Family Food Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants and Recruitment
2.2. Measures
2.3. Procedure
2.4. Analysis
3. Results
3.1. “We Just Eat a Little More”: Changes in Eating Habits
“Every time we go to the store, although sometimes I don’t take the girls, but the times I’ve taken them, I’ve noticed that they grab more things, like chips, like Hot Cheetos, sodas, things… just things that are not good for them. Cookies, cupcakes, things that I ask them why they grabbed all that, and they say, ‘I feel like it’. It’s the easiest thing they can get to take to the rooms to eat, and this wasn’t done before.”(4SR)
“We Can See It in the Size of the Children’s Clothing”: Weight Gain
“They finish their classes, we pick up, eat, and we watch TV, and it has to be Sabritas, there are some cookies, a cake, yes. Yes, the truth is, it hurts us to be in the house because we cannot go out to the park to run or play. We watch TV, we crave a bag of cookies, we bring them, or a bag of popcorn. The truth is, we are all gaining weight.”(7S0)
3.2. “It Is Constant, ‘Can I Have a Snack?’”: Increases in Snacking
“For their snack, pure fries are what they eat. If I make them, just like [other participant] said, something healthy, they don’t want that and they grab a sausage or a sandwich, that’s a snack for them. The way I see it, it’s like junk food.”(2SX)
“There are even times that when they grab it, they offer it to me, and it makes it easier for me to say, ‘oh, yes’, or just to have a moment when we sit down to eat a snack together to talk. So, my consumption is also, it has increased a lot, especially because they tell me, ‘oh my partner ate such a snack. Will you buy it for me? My partner told me about such a snack, let’s try it.’ So, the increase has definitely increased for both of us.”(5SV)
“I was snacking a lot, a whole lot of bad stuff because I don’t know, I would find myself going to the Dollar Store, at least I would walk to the Dollar Store. I would get my favorite candies, my chips, and I guess it was my way of coping, I guess. I was not working, I would get bored, and I would snack on all the bad stuff.”(1E3)
3.3. “We Do It Every Day”: Changes in Mealtime Frequency
“And so now we have meals like all together three times a day and, before the pandemic, we probably had dinner as a family together.”(4EX)
3.4. “It’s Been Very Positive”: Family Mealtimes Have Helped Keep Family Members Connected during the Pandemic
“I think it has been great. I think, you know, it is really hard with the job change. I feel like the kids are stuck home by themselves so much, my older kids especially. I feel a little more isolated, that we are not there as much. And, so, having the consistency of us sitting home and being together is like kind of a grounding focusing point for all of us. We are all there together, no one is missing. We are still a family; we are still here. Even though you may feel alone during the day, you know we are still functioning, we are still here. I think that has been good. It has given us a real sense of family and togetherness where a lot of times we were not having that because we were still working, there was no pandemic, the kids were going to school. Dinner time has given us a sense of normalcy.”(5EA)
“For us, it has been more positive because my children have been learning, I have been delegating them responsibilities. Some set the table, others, when we finish, cleaning the table, others wash. We have begun to share that task because the majority were in class or work. We have bonded more and, for us, personally, it is very beneficial for me.”(7SO)
3.5. “They Just Want to Be Glued to a Tablet While They Eat”: Increase in Screen Time during Meals
“For the most part, something is always on. Even if something is just in the background, there is always some kind of noise going on. I would say we are not as great at keeping our phones off the table. Sometimes they are kind of distracting and I have to remind myself I have to put it down, it can wait, it is not that big of a deal. I personally reach for my phone way more than I should. It is just a habit. I am home all day. It is my way of socializing with the outside world. I sometimes forget that it can wait. My husband and my kids can use my undivided attention. So, the TV is usually on.”(5ET)
4. Discussion
4.1. Changes in Eating Behaviors during the Pandemic
4.2. Positivity in Time Together
4.3. Screen Time during Meals
4.4. Strengths and Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Santiago-Torres, M.; Adams, A.K.; Carrel, A.L.; LaRowe, T.L.; Schoeller, D.A. Home Food Availability, Parental Dietary Intake, and Familial Eating Habits Influence the Diet Quality of Urban Hispanic Children. Child. Obes. 2014, 10, 408–415. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- McIntosh, W.A.; Kubena, K.S.; Tolle, G.; Dean, W.R.; Jan, J.S.; Anding, J. Mothers and meals. The effects of mothers’ meal planning and shopping motivations on children’s participation in family meals. Appetite 2010, 55, 623–628. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Hennessy, E.; Hughes, S.O.; Goldberg, J.P.; Hyatt, R.R.; Economos, C.D. Permissive Parental Feeding Behavior Is Associated with an Increase in Intake of Low-Nutrient-Dense Foods among American Children Living in Rural Communities. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet. 2012, 112, 142–148. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Hughes, S.O.; Power, T.G.; Fisher, J.O.; Mueller, S.; Nicklas, T.A. Revisiting a neglected construct: Parenting styles in a child-feeding context. Appetite 2005, 44, 83–92. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Czaja, J.; Hartmann, A.S.; Rief, W.; Hilbert, A. Mealtime family interactions in home environments of children with loss of control eating. Appetite 2011, 56, 587–593. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Dave, J.M.; Evans, A.E.; Pfeiffer, K.A.; Watkins, K.W.; Saunders, R.P. Correlates of availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables in homes of low-income Hispanic families. Health Educ. Res. 2009, 25, 97–108. