Perspectives of Latino Parents of School-aged Children in Northern Nevada Regarding Beverage Choices and Nutrition Education

This project aimed to explore the role of sugary drinks within the family setting of the Latino community in Northern Nevada. The resulting information will be used to strengthen the on-going Rethink Your Drink campaign. Latino children have a higher rate of sugary drink consumption compared to other race and ethnic groups. In order to reduce sugary drink intake effectively among members of Latino households, nutrition education efforts must be culturally relevant. Thirteen interviews with Latino parents in the Northern Nevada were conducted for the purpose of discovering significant considerations surrounding the beverage choices for their children; and their interests and preferences regarding nutrition information. The resulting qualitative data included the following considerations that Latino parents make when buying drinks for their children: cost, taste, convenience, nutrition, and their child(ren)’s preference. Topics of interest among the Latino parents regarding nutrition information include food for meals, food specifically for snack time, drinks, grocery shopping (including recipes and meal preparation), tips for getting children to eat healthier, weight management, and tips on feeding children when they are sick. Additionally, parents’ preferred methods of obtaining nutrition information were mail, website, class, and other methods such as email. Parents’ preferred professional sources were pediatricians, dentists, other health professionals, and organizations like the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Boys and Girls Club. In conclusion, this qualitative research gathered information from Latino parents of school-aged children to learn more about drink choices in the Latino households as well as their preference of method and source for obtaining nutrition education. Findings from this study may be useful to create additional nutritional education resources and thus may help meet the needs of the Latino comm