Greater Home Fruit and Vegetable Availability among Underserved Families after Participating in a Nutrition Program: The Athletes for Life Study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo compare home fruit and vegetable (FV) availability between previous Athletes for Life (AFL) participants and a comparison group (CG).MethodsThe AFL group completed AFL 3 months prior to data collection. AFL was a twice weekly‐10 week health promotion intervention delivered in a community center to underserved families with a 6‐11 year old child. Parent sessions included a 45‐min nutrition lesson that utilized education, hands‐on activities, and behavior change strategies to promote improvements in dietary habits and the home food environment. Child sessions included a 10‐min interactive nutrition lesson. CG were families with a 6‐11 year old child who received no intervention prior to data collection. Trained research assistants assessed home FV availability at participants' homes via a modified Home Food Inventory that included 26 fruits and 20 vegetables. Analyses were a cross‐sectional comparison between AFL and CG. An independent samples t‐test examined differences in FV availability between groups.ResultsAFL parents (n=14) were 36.5±5.6 years, 100% Latino immigrants, 93% living with partner, 71% BMI > 25, with 2.9±1.6 children. CG (n=20) parents were 38.3±8.1 years, 90% Latino, 80% immigrants, 90% living with partner, 94% BMI > 25, with 2.6±1.1 children. The AFL group had significantly higher vegetable (9.1±3.3 vs. 7.3±2.0; p<0.05) but not fruit (7.6±3.6 vs. 5.9±2.0; p>0.05) availability than the CG. Combined FV availability was significantly higher in the AFL group (p<0.05).ConclusionThe AFL program shows promise for improving availability of vegetables in the home, which may influence family dietary patterns.