TY - JOUR
T1 - Qualitative Research on the Perceptions of Factors Influencing Diet and Eating Behaviors Among Primarily Latinx Seventh-Grade Students
AU - Masek, Emily
AU - Gonzalvez, Anaid
AU - Rankin, Lela
AU - Vega de Luna, Beatriz
AU - Valdez, Héctor J.
AU - Hartmann, Leopoldo
AU - Lorenzo, Elizabeth
AU - Bruening, Meg
AU - Marsiglia, Flavio F.
AU - Harthun, Mary
AU - Vega-López, Sonia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Background: Latinx youth are a population of concern, at elevated risk for chronic diseases and with poor adherence to dietary recommendations. Objectives: To examine Latinx seventh-grade students’ perceptions of the factors that influence their diet and eating behaviors. Design: This qualitative research used focus groups and an inductive content analysis approach. Participants/setting: Five sex-stratified focus groups (three groups with females) with 35 primarily Latinx seventh-grade students were conducted at two local Title 1 public middle schools in a large metropolitan area of the Southwestern United States. Main outcome measures: The discussion protocol included questions about participants’ food choices, the role of their parents in their diet, and healthy body-related concerns among their peers. Analyses: Verbatim transcripts were coded in NVivo 12 on the basis of specificity, extensiveness, and frequency. Themes emerged from group dialogue, detailed conversations, and predominant topics of discussion, and aligned with ecological systems theory. Results: Participants referred to factors influencing Latinx seventh-grade students’ eating behaviors at the individual, family, household, and school levels. At the individual level, participants described their eating as unhealthy and perceived it as determined by taste, convenience, ease of preparation, and home availability. Participants expressed concerns about diabetes because of their body weight and family history, and identified those concerns as reasons for acceptance of healthy foods and the desire for parents to model healthy eating behaviors. Family-level factors perceived as influencing dietary behaviors included the role of parents as providers of food and models of unhealthy eating, budget constraints, and availability (or lack thereof) of healthy foods at home. Similarly, the identified school-level factors aligned with availability and quality of foods in that environment. Conclusions: Family- and household-related factors emerged as important influences on seventh-grade students’ dietary behaviors. Future diet interventions should incorporate strategies targeting these multiple-level factors that influence dietary intake for Latinx youth and that address the concerns related to disease risk.
AB - Background: Latinx youth are a population of concern, at elevated risk for chronic diseases and with poor adherence to dietary recommendations. Objectives: To examine Latinx seventh-grade students’ perceptions of the factors that influence their diet and eating behaviors. Design: This qualitative research used focus groups and an inductive content analysis approach. Participants/setting: Five sex-stratified focus groups (three groups with females) with 35 primarily Latinx seventh-grade students were conducted at two local Title 1 public middle schools in a large metropolitan area of the Southwestern United States. Main outcome measures: The discussion protocol included questions about participants’ food choices, the role of their parents in their diet, and healthy body-related concerns among their peers. Analyses: Verbatim transcripts were coded in NVivo 12 on the basis of specificity, extensiveness, and frequency. Themes emerged from group dialogue, detailed conversations, and predominant topics of discussion, and aligned with ecological systems theory. Results: Participants referred to factors influencing Latinx seventh-grade students’ eating behaviors at the individual, family, household, and school levels. At the individual level, participants described their eating as unhealthy and perceived it as determined by taste, convenience, ease of preparation, and home availability. Participants expressed concerns about diabetes because of their body weight and family history, and identified those concerns as reasons for acceptance of healthy foods and the desire for parents to model healthy eating behaviors. Family-level factors perceived as influencing dietary behaviors included the role of parents as providers of food and models of unhealthy eating, budget constraints, and availability (or lack thereof) of healthy foods at home. Similarly, the identified school-level factors aligned with availability and quality of foods in that environment. Conclusions: Family- and household-related factors emerged as important influences on seventh-grade students’ dietary behaviors. Future diet interventions should incorporate strategies targeting these multiple-level factors that influence dietary intake for Latinx youth and that address the concerns related to disease risk.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Diet
KW - Family
KW - Focus groups
KW - Latinx health
KW - Nutrition
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jand.2023.02.009
DO - 10.1016/j.jand.2023.02.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 36796757
AN - SCOPUS:85152080147
SN - 2212-2672
VL - 123
SP - 1011
EP - 1021
JO - Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
JF - Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
IS - 7
ER -