Latino Adolescent Food Communication in the Context of the Food Guiding Principles and the Family Dinner Routine

Abstract

This paper explores Latino adolescent responses in the context of principles and routines that guide the family dinner. A mixed methods research design was used that included a cross-sectional component (N 78) and qualitative interviews among a subset of the survey population (n 16). The study was conducted in Los Angeles between 2016–2018. Adolescents who followed a healthy family food approach regularly ate dinner together. In contrast, all adolescents whose families followed the path of least resistance approach ate dinner separately. Qualitative interviews provided examples (specific foods; frequency of daily family dinners per week) and context (multiple food preparers, absent fathers, present boyfriends or step-dads) of food responses including specific communications or actions (types of foods prepared or purchased) of the study population. The foods described by the participants in this study are in line with Latino culture as well as other cultural influences, as expected for people living in an urban, multicultural city within the United States.