Home food environment shapes adolescent dietary choices

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier, highlights the significant influence of the home food environment on adolescent dietary patterns compared to neighborhood food options. This cross-sectional research study investigates the roles of home and neighborhood food environments like fast-food and convenience stores in shaping dietary behaviors among adolescents, offering valuable insights for addressing adolescent obesity.

The study’s findings emphasize that home food availability, particularly of fruits and vegetables, plays a pivotal role in influencing healthier eating habits both by promoting consumption of healthful foods and reducing the intake of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. By contrast, neighborhood factors such as fast-food availability negatively affected the quality of adolescent dietary intake, suggesting that interventions aimed at modifying the home environment, rather than the neighborhood environment, may have a greater impact on improving adolescent health.

The researchers analyzed data from 204 adolescents in Nebraska collected from a combination of validated questionnaires, geographic information systems (GIS), and dietary recalls to examine food availability at home, the number of fast-food and convenience retailers in the neighborhood environment, and dietary quality and behaviors. The study employed advanced hierarchical regression analyses to identify the unique contributions of home and neighborhood food environments to adolescent dietary outcomes. Data collection included both in-laboratory assessments and follow-up dietary recalls, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of adolescent eating patterns across different contexts.

Key findings reveal that home availability of fruits and vegetables positively predicts healthier eating habits, including higher Healthy Eating Index scores, greater intake of fruits and vegetables, and reduced intake of fast food. In contrast, greater availability of fats and sweets at home correlates with increased consumption of sugary and highly processed snack foods. Notably, neighborhood convenience store counts showed a surprising association with greater nutrient-dense food consumption, and fast-food counts were linked to higher adolescent sugary beverage intake.

Lead author Saira Sarwar, MA, Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, explains, “These findings underscore the importance of targeting the home food environment as a modifiable factor in dietary interventions for adolescents.”

The study’s implications suggest that interventions focusing on enhancing home availability of healthier foods may be more effective than those solely addressing neighborhood food options. Future research is needed to confirm these results and explore how these environments can be modified to combat adolescent obesity.