The Role of Availability as a Moderator of Family Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Abstract

The public health objective to improve the diet of Americans includes increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V). The availability of F&V in the home has been suggested but not confirmed as one environmental factor that influences the types and quantities of F&V eaten by family members. Using a model of parental and child influences on a child’s intake of F&V, the authors investigated F&V availability as a moderating variable for the relationships between the model constructs and how the relationships might change with varying levels of F&V availability. Path analysis and multigroup structural equation modeling were the analytic tools. Results indicated that homes with more F&V available had a richer and generally stronger set of motivating factors for parent and child F&V consumption than homes with low F&V availability. Findings have implications for parental involvement in interventions to enhance the diet of fourth-grade children.