ERIC Number: EJ1008129
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1499-4046
EISSN: N/A
Differences in Home Food and Activity Environments between Obese and Healthy Weight Families of Preschool Children
Boles, Richard E.; Scharf, Cynthia; Filigno, Stephanie S.; Saelens, Brian E.; Stark, Lori J.
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, v45 n3 p222-231 May-Jun 2013
Objective: To develop and test a home food and activity instrument to discriminate between the home environments of obese and healthy weight preschool children. Design: A modified questionnaire about home environments was tested as an observation tool. Setting: Family homes. Participants: A total of 35 obese children with at least 1 obese caregiver were compared with 47 healthy weight children with no obese caregivers. Main Outcome Measures: Home observation assessments were conducted to evaluate the availability of devices supporting activity behaviors and foods based on availability, accessibility, and readiness to be eaten. Analysis: Agreement statistics were conducted to analyze psychometrics and MANOVAs were conducted to assess group differences, significance, P less than 0.05. Results: Home observations showed acceptable agreement statistics between independent coders across food and activity items. Families of obese preschoolers were significantly less likely to have fresh vegetables available or accessible in the home, were more likely to have a television in the obese child's bedroom, and had fewer physical activity devices compared with healthy weight preschoolers. Conclusions and Implications: Families of young children live in home environments that were discriminatively characterized based on home observations. Future tool refinement will further clarify the impact of the home environment on early growth. (Contains 5 tables.)
Descriptors: Physical Activities, Preschool Children, Observation, Psychometrics, Family Environment, Obesity, Questionnaires, Statistical Analysis, Body Weight, Eating Habits, Food, Television, Comparative Analysis
Elsevier. 3251 Riverport Lane, Maryland Heights, MO 63043. Tel: 800-325-4177; Tel: 314-447-8000; Fax: 314-447-8033; e-mail: JournalCustomerService-usa@elsevier.com; Web site: http://www.elsevier.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A