Table 1.
Measures used to assess personal, home/family, peer, school, neighborhood, and media environments
| Variable | Sourcea | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Characteristics | ||
| Weight concerns | Teen | 2-item scale. I think a lot about being thinner; I am worried about gaining weight. Strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, strongly agree (Cronbach’s α=0.83, test-retest r=0.77) |
| Identity as a picky eater | Teen | I am a picky eater. Strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, strongly agree (test-retest r=0.75) |
| Cost barriers to healthy eating | Teen | Eating healthy just costs too much. Strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, strongly agree (test-retest r=0.58) |
| Meal skipping | Teen | During the past week, how many days did you eat breakfast? During the past week, how many days did you eat lunch? During the past week, how many days did you eat dinner? Never, 1–2 days, 3–4 days, 5–6 days, everyday (test-retest r=0.47–0.76). If participants indicated eating any meal fewer than 5 days per week they were classified as skipping meals in a binary variable. |
| Fast food intake | Teen | Past month frequency of eating at the following five types of restaurants (including take-out and delivery): Traditional “burger-and-fries” fast food restaurant, Mexican fast food restaurant, fried chicken restaurant, sandwich or sub shop, pizza places. Never/rarely, 1–3 times/month, 1–2 times/week, 3–4 times/week, 5–6 times, 1+ times per day (test-retest r=0.49). Scored as 0 to 28 times per month; Total meals per month was trimmed at 90 to resolve unrealistic responses. |
| Screen time | Teen | Total weekday/weekend hours in free time spent: watching TV/DVDs/Videos; using a computer (not for homework); using Xbox/play station/other electronic games that you play when sitting? 0, ½ hour, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5+ hours (test-retest r=0.86). Hours spend in each behavior were summed to get the total weekly hours of screen time. Range=0–126 |
| Healthy weight control behaviors | Teen | 6-item scale. Past year engagement in the following six behaviors in order to lose weight or keep from gaining weight: exercise, ate more fruits and vegetables, ate less high-fat foods, ate less sweets, drank less soda pop, watched my portion sizes. Never, Rarely, Sometimes, On a regular basis (Cronbach’s α=0.88, test-retest r=0.71). |
| Involvement in meal preparation | Teen | In the past week, how many times did you help make dinner or supper for your family? Never, 1–2 times, 3–4 times, 5–6 times, 7 times (test-retest r=0.61). Responses were recoded as 0, 1,5, 3.5, 5.5 and 7 hours respectively to be analyzed as a continuous variable. |
| Sleep | Teen | Average hours per night averaged across weekday and weekend days. On an average weekday (Monday-Friday)/weekend day (Saturday or Sunday) what time do you go to bed (to go to sleep)? What time do you get out of bed (to start your day)? Range=4–16 |
| Home/Family Environment | ||
| Meals while watching TV | Teen | In my family, we often watch TV while eating dinner. Strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, strongly agree (test-retest r=0.66) |
| Home soda availability | Teen | Soda pop is available in my home. Never, sometimes, usually, always (test-retest r=0.58) |
| Household food insecurity | Teen | 5-item scale. E.g., The food that we bought just didn’t last, and we didn’t have money to get more. Often true, sometimes true, never true. Higher scores indicate more household food insecurity. (percent agreement=90%) |
| Parental pressure to eat | Parent | 4-item subscale of the Child-Feeding Questionnaire. E.g., My child should always eat all of the food on his/her plate. Disagree, slightly disagree, slightly agree, agree (Cronbach’s α=0.70) |
| Parental restriction of unhealthy food | Parent | 6-item subscale of the Child-Feeding Questionnaire. E.g., I intentionally keep some foods out of my child’s reach. Disagree, slightly disagree, slightly agree, agree (Cronbach’s α=0.86) |
| Parent fast food intake | Parent | In the past week, how often did you eat something from a fast food restaurant, such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Domino’s, or similar places? (pizza counts). Never, 1–2 times, 3–4 times, 5–6 times, 7 times, more than 7 times (test-retest r=0.55). Values of 0, 1.5, 3.5, 5.5, 7, and 8 were assigned to the responses to analyze this as a continuous variable with units count per week. |
