Food spending behaviors and perceptions are associated with fruit and vegetable intake among parents and their preadolescent children.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the role of food spending behaviors and perceptions on fruit and vegetable intake among preadolescent children and their parents.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Metropolitan city.

PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred fifty-five parent/child dyads participating in the PARADE study. More than 50% of participants were African American and nearly 40% of households were low income.

VARIABLES MEASURED: Body mass index calculated from child anthropometric data and parents' self-reported height and weight. Adult and child fruit and vegetable intake, annual household income, and food purchase behavior and perceptions obtained from parent questionnaire.

ANALYSIS: Analysis of variance used to identify differences in means at P<.05 level.

RESULTS: No statistically significant differences in fruit and vegetable intake by income status were observed. Children in households spending the least per week on groceries consumed fewer daily fruits and vegetables. Perceptions of cost of fruits and vegetables were also found to be significantly associated with fruit and vegetable intake among children and parents.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Public health efforts to raise awareness of the relatively low cost of fruits and vegetables should be continued. These efforts may be complemented with policy strategies that make fruits and vegetables more viable options for low-income households.