Table 2.
Description of measures used in the Family Matters study to describe the home food environment and dietary intake of racially/ethnically diverse children
| Variable | Response options | Description of variable |
|---|---|---|
| Family meal variables (online survey) | ||
| During the past 7 d, how many times did all, or most of your family living in your house, eat… | ||
| Breakfast together? | 0 d; 1–2 d; 3–4 d; 5–6 d; 7 d | Items were analysed as continuous random variables. Categories were recoded to the midpoint value and maximum values were recoded to 1 plus the lower category value |
| Lunch together? | ||
| Dinner or supper together? | ||
| In the past week, how many times did (child) help prepare food for dinner? | 0 d; 1–2 d; 3–4 d; 5–6 d; 7 d | |
| In the past week, how many times was a family meal purchased from a fast-food restaurant, eaten either at the restaurant or at home? | Never; 1–2 times; 3–4 times; 5–6 times; 7 times; more than 7 times | |
| Dietary intake variables (24 h dietary intake data) | ||
| HEI-2010 score | The NDSR system aggregates foods into subgroups and nutrient profiles are provided per day and per meal. The nutrient profiles of three 24 h periods are averaged to produce all measures of dietary intake | Using 24 h dietary intake data, HEI-2010 scores were created. HEI-2010 scores sum the scores of twelve categories: Total fruit; Whole fruit; Total vegetables; Greens and beans; Whole grains; Dairy; Total protein foods; Seafood and plant proteins; Fatty acids; Refined grains; Sodium; and Empty calories*. The possible HEI-2010 range is 0–100 with a higher score indicating a better diet quality |
| Fruit intake | Non-snack fruit categories (e.g. citrus fruits) | For all dietary intake components: three 24 h dietary recalls were collected for the 5–7-year-old child. The recalls were averaged to provide overall dietary intake. Food categories data (fruit, dairy) are presented as servings. Scores range from 0 servings or higher |
| Vegetable intake | Non-fried vegetable categories (e.g. dark green, tomatoes, starchy vegetables) | |
| 100 % Juice intake | 100 % fruit juice and 100 % vegetable juice | |
| Dairy intake | Regular and flavoured milk and yoghurt; cheese; frozen dairy desserts and ice cream; non-dairy milk and cheese | |
| SSB intake | Sweetened coffee, tea and water; soft drinks; fruit drinks | |
| Whole grains intake | Whole-grain breads, grains (e.g. quinoa), crackers, pastas, cereals; baked goods; snacks (snack bars); popcorn | |
| Refined grains intake | Refined-grain breads, grains (e.g. white rice), crackers, pastas, cereals; baked goods; snacks (snack bars) | |
| Sodium intake | Assessed in milligrams | |
| Daily energy intake | Assessed in kilocalories | |
| Home food availability variables (HFI data) | ||
| No. of types of fruit | Yes/No | Summed the number of types of fruits present in home (possible range: 0–30 types of fruits). If a type of fruit was present, researchers noted which form(s) the fruit was in (i.e. fresh, canned, frozen and/or dried) |
| No. of types of FRESH fruit | Yes/No | |
| No. of types of FROZEN fruit | Yes/No | |
| No. of types of CANNED fruit | Yes/No | |
| No. of types of DRIED fruit | Yes/No | |
| No. of types of vegetables | Yes/No | Summed the number of types of vegetables present in home (possible range: 0–24 types of vegetables). If a type of vegetable was present, researchers noted which form(s) the vegetable was in (i.e. fresh, frozen and/or canned) |
| No. of types of FRESH vegetables | Yes/No | |
| No. of types of FROZEN vegetables | Yes/No | |
| No. of types of CANNED vegetables | Yes/No | |
| No. of types of SSB | Yes/No (soft drinks; fruit drink; sports drinks; sweetened teas and water) | Summed the number of types of SSB present in home (possible range: 0–8 types of SSB) |
| No. of types of whole grains | Yes/No (whole-grain breads, grains (e.g. millet), pastas, crackers, cereals) | Summed the number of types of whole grains present in home (possible range: 0–12 types of whole grains) |
| No. of types of quick-cook foods | Yes/No (microwaveable foods (e.g. hot pockets, burritos); quick-cook meats (e.g. chicken nuggets, hot dogs); quick rice/noodle meals (e.g. canned ravioli, ramen noodles), frozen dinner meals (e.g. TV dinner)) | Summed the number of types of quick-cook foods present in home (possible range: 0–21 types of quick-cook foods) |
| No. of types of candy | Yes/No (chocolate, hard/chewy candy, fruit snacks) | Summed the number of types of candy present in home (possible range: 0–6 types of candy) |
| No. of types of baked goods | Yes/No (baked goods (e.g. cookies, cupcakes), pastries) | Summed the number of types of baked goods present in home (possible range: 0–8 types of baked goods) |
| No. of types of chips/crackers | Yes/No (crackers and chips (regular and reduced fat), pretzels, snack mixes) | Summed the number of types of chips/crackers in home (possible range: 0–16 types of chips/crackers) |
| Accessibility of fruits and vegetables | Yes/No (fresh/canned fruits and/or vegetables accessible in kitchen; ready-to-eat fruits and/or vegetables accessible in refrigerator) | Responses were summed; a higher score indicated more accessible fruits and vegetables (possible range: 0–5) |
| Accessibility of SSB | Yes/No (SSB accessible in kitchen and/or refrigerator) | Responses were summed; a higher score indicated more accessible SSB (possible range: 0–3) |
| Accessibility of snacks | Yes/No (snacks (e.g. chips, baked goods) accessible in kitchen) | Responses were summed; a higher score indicated more accessible snacks (possible range: 0–5) |
| Covariates | ||
| Which of the following best describes your (parent) work situation? | Working full-time; Working part-time; Stay at home caregiver; Currently unemployed, but actively seeking; Not working for pay (unable to work, retired, student, etc.) | Survey questions; assessed as categorical variables |
| What is your yearly TOTAL HOUSEHOLD income? (i.e. income from ALL family members whose job helps support the family). This includes wages, cash assistance, Social Security, child support, etc. | Less than $US 20 000; $US 20 000–34 999; $US 35 000–49 999; $US 50 000–74 999; $US 75 000–99 999; $US 100 000 or more | |
| Does your family get public assistance (like food support/stamps, SNAP, WIC, TANF, SSI or MFIP)? | Yes; No; I don’t know | |
| Child weight status | Non-overweight (<85th BMI percentile); Overweight (≥85th BMI percentile <95th BMI percentile); Obese (≥95th BMI percentile) | BMI percentile values were calculated using an online CDC calculator† |
| Number of people in home | Sum of number of adults in home and number of children in home | Reported by parent at first home visit |
| Household structure | One parent (no other adults); One parent with other adults; Two parents (no other adults); Two parents with other adults | Age and relationship to child of each person living in home reported by parent at first home visit |
HEI-2010, Healthy Eating Index-2010; SSB, sugar-sweetened beverages; HFI, home food inventory; SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; WIC, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; SSI, Supplemental Security Income; MFIP, Minnesota Family Investment Program; NDSR, Nutrition Data System for Research; TV, television; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
*
University of Minnesota, Nutrition Data System for Research (2014) Guide to creating variables needed to calculate scores for each component of the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010). https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4snm2Q3-ffQQTVHUWE1NGNxUnc/view (accessed June 2017).
†
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) Growth charts. http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/ (accessed June 2017).