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Away from home eating is associated with increases in dietary energy density in US children: Findings from the National Youth Fitness Survey
Author(s) -
Tacinelli Angela,
Vernarelli Jacqueline A
Publication year - 2017
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.31.1_supplement.642.8
Subject(s) - overweight , obesity , affect (linguistics) , environmental health , gerontology , national health and nutrition examination survey , medicine , public health , national health interview survey , healthy eating , demography , psychology , physical activity , population , physical therapy , nursing , communication , sociology
Eating behaviors is a primary contributor to many growing health concerns among the general public, including obesity. The impact of family meals and eating behaviors and its affect on children's overall health has been of particular interest with a changing society. With an increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity among youth, these topics become crucial in public health education that need to take place. Dietary ED (kcal/gram) is an established risk factor for obesity in adults and children. The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourages the consumption of a diet low in energy density, though specific strategies decreasing ED have not been established. The objective of this study was to determine how family eating habits affect dietary intake and overall health status in a nationally representative sample of youth residing in the US who participated in the 2011–2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey Health Survey. A significant positive linear relationship between the number of times that meals were eaten away from home and dietary energy density after controlling for age, sex, race, BMI, and family income (p‐trend, 0.0001). Children who consumed 7 meals away from home had an adjusted dietary ED of 1.76 kcal/g vs. 1.35 kcal/g for children who never ate meals away from home, p<0.0001. Evaluating family eating behaviors may provide insight to potential targets for public health education that encourage eating meals at home to help lower dietary ED, thus reducing risk for obesity and encourage healthy eating habits at an early age.Number of meals eaten away from home and dietary energy density. Mean dietary energy density after adjusted for age, sex, race, BMI, and family income (p‐trend, 0.0001)