The validation of a home food inventory

103

102

Objective: Due to a proliferation of measures for different components of the home environment related to childhood obesity, the purpose of the present systematic review was to examine these tools and the degree to which they can validly and reliably assess the home environment. Design: Relevant manuscripts published between 1998 and 2010 were obtained through electronic database searches and manual searches of reference lists. Manuscripts were included if the researchers reported on a measure of the home environment related to child eating and physical activity (PA) and childhood obesity and reported on at least one psychometric property. Results: Of the forty papers reviewed, 48 % discussed some aspect of parenting specific to food. Fifty-per cent of the manuscripts measured food availability/ accessibility, 18 % measured PA availability/accessibility, 20 % measured media availability/accessibility, 30 % focused on feeding style, 23 % focused on parenting related to PA and 20 % focused on parenting related to screen time. Conclusions: Many researchers chose to design new measures for their studies but often the items employed were brief and there was a lack of transparency in the psychometric properties. Many of the current measures of the home food and PA environment focus on one or two constructs; more comprehensive measures as well as short screeners guided by theoretical models are necessary to capture influences in the home on food and PA behaviours of children. Finally, the current measures of the home environment do not necessarily translate to specific subpopulations. Recommendations were made for future validation of measures in terms of appropriate psychometric testing. Keywords Child obesity Home environment Measurement PsychometricsThe prevalence and severity of childhood overweight have increased significantly in the past three decades (1)(2)(3) . Negative sequalae from being overweight during childhood include being at a higher risk for a number of chronic and acute conditions (4) as well as negative social and psychological outcomes (5) . The source for the majority of childhood obesity cases can be attributed to energy imbalance which has been linked to changes in the food and physical activity (PA) environments (6,7) . The home environment has been documented as one that can either facilitate or inhibit healthful eating and PA, and caregivers play a key role in the development of the social and physical environment within a household (8,9) . From a social environment perspective, caregivers serve as role models for PA, dietary and media behaviours and influence the child's health behaviours and weight status through parenting strategies and feeding styles (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21) . In addition, a child participates in more PA when a greater amount of space and active toys are available in the home (22,23) . Likewise, access to food items can impact consumption (24,25) . Similarly, when more screen opportunities are available, children are more likely to engage i...

Section: Food Availability and Accessibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of the home environment related to childhood obesity: a systematic review

Pinard

Yaroch

Hart

et al. 2011

103

102

“…Previous studies have illustrated the interdependence of home food availability and intake of both unhealthy (e.g. soft drinks, snack foods) (14)(15)(16) and healthy (e.g. fruit and vegetables) foods (16)(17)(18)(19) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The home food environment of overweight gatekeepers in the Netherlands

Poelman

Vet

Velema

et al. 2014

Objective: The aim of the present study was to gain insight into (i) processed snackfood availability, (ii) processed snack-food salience and (iii) the size of dinnerware among households with overweight gatekeepers. Moreover, associations between gatekeepers' characteristics and in-home observations were determined. Design: A cross-sectional observation of home food environments was conducted as part of a baseline measurement of a larger study. Setting: Home food environments of overweight and obese gatekeepers in the Netherlands. Subjects: Household gatekeepers (n 278). Mean household size of the gatekeepers was 3·0 (SD 1·3) persons. Mean age of the gatekeepers was 45·7 (SD 9·2) years, 34·9 % were overweight and 65·1 % were obese. Of the gatekeepers, 20·9 % had a low level of education and 42·7 % had a high level of education. Results: In 70 % of the households, eight or more packages of processed snack foods were present. In 54 % of the households, processed snack foods were stored close to non-processed food items and in 78 % of households close to non-food items. In 33 % of the households, processed snack foods were visible in the kitchen and in 15 % of the households processed snack foods were visible in the living room. Of the dinnerware items, 14 % (plates), 57 % (glasses), 78 % (dessert bowls), 67 % (soup bowls) and 58 % (mugs) were larger than the reference norms of the Netherlands Nutrition Centre Foundation. Older gatekeepers used significantly smaller dinnerware than younger gatekeepers. Conclusions: Environmental factors endorsing overconsumption are commonly present in the home environments of overweight people and could lead to unplanned eating or passive overconsumption.

“…This final question was important to gain insight into purchasing decisions that influence what is available in the home. Finally, participants were asked to review and complete the HFI validated by Fulkerson et al (13) , to indicate foods that they typically had in their homes, cross off items they never have in their homes and add any items that are common but were not listed on the original form. The purpose of this phase was to modify the form as it relates to potential cultural food preferences.…”

Section: Focus Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of a home food inventory among low-income Spanish- and Somali-speaking families

Hearst

Fulkerson

Parke

et al. 2012

Self Cite

Objective: To refine and validate an existing home food inventory (HFI) for low-income Somali-and Spanish-speaking families. Design: Formative assessment was conducted using two focus groups, followed by revisions of the HFI, translation of written materials and instrument validation in participants' homes. Setting: Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, USA. Subjects: Thirty low-income families with children of pre-school age (fifteen Spanish-speaking; fifteen Somali-speaking) completed the HFI simultaneously with, but independently of, a trained staff member. Analysis consisted of calculation of both item-specific and average food group kappa coefficients, specificity, sensitivity and Spearman's correlation between participants' and staff scores as a means of assessing criterion validity of individual items, food categories and the obesogenic score. Results: The formative assessment revealed the need for few changes/additions for food items typically found in Spanish-speaking households. Somali-speaking participants requested few additions, but many deletions, including frozen processed food items, non-perishable produce and many sweets as they were not typical food items kept in the home. Generally, all validity indices were within an acceptable range, with the exception of values associated with items such as 'whole wheat bread' (k 5 0?16). The obesogenic score (presence of high-fat, high-energy foods) had high criterion validity with k 5 0?57, sensitivity 5 91?8 %, specificity 5 70?6 % and Spearman correlation 5 0?78. Conclusions: The revised HFI is a valid assessment tool for use among Spanish and Somali households. This instrument refinement and validation process can be replicated with other population groups.