Poster #103 - Relationships between mealtime patterns and weight status in Hispanic families.

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

Background: Research has shown an increased frequency of shared mealtimes is associated with positive health outcomes such as reduced risk for eating disorders, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, less calorie intake for dense foods, and lower risk for childhood and adult obesity (Fiese, Hammons, & Grigsby-Toussaint, 2012). In particular, sharing three or more meals per week reduced the odds of being overweight by 12% (Hammons & Fiese, 2011; Fiese et al., 2012). This study examines the influence of mealtime planning, frequency of shared mealtimes, and family mealtime cohesion on obesity in Hispanic families.
Participants: This study used the larger Multi-State Abriendo Caminos Intervention program data. Hispanic mothers (N= 207) completed surveys at pre-intervention time points from Illinois and California sites. Of 207 mothers, 96.1% of mother’s country of origin is Mexico. Seventy-six percent of our sample had less than a high school education from the U.S., approximately 70% had less than a high school education from their country of origin, and the majority were married (56.8%). Additionally, 79.2% of the sample had an income of $30,000 annually or less. Children ranged from 5-18 years (M = 9.4 SD = 3.2) and most were female (60%). Eighty-six percent of the mothers were overweight or obese, and 48.2% of the children were overweight or obese.
Methods: A series of multiple regression models were estimated to assess the association between parent-child weight status, mealtime planning (Fiese et al., 2012), shared frequency of meals, and mealtime cohesion (Wiley, Flood, Andrade, Aradillas-Garcia & Up Amigos Study Group, 2011). The first model included mother’s or child’s body mass index (BMI) dependent on the outcome and family mealtime planning. Models two and three included the separate effects of frequency of shared mealtimes and mealtime cohesion, respectively.
Results: The results showed that child’s BMI percentile, mealtime planning, and the number of shared meals were predictors of mother’s BMI. The only significant predictor for child’s BMI percentile was mother’s BMI. See table 1 for results of regression analysis.
Conclusion. Although we see more mealtime environment effects for mother’s BMI, there is an association between a child’s BMI percentile and mother’s BMI. In past research, mealtime routines and the specifics of where one eats dinner in the home to children helping with meal preparation impacted family BMI (Wansink & van Kleef, 2014). Since mothers typically manage mealtime routines and bring in family members to help with the process, this is an important factor to understand as behaviors are passed down to their kin. For these reasons, family mealtimes are an optimal routine for parents and children to engage in and learn healthy dietary patterns and health behaviors affecting weight status.

Authors

• Elizabeth Villegas, University of Illinois Champaign Urbana
  Presenting Author

• Amber Hammons, California State University, Fresno
  Non-Presenting Author

• Margarita Teran-Garcia, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author

• Barbara Fiese, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author