Relationship between Home Availability of Fruit and Vegetables and Food Choice in 8 to 10 year old New Zealand Children

Background: The prevalence of obesity in New Zealand [NZ] has increased over recent years for both children and adults. Environments which children are frequently exposed to, stand as modifiable areas to shape healthier lifestyles. Existing studies have shown home food availability [HFA] of both healthy and unhealthy foods are associated with an increase in dietary intake in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between home fruit and vegetable availability, home fruit, fruit juice, and vegetable accessibility, and food choices in 8-10 year old New Zealanders. Methods: The Pre-Adolescent Cardio-Metabolic Associations and Correlates [PACMAC] study is a cross sectional study of 8-10 year old children from four major NZ cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin). Questionnaires were completed and provided relevant data for this thesis. The data analysed were question scores for the home availability of fruits and vegetables, home accessibility of fruit, fruit juice and vegetables, and weekly food consumption collected using food frequency questionnaires [FFQ]. Home food availability referred to foods present in the home and was analysed through six qualitative questions based on a five point scale. Home food accessibility referred to foods that were in a form or stored that facilitated consumption and was analysed through two dichotomous questions. Two independent variables were identified for statistical analysis. These were: (i) home fruit and vegetable availability, and (ii) home fruit, fruit juice, and vegetable accessibility. T-tests (two tailed; two sampled-equal variance) were used to statistically analyse relationships. Cohen’s d was used to measure effect size. Results: The total sample size of the study was 98. For the home fruit and vegetable availability variable, children who lived in homes with high availability had higher weekly consumption of the following foods: fruits (P = 0.019, d = 0.58), vegetables (P =