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Health Education Research Advance Access published online on November 5, 2008
Health Education Research, doi:10.1093/her/cyn053
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The relationship between the food environment and fruit and vegetable intake of adolescents living in Residential Children’s Homes

Alexandra Evans1,*, Marsha Dowda2, Ruth Saunders3, Jacquelynn Buck3, Lauren Hastings3 and Kelli Kenison3

1 Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, Austin Regional Campus, University of Texas School of Public Health, 313 East 12th Street, Suite 220, Austin, TX 78705, USA
2 Department of Exercise Science
3 Department of Health Promotion Education and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29209, USA

Correspondence to: * Correspondence to: A. E. Evans. E-mail: alexandra.e.evans{at}uth.tmc.edu

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between food environments and fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption of adolescents (n = 246) living in Residential Children’s Homes (RCHs) in North and South Carolina, USA. Administrators of 21 RCHs completed the Physical Activity and Dietary Environmental Assessment (PADEA), an instrument assessing FV-related environmental variables of RCHs: (i) policies, (ii) availability, (iii) social environment, (iv) community collaboration and (v) administrative support. Two different approaches using mixed-effects regression models were used to compare FV consumption of adolescents living in RCHs with more conducive food environments compared with adolescents living in RCHs with less conducive environments. Using one approach, PADEA variables were analyzed as categorical data and in the second approach, PADEA variables were analyzed as continuous data. Results indicated greater FV consumption among adolescents residing in RCHs with more conducive food environments compared with less conducive RCHs. Specifically, adolescents living in RCHs with higher levels of administrative support and more FV policies reported greater FV intake compared with adolescents living in RCHs with less support and fewer policies. Food environments are related to adolescents’ dietary behaviors and interventions targeting FV consumption should include strategies to increase administrative support and the development of FV-related policies.

Received on January 27, 2008; accepted on October 1, 2008


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