Parent-child dietary intake resemblance in the United States: Evidence from a large representative survey

We studied the association in dietary intakes and patterns between parents (aged 20-65 years) and their children (aged 2-18 years), using nationally representative data collected by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals 1994-96. We analyzed two 24-h recall dietary data for 1061 fathers, 1230 mothers, 1370 sons and 1322 daughters. All analyses adjusted for sampling design complexity. We assessed multivariate-adjusted parent-child correlations in selected nutrients, food groups and overall dietary quality assessed using the new USDA 2005 Healthy Eating Index score (HEIn). The parent-child correlations were weak or moderate (0.20-0.33) for most intake measures. There were clear patterns of interaction with gender dyads in the intakes of calcium and dairy products (PÂ USA Dietary Diet Dietary quality Ethnicity Food intake Familial aggregation Child CSFII Gender