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Perceptions, Beliefs, and Implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Consumer Messages by Low‐Income Parents
Author(s) -
Chea Molika,
Mobley Amy R
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.896.7
Subject(s) - clarity , perception , focus group , consumption (sociology) , interpretation (philosophy) , ethnic group , affect (linguistics) , psychology , medicine , low income , social psychology , marketing , business , political science , communication , computer science , neuroscience , socioeconomics , sociology , law , programming language , social science , biochemistry , chemistry
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) contain seven key consumer messages related to the consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, water, lower‐fat milk, sodium, and portion sizes. The objective of this mixed‐method study was to assess interpretation, clarity, feasibility, and implementation of the DGA consumer messages by low‐income families with children ages 3 to 10 years old. One‐on‐one interviews were conducted with low‐income parents (n = 98) and were audio‐taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for themes using the classic analysis approach. Participants were primarily women (97%) and from diverse ethnic or racial backgrounds (34% Hispanic, 33% black). The analysis revealed that the majority of participants perceived they understood all seven DGA consumer messages, and reported messages easy to implement. Some messages were reported as more feasible by participants, such as the message encouraging replacement of sugary beverages with water, while the message related to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption was the most challenging. The interpretation of messages also varied among participants, where they either recognized a call to action associated with the message (drink water) or, erroneously interpreted the content in the message (related to whole grains) or the intended purpose to change a food decision behavior (compare sodium in foods). While most low‐income parents reported understanding the DGA consumer messages, the interpretation of the messages and associated barriers may affect how they are ultimately implemented. Future research efforts should focus on further testing and tailoring of the messages for at‐risk populations to promote behavior change. Support or Funding Information Diet and Health Initiative, UConn