dietary intake among adolescents in rural Minnesota, USA	Larson N; Wang Q; Berge JM; Shanafelt A; Nanney MS	Investigate the prevalence and experience of having family meals at breakfast and to examine the association between meal frequency and adolescent diet quality	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 827) Adolescents (Ninth–Tenth grade)	Family dinner frequency was directly associated with family breakfast frequency. Family breakfast frequency was associated with adolescent involvement in the preparation of breakfast meals and with positive attitudes about mealtime. No association found between family breakfast frequency and total diet quality.
2015	Eating and weight-related parenting of adolescents in the context of food insecurity	Bauer KW; MacLehose R; Loth KA; Fisher JO; Larson NI; Neumark-Sztainer D	Examine differences in the eating and weight-related parenting practices that mothers use with adolescent children in both food-insecure and food-secure households	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n =2,087) Mother- adolescent dyads (12–17 y)	Mothers from households experiencing low or very low food security were more likely to report that they engage in parental control of their child’s diet, including encouraging children to eat, frequently commenting on child’s weight, restricting eating, and pressuring children to eat compared with mothers with food security.
2019	Food parenting practices in rural poverty context	Sano Y; Routh B; Lanigan J	Understand the influences on food parenting behaviors from a parent’s perspective 1) how do mothers describe shaping their children's food experiences? 2) how do mothers negotiate food parenting practices in the context of rural poverty?	Observational, qualitative and quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 55) Women with a child (<13 y)	Results report the use of coercive control strategies (high power), and balanced, bidirectional control practices (low power). These coercive control strategies included parents deciding what and how much food and using food rewards to obtain control over their food and behavior. Structure strategies like choosing available foods, offering limited choice, and modeling desired behaviors were used. Bidirectional control through autonomy support was a method of parenting that involved children in food decisions. Food selection and food parenting were informed by their knowledge and intention to promote their child’s healthy eating and their assessment of the child’s weight.
2019	Food parenting practices that influence early adolescents’ food choices during independent eating occasions	Gunther C; Reicks M; Banna J; Suzuki A; Topham G; Richards R; Jones B; Lora K; Anderson AK; da Silva V; Penicka C; Hopkins LC; Cluskey M; Hongu N; Monroe-Lord L; Wong SS	Investigate both parent and child perspectives on parenting practices that influence food choices during independent eating practices	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 44) Parent-child dyads (10–13 y)	Common ways to influence independent eating occasions included setting rules and expectations and managing food availability and accessibility. Other ways to influence eating practices included teaching, pressure to eat, monitoring, and modeling. Children reported that parents had rules about what they could eat and used certain strategies to monitor eating.
2015	Characteristics of youth food preparation in low-income, African-American Homes: associations with Healthy Eating Index Scores	Sattler M; Hopkins L; Anderson Steeves E; Cristello A; McCloskey M; Gittelsohn J; Hurley K	Gain insight into food preparation among the youth, including how often they are preparing their own food, what techniques are being used, what associations are there between age, gender, and food preparation, and what is the association between youth food prep and dietary quality	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n= 289) Child-adult dyads (9–14 y)	Main food prepared in the home required basic skill, few ingredients, little equipment, easily found ingredients/foods in urban food environment. The most common method of preparation was raw preparation, microwaving, and frying. No association was found between frequency of youth food preparation and total HEI score, HEI sodium, empty calories, or dairy scores. Older age and male sex were associated with lower HEI score.
2017	Determinants of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among low-income children: are there differences by race/ethnicity, age, and sex?	Tasevska N; DeLia D; Lorts C; Yedidia M; Ohri-Vachaspati P	Identify child and parent lifestyle and household demographic factors that predict high sugar-sweetened beverage intake frequency in children from low-income, ethnically diverse communities to inform public health interventions	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 1,403) Parents of children (3–18 y)	Factors linked to lower sugar-sweetened beverage consumption included living in a non-English speaking household, low parental consumption, having a parent with college education or higher, and having moderate consumption of breakfast of 6–7 d/wk compared with 0–2 d/wk. Older children compared to younger had higher intake as did non-Hispanic black compared with white. Six to 11 year olds who were moderate/high consumers of breakfast were 15%–20% points less likely to be in the highest sugar-sweetened beverage category, and 3%–6% more likely to never consume.