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Petty, M.L.B.; Escrivão, M.A.M.S.; De Souza, A.A.L. Preliminary validation of the Parent Mealtime Action Scale and its association with food intake in children from São Paulo, Brazil. Appetite 2013, 62, 166–172. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Draxten, M.; Fulkerson, J.A.; Friend, S.; Flattum, C.F.; Schow, R. Parental role modeling of fruits and vegetables at meals and snacks is associated with children’s adequate consumption. Appetite 2014, 78, 1–7. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Goldfarb, S.; Tarver, W.L.; Sen, B. Family structure and risk behaviors: The role of the family meal in assessing likelihood of adolescent risk behaviors. Psychol. Res. Behav. Manag. 2014, 7, 53–66. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Middleton, G.; Golley, R.; Patterson, K.; Le Moal, F.; Coveney, J. What can families gain from the family meal? A mixed-papers systematic review. Appetite 2020, 153, 104725. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fulkerson, J.A.; Kubik, M.Y.; Rydell, S.; Boutelle, K.N.; Garwick, A.; Story, M.; Neumark-Sztainer, D.; Dudovitz, B. Focus groups with working parents of school-aged children: What’s needed to improve family meals? J. Nutr. Educ. Behav. 2011, 43, 189–193. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Quick, B.L.; Fiese, B.H.; Anderson, B.; Koester, B.D.; Marlin, D.W. A Formative Evaluation of Shared Family Mealtime for Parents of Toddlers and Young Children. Health Commun. 2011, 26, 656–666. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Robson, S.M.; McCullough, M.B.; Rex, S.; Munafò, M.R.; Taylor, G. Family Meal Frequency, Diet, and Family Functioning: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analyses. J. Nutr. Educ. Behav. 2020, 52, 553–564. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Dwyer, L.; Oh, A.; Patrick, H.; Hennessy, E. Promoting family meals: A review of existing interventions and opportunities for future research. Adolesc. Health Med. Ther. 2015, 6, 115–131. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Hammons, A.J.; Fiese, B.H. Is Frequency of Shared Family Meals Related to the Nutritional Health of Children and Adolescents? Pediatrics 2011, 127, e1565–e1574. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Berge, J.M.; Truesdale, K.P.; Sherwood, N.E.; Mitchell, N.; Heerman, W.J.; Barkin, S.; Matheson, D.; Levers-Landis, C.E.; French, S.A. Beyond the dinner table: Who’s having breakfast, lunch and dinner family meals and which meals are associated with better diet quality and BMI in pre-school children? Public Health Nutr. 2017, 20, 3275–3284. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Patrick, H.; Nicklas, T.A. A Review of Family and Social Determinants of Children’s Eating Patterns and Diet Quality. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 2005, 24, 83–92. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bin Zarah, A.; Enriquez-Marulanda, J.; Andrade, J.M. Relationship between Dietary Habits, Food Attitudes and Food Security Status among Adults Living within the United States Three Months Post-Mandated Quarantine: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients 2020, 12, 3468. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Berge, J.M.; Jin, S.W.; Hannan, P.; Neumark-Sztainer, D. Structural and Interpersonal Characteristics of Family Meals: Associations with Adolescent Body Mass Index and Dietary Patterns. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet. 2013, 113, 816–822. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- White, H.J.; Haycraft, E.; Meyer, C. Family mealtime negativity and adolescent binge-eating: A replication and extension study in a community sample. Eat. Behav. 2019, 34, 101306. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fiese, B.H.; Jones, B.L.; Jarick, J.M. Family Mealtime Dynamics and Food Consumption: An Experimental Approach to Understanding Distractions. Couple Fam. Psychol. 2015, 4, 199–211. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tomiyama, A.J.; Dallman, M.F.; Epel, E.S. Comfort food is comforting to those most stressed: Evidence of the chronic stress response network in high stress women. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2011, 36, 1513–1519. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Patterson, J.M. Integrating Family Resilience and Family Stress Theory. J. Marriage Fam. 2002, 64, 349–360. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jansen, E.; Thapaliya, G.; Aghababian, A.; Sadler, J.; Smith, K.; Carnell, S. Parental stress, food parenting practices and child snack intake during the COVID-19 pandemic. Appetite 2021, 161, 105119. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ammar, A.; Brach, M.; Trabelsi, K.; Chtourou, H.; Boukhris, O.; Masmoudi, L.; Bouaziz, B.; Bentlage, E.; How, D.; Ahmed, M.; et al. Effects of COVID-19 Home Confinement on Eating Behaviour and Physical Activity: Results of the ECLB-COVID19 International Online Survey. Nutrients 2020, 12, 1583. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Carroll, N.; Sadowski, A.; Laila, A.; Hruska, V.; Nixon, M.; Ma, D.W.; Haines, J.; on behalf of the Guelph Family Health Study. The Impact of COVID-19 on Health Behavior, Stress, Financial and Food Security among Middle to High Income Canadian Families with Young Children. Nutrients 2020, 12, 2352. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Adams, E.L.; Caccavale, L.J.; Smith, D.; Bean, M.K. Food Insecurity, the Home Food Environment, and Parent Feeding Practices in the Era of COVID-19. Obes. Silver Spring 2020, 28, 2056–2063. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hammons, A.; Olvera, N.; Teran-Garcia, M.; Villegas, E.; Fiese, B. Mealtime resistance: Hispanic mothers’ perspectives on making healthy eating changes within the family. Appetite 2021, 159, 105046. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Hammons, A.J.; Villegas, E.; Olvera, N