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Dietary Intakes of Preschool-Aged Children in Relation to Caregivers’ Race/Ethnicity, Acculturation, and Demographic Characteristics: Results from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey

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Abstract

Few studies have examined the influence of acculturation on dietary behaviors of young children while controlling for other demographic variables. The purpose of this study was to assess reported dietary intakes of preschool-aged children (3–5 years) and subsequent associations with caregivers’ race/ethnicity, acculturation and demographic characteristics, using data from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Analysis was restricted to Hispanic and non-Hispanic white caregivers and their preschool-aged children (n = 1,105). Caregivers’ acculturation was assessed using place of birth, duration of United States residence, and language spoken at home. Proxy-reports by caregivers to a dietary screener were used to estimate children’s intakes of fruit, 100% fruit juice, vegetables, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages consumed. In multivariate analyses, Hispanic caregivers reported their children consumed fewer servings of vegetables than did the children of non-Hispanic white caregivers; there were no other statistically significant differences in children’s dietary intakes by caregivers’ race/ethnicity. Caregivers’ acculturation was associated with caregiver-reported consumption of sweets by children (β = 0.09, 95%CI = 0.01–0.18). Demographic characteristics that were associated with reported dietary intakes of children included caregivers’ age, education, and geographic region of residence. In contrast to past studies of acculturation and diet in older children and adults, this study suggests that for 3–5 year olds, caregivers’ level of acculturation does not play as strong a role in the dietary intakes of the younger children under their care.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Chris Zeruto and Tim McNeel of Information Management Services, Inc. (IMS) with data analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Department of Nutrition, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1700 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 2nd Floor, CB #7426, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Temitope O. Erinosho

  2. Applied Research Program, US National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland

    David Berrigan

  3. Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Branch, US National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland

    Frances E. Thompson

  4. Behavioral Research Program, US National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland

    Richard P. Moser

  5. Health Promotion Research Branch, US National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland

    Linda C. Nebeling

  6. Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, Omaha, Nebraska

    Amy L. Yaroch

Authors
  1. Temitope O. Erinosho
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  2. David Berrigan
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  3. Frances E. Thompson
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  4. Richard P. Moser
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Correspondence to Temitope O. Erinosho.

Additional information

This work was done while Dr. Erinosho was a Cancer Research Training Award postdoctoral fellow at the US National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Erinosho, T.O., Berrigan, D., Thompson, F.E. et al. Dietary Intakes of Preschool-Aged Children in Relation to Caregivers’ Race/Ethnicity, Acculturation, and Demographic Characteristics: Results from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey. Matern Child Health J 16, 1844–1853 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-011-0931-5

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