2021	Examining factors related to the food insecurity-obesity paradox in low-income mothers and fathers	Taylor EA; Foster JS; Mobley AR	Examine the factors that may be related to the gender disparity in the food insecurity-obesity paradox	Observational, qualitative and quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 25) Mother and father pairs with their child (2.5–10 y)	Results report that parents sacrificing their own diet quality to feed children was a common strategy used in the households. Mothers were significantly more likely to restrict their own food to ensure their children had enough to eat compared to fathers. Strategies parents used to ensure children obtaining enough food included letting children eat their meal first and splitting the remainder, prioritizing where money is spent, or eating something else if there is not enough of the meal.
2020	Factors related to poor diet quality in food-insecure populations	Ranjit N; Macias S; Hoelscher D	To examine food procurement related behaviors and psychosocial attitudes in food-insecure populations	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 1171) Adults (≥18 y)	The food-insecure compared with food-secure group had less healthful diets with less frequency and serving size of fruits and vegetables, were more likely to use cost saving practices, such as comparing prices, and less likely to cook/eat a home-cooked meal or read food labels compared with food secure. There was little difference in anticipatory behaviors between households such as meal planning, making a list. Self-efficacy for healthy eating and planning meals with vegetables were lower among the food-insecure vs food-secure group.
2016	Family chaos and lack of mealtime planning is associated with food insecurity in low-income households	Fiese BH; Gundersen C; Koester B; Jones B	Examine the role of family chaos and mealtime planning in food-insecure and food-secure households	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectionally analyzed	(n = 221) Parents of elementary school children	Family chaos is statistically significant and positively associated with food insecurity. Food-insecure households reported less meal planning than food-secure households.
2019	Food and financial coping strategies during the monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cycle	Kinsey EW; Oberle M; Dupuis R; Cannuscio CC; Hillier A	Explore the nature and timing of coping strategies for managing the SNAP cycle and implications coping mechanisms have for health and financial stability	Observational, qualitative and quantitative, prospective cohort	(n = 12) Mothers receiving the SNAP	Strategies reported to manage the SNAP benefits included: •Adjustments to shopping and eating patterns like adjusting purchasing at each shopping trip, cooking meals at home, menu planning, making shopping lists, buying sale items, couponing, using shopping outlets based on sales/promotions. •Eating less/skipping meals when food is running out to make sure children have enough. •Price and quantity are major determinants. •Mental accounting, constant vigilance, and resilience for food budgeting. •Reliance on social network for emotional and informational support or support through resources.
2016	Food insecurity, overweight and obesity among low-income African-American families in Baltimore City: associations with food-related perceptions	Vedovato GM; Surkan PJ; Jones-Smith J; Anderson Steeves E; Han E; Trude AC; Kharmats AY; Gittelsohn J;	Investigate links between food insecurity, excess body weight, psychosocial factors, and food behaviors	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 298) Caregiver-child dyads (10–14 y)	Patterns of food sources used, food acquisition, preparation, knowledge, self-efficacy, and intentions were not different by food security. Food-secure households had higher level of agreement with healthy food as being affordable when compared with both food-insecure groups and food-insecure groups who experienced hunger. The food-insecure group reported healthy food as being less accessible and less convenient to buy and prepare.
2014	Food preparation supplies predict children’s family meal and home-prepared dinner consumption in low-income households	Appelhans BM; Waring ME; Schneider KL; Pagoto SL	Investigate the association of food preparation supplies availability in the home with family meal frequency and child consumption of home-prepared meals	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 103) Caregivers of child (6–13 y)	Higher food preparation supplies associated with more frequent family meals and child intake of home-prepared meals. More frequent family meals and intake of home-prepared meals was linked to more healthful dietary intake such as higher intake of fruit and vegetables, and reduced sugar-sweetened beverage. Financial strain was associated with reduced family meal frequency.