| Parent sugar-sweetened beverage intake | Parent | Thinking back over the past week, how often did you drink sugar-sweetened beverages (e.g., regular soda, pop, Kool-Aid)? Less than once per week, 1 drink per week, 2–4 drinks per week, 5–6 drinks per week, 1 per day, 2 or more per day (test-retest r=0.66). Values of 0, 1, 3, 5.5, 7, and 14 were assigned to the responses to analyze this as a continuous variable as frequency per week. |
| Milk is served with dinner | Teen | Milk is served at meals in my home: never, sometimes, usually, always (test-retest r=0.78). |
| Frequency of family meals | Parent | During the past week, how many times did all, or most, of your family living in your household eat a meal together? never, 1–2 times, 3–4 times, 5–6 times, 7 times, more than 7 times (test-retest r=0.63). Values of 0, 1.5, 3.5, 5.5, 7, and 8 were assigned to the responses to analyze this as a continuous variable with units count per week. |
| Encouragement for healthy eating | Teen | Averaged across both parents. My mother/father encourages me to eat healthy foods. Not at all, a little bit, somewhat, very much (test-retest mother r=0.47, father r=0.66) |
| Parent role modeling of milk | Teen | Averaged across both parents. My mother/father drinks milk at dinner. Never, rarely, sometimes, on a regular basis (test-retest mother r=0.71, father r=0.68) |
| Peer Environment | ||
| Peer fast food intake | Peer | Same item as teen. Fast food frequency was average of nominated friends’ responses. |
| Peer sugar-sweetened beverage intake | Peer | Mean servings per day derived from FFQ. Average of nominated friends’ responses was calculated |
| Peer attitudes about healthy eating | Teen | Many of my friends think it is important to eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Not at all, a little bit, somewhat, very much, I don’t know. |
| School Environment | ||
| Fast-food restaurant and convenience store presence in 800m | GIS | Commercial databases were used along with NAICS codes to identify restaurants and convenience stores, including gas stations, within network buffers. Both chain names and 18 key words (e.g., take out, fried, pizza) were used to identify fast-food restaurants. |
| Availability of competitive foods | Food Service | 2-item scale. Are there any vending machines in your school that are available to students before or during the school day? Yes, No. Does your school offer a la carte options at lunch? Yes, No. Scored as 0 for no to both, 1 for yes to one and 2 for yes to both. |
| Corporate sponsorship | Admin | School reports any partnering with food/beverage companies when asked about 6 categories (restaurant nights, sponsorships, contests, scholarships, support for athletics, or other; yes/no) |
| School commitment to promotion of healthy eating | Admin | In your opinion, to what extent has your school made a serious/real effort to promote healthy food and beverage habits among students? Not at all, to a little extent, to some extent, to a great extent, to a very great extent |
| School health or nutrition council | Food Service | Does your school have a health or nutrition advisory council made up of school staff, students, and parents that provide input about the types of foods available at school? Yes, No |
| Neighborhood Environment | ||
| Fast-food restaurant presence in 1200m | GIS | Commercial databases were used along with NAICS codes to identify restaurants and both chain names and 18 key words (e.g., take out, fried, pizza) were used to identify fast-food restaurants within network buffers |
| Fast-food restaurant density in 1600m | GIS | Dichotomized to reflect if 5 or more fast food restaurants present within network buffers |
| Convenience store presence in 1200m | GIS | Commercial databases were used along with NAICS codes to identify convenience stores, including gas stations, within network buffers |
| Convenience store density in 1600m | GIS | Dichotomized to reflect if 5 or more convenience stores present within network buffers |
| Media Environment | ||
| SSB in favorite shows | Media | The average number of times that sugar-sweetened beverages appeared in teens’ three favorite shows. |
SSB, sugar sweetened beverage intake; GIS, geographical information systems, FFQ, food frequency questionnaire, NAICS, North American Industrial Classification System
a
Teen (Adolescent Survey), Parent (Parent Survey), Peer (Link to identified peers’ Adolescent Survey), Admin (survey completed by school administrator), Food Service (survey completed by school food service personnel), GIS (GIS linking to school and home neighborhood), Media (content analysis of adolescent identified favored TV shows)