Food Choice

Rates of childhood obesity and comorbidities have been escalating steadily over the past three decades. Children’s food environment may promote excessive consumption of energy-dense food. This concurrent mixed-methods dissertation examined the relationship between physical home food environment (availability and accessibility) and body mass index (BMI) of middle school children within the contextual process of their food choices. Sixty-five children from a U.S. public middle school were enrolled. BMI z-scores were calculated based on measured weight and height, and derived against national reference data for standardization. Food store receipt and purchase log data were collected as a measure of home food availability. Home food accessibility, dietary intake, and other BMI covariates were measured via questionnaires and recalls. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted (n=58 participants). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of children (n=47 participants) to explore factors that affect their food choices in the home. A data-driven content analysis was performed. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated in analysis by exploring the differences in qualitative data by overweight status and in th