2018	Friends and family: how African-American adolescents’ perceptions of dietary beliefs and behaviors of others relate to diet quality	Wrobleski MM; Parker EA; Hager E; Hurley KM; Oberlander S; Merry BC; Black MM	Determine if perceived parental dietary beliefs, caregiver-reported parental monitoring of the adolescent diet, and perceived peer eating behaviors are related to adolescent diet quality	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 216) Caregiver-adolescent dyads (11–16 y)	Dietary quality scores among adolescents are positively associated with adolescents’ perceptions of parents’ beliefs regarding nutrition, healthy dietary choices among peers, and caregivers report of parental monitoring of adolescent dietary behavior. Adolescents’ dietary behaviors reflect their perceptions of the social environment.
2020	What a city eats: examining the dietary preferences of families living in communities at high risk for food insecurity	Cummer E; Loyola Amador C; Montez K; Skelton JA; Ramirez B; Best S; Zimmer R; Palakshappa D	Evaluate the dietary patterns, food preferences, and meal preparation methods of families at high risk of food insecurity	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 63) Adults	Sample population showed food preferences with a high intake of calorie dense foods and low consumption of vegetables. Expressed little interest in learning new recipes or cooking methods to assist with healthy eating.
2015	Rural Latino caregivers’ beliefs and behaviors around their children’s salt consumption	Hoeft KS; Guerra C; Gonzalez-Vargas MJ; Barker JC	Examine the knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors of rural Latino caregivers regarding their children’s salt consumption and related health implications	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 61) Caregivers of children (elementary school age or less)	Caregivers recognized sources of sodium and reported they used strategies to reduce their child’s sodium intake; for example, limiting salt used in food preparation, limiting frequency of salty food consumption. However, caregivers overlooked other significant sources of salt like bread, cheese, soup, and sports drinks.
2018	Psychosocial determinants of food acquisition and preparation in low-income, urban African-American households	Henry JL; Trude ACB; Surkan PJ; Anderson Steeves E; Hopkins LC; Gittelsohn J	Identify psychosocial factors influencing food purchasing and food preparation behaviors of adult caregivers in African-American low-income urban communities	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 465) Caregivers of children (10–14 y)	Higher food-related behavioral intention scores were marginally associated with healthier food acquisition, healthier food preparation methods, and lower frequency of purchasing at prepared food sources. Greater food-related self-efficacy was associated with healthy food preparation methods and negatively associated with purchasing at prepared food sources. Higher nutrition knowledge was only associated with lower frequency of purchasing at prepared food sources.
2019	Parenting styles are associated with overall child dietary quality within low-income and food-insecure households	Burke MP; Jones SJ; Frongillo EA; Blake CE; Fram MS	Examine the association between parenting styles and child dietary quality in low-income and food-insecure households	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 171) Parent-child dyads (9–15 y)	Authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles had a significant association such that as parents reported more authoritative parenting attitudes and behaviors, their children were predicted to have higher dietary quality if they also reported average or greater authoritarian attitudes and behaviors. Permissive parenting attitudes and behaviors were negatively associated with child dietary quality.
2016	Low-income mothers’ feeding goals predict observed home mealtime and child feeding practices	Pesch MH; Miller AL; Appugliese DP; Kaciroti N; Rosenblum KL; Lumeng JC	Examine the association of mothers feeding goals with observed home mealtime and feeding practices	Observational, quantitative, longitudinal	(n = 265) Female caregiver-child dyads (mean age of child: 70.8 mo)	Goal of restricting junk food associated with child always eating at the table, but not with mother restricting junk food. Goal of promoting fruit and vegetable associated with mother promoting vegetables. Goals of promoting autonomy and preventing obesity not associated with home mealtime or feeding practices. Parental feeding goals may not turn into feeding practices.
2022	Kitchen adequacy and child diet quality in a racially/ethnically diverse sample	Fertig AR; Trofholz AC; Loth K; Tate AD; Miner M; Neumark-Sztainer D; Westfall EC; Westby A; Berge JM	Investigate the kitchen adequacy of households with young children from low socioeconomic backgrounds with child dietary quality	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n =149) Families with children (5–7 y)	The majority of families had adequate kitchen facilities and supplies in their homes. A kitchen table was associated with higher dietary quality among children. Can openers and measuring spoons present in the household were linked to higher sodium and added sugars, respectively. Results suggest that kitchen adequacy is not a major barrier to overall healthy eating.
2020	Is healthy eating too expensive? How low-income parents evaluate the cost of food	Daniel C	Investigate how low-income consumers evaluate the cost of food	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 34) Caregivers of children (primarily 4–8 y)	Findings report that participants judged the cost of food in 2 ways •Absolute judgment regarding if food would meet family needs with few resources •Relative judgment or evaluation of price in comparison to other foods that make an item affordable or expensive by contrast
2019	“I try, I do:” Child feeding practices of motivated, low-income parents reflect trade-offs between psychosocial- and nutrition-oriented goals	Schuster RC; Szpak M; Klein E; Sklar K; Dickin KL	Understand parents’ goals for feeding their children, underlying motivations for these goals, the strategies they employed to work toward them, and the contextual environment that challenged or facilitated achievement of these goals	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 21) Caregiver of child (3–11 y)	Nutrition and health-oriented goals were reported by parents, which included encouraging child to eat nutritious diet, fostering healthful relationship with food, economizing food costs, reducing parents’ own meal size/frequency, and avoiding inadequate nutrient intake. Psychosocial-oriented goals included having family meals to enhance family relationships and helping child feel secure. Sometimes psychosocial goals were in conflict with nutrition-oriented goals, like giving into child food preferences to avoid conflict or preserve self-esteem.
2017	How parents describe picky eating and its impact on family meals: a qualitative analysis	Trofholz AC; Schulte AK; Berge JM	Examine parents’ experiences and perspectives regarding picky eating in order to understand its impact on families, including during family meals	Observational, qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 88) Caregivers of children (2–18 y)	Picky eating was reported to be disruptive to family meals, creating meal-related stress. Picky eating can lead to altering meal preparation or making separate meals. Strategies parents use in response to picky eating include making child try the food, making separate meal, using take it or leave it approach, or child makes separate meal.
2016	Household, psychosocial, and individual-level factors associated with fruit, vegetable, and fiber intake among low-income urban African-American youth	Trude ABC; Kharmats AY; Hurley KM; Anderson Steeves E; Talegawkar SA; Gittelsohn J	Identify the characteristic, psychosocial, and household factors influencing fruit and vegetable consumption in low-income African-American youth	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 285) Caregiver-youth dyads (10–14 y)	Fruit, vegetable, and fiber intake were positively related to youth intentions and self-efficacy for eating healthy. Youth who received free/low-cost breakfast were more than 2 times as likely to have high fiber intakes as those who did not receive free breakfast. Youth purchasing food at supermarkets was associated with an increase in vegetable serving and fiber intakes. Youth with parents who purchase food at fast-food restaurants showed a 7% decrease in odds for vegetable intake. Self-efficacy, health outcome expectations, intention, and knowledge are important psychosocial factors that may influence eating behavior.
2016	Home food environment factors associated with the presence of fruit and vegetables at dinner: a direct observational study	Trofholz AC; Tate AD; Draxten ML; Neumark-Sztainer D; Berge JM	Investigate what home food environment characteristics are associated with the presence of fruit and vegetables at family dinners	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 120) Families with children (6–12 y)	Home availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables were predictive of fruit and vegetable intake in children and adolescents. Meal planning was linked with the presence of fruit at dinners. Higher parent intake of vegetables was associated with vegetables at dinner.
2013	Eat this, not that! Parental demographic correlates of food-related parenting practices	Loth KA; MacLehose RF; Fulkerson JA; Crow S; Neumark-Sztainer D	Investigate how food-related parenting practices, specifically how restriction and pressure to eat among parents of adolescents differ across sociodemographic characteristics	Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional	(n = 3709) Parents/guardians of adolescents	Parental control over their adolescent regarding how much food to eat, as well as what types of foods the adolescent should avoid was common, especially among parents of race/ethnic minority subgroups, those with less than a high school education, and those with low household income.
2022	Diet quality and contextual factors influencing food choice among adolescents with food security and food insecurity in Baltimore City	Harper K; Caulfield LE; Lu SV; Mmari K; Gross SM	Evaluate differences in overall diet quality and food-related contextual factors between adolescents with food security and insecurity	Observational, quantitative and qualitative, cross-sectional	(n = 61) Adolescents (14–19 y)	No significant differences in overall diet quality or components between food-security groups except for seafood and plant proteins that was higher for food-insecure adolescents, adolescents were influenced by having food available at home and eating family meals.

BMI, body mass index; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program