The relationship of parent and child food choices: Influences of a supermarket intervention

This research project investigated the influences of a supermarket intervention on the food choices of parents and their children. Twenty-four families (11 experimental; 13 control) participated in this study. They used the NLS weekly when they completed their major shopping. The NLS was a public access, interactive information system located in the supermarket which provided users with information and feedback about how to decrease fat and increase fiber in their food purchases. During the intervention, participants in the experimental condition viewed a different videodisc program each week. In addition, they were able to enter their intended shopping purchases for each weekly shopping, and receive feedback about the items they intended to purchase. Control participants entered their intended purchases, but received no information or feedback. All participants sent in their detailed supermarket receipts. The NLS phases included baseline, intervention, and follow-up. Families with children ages 8-15 years were recruited for the family study. Participants were interviewed pre- and post-assessment. One target child was selected from each family. The main family study measures were the Card Sorting Task (CST) and the Food History Questionnaire (FHQ). The CST used pictures of food items. The FHQ was used to evaluate the usual diet over one month. The CST task was analyzed with a Wilcoxon test; the FHQ task was analyzed with an ANCOVA, using the pre-assessment score as the covariate. The results indicated that experimental participants reported an increase in their consumption of low-fat dairy products and low-fat fruit (FHQ data). In addition, experimental participants reported a decrease in their behavior, preference and knowledge for high-fat snacks and high-fat entrees (CST) data. The results suggested that parents and their children may be positively affected by a public-access interactive videodisc information system directed to parent use. Overall, the results provided some evidence that parents who are involved in a nutrition intervention also will influence their children's food choices. Future research should further evaluate the effects of the intervention on different food categories and continue to investigate how changes in certain food choices affect other choices. Variables relating to health beliefs, types of foods to change, meal preparations, family characteristics, and behavior strategies all must be considered in future intervention programming.