Relationship Between Grocery Shopping Frequency and Home- and Individual-Level Diet Quality Among Low-Income Racial or Ethnic Minority Households With Preschool-Aged Children

Abstract

BackgroundThe home food environment can shape the diets of young children. However, little is known about modifiable factors that influence home food availability and dietary intake. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between grocery shopping frequency with home- and individual-level diet quality. DesignThis was a secondary, cross-sectional analyses of data from the Study on Children’s Home Food Availability Using TechNology. Data were collected in the homes of participants from November 2014 through March 2016. Participants/settingsA purposive sample of 97 low-income African American and Hispanic or Latinx parent–child dyads residing in Chicago, IL, enrolled in the study. Main outcome measuresThe main outcomes were home- and individual-level diet quality. Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) scores were calculated from home food inventory data collected in participants’ homes to assess home-level diet quality. To assess individual-level diet quality, HEI-2010 scores were based on multiple 24-hour diet recalls from parent–child dyads. Statistical analysesGrocery shopping frequency was examined in relation to diet quality at the home and individual levels. Grocery shopping frequency was defined as the number of times households shopped on a monthly basis (ie, once a month, twice a month, 3 times a month, or 4 times or more a month). Multivariable linear regression analysis, controlling for covariates, tested the relationships between grocery shopping frequency and HEI-2010 total and component scores at the home and individual levels. ResultsGrocery shopping frequency was positively associated with home-level HEI-2010 scores for total diet, whole grains, and empty calories (higher scores reflect better diet quality) and with individual-level HEI-2010 scores for total and whole fruit (parents only), vegetables (children only), and sodium (children only). ConclusionsGrocery shopping frequency was associated with multiple dimensions of diet quality at the home and individual levels. These results offer a potential strategy to intervene on home food availability and individual dietary intake.