Abstract:Home food environment contributes in the development of the eating habits and influences the consumption patterns of the children thus impacting their health and nutritional status. The present study aims to evaluate the parent’s nutritional knowledge and the home food environment (HFE) of the children between the ages of 10 to 12 years residing in Mumbai city.
Methodology: A Cross- sectional study was conducted in three schools of Mumbai suburb region. 125 parent and child pairs were the participants of the study selective via convenience sampling method. The variables used in the study are Parent feeding styles, Home food environment and Nutritional knowledge of the parents. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to predict the relationship between the dietary intakes of the children with the HFE factors.
Results: The study found frequent availability and visibility of fruits, vegetables as well as energy dense snacks in most of the households. The availability of GLV was found to be associated with its consumption by the children (p = 0.05), consumption of chocolates was associated with parent’s consumption and its availability (p = 0.031 and p = 0.004 respectively). Consumption of wafers / chips by the children was observed to be higher when the parents did not decide the snack timings of the children (p = 0.030). Parents nutritional knowledge about vegetable consumption was positively associated with its intake in the children (p = 0.017).
Conclusion: The home food environment factors work in an interrelated manner in influencing the consumption patterns and the health of the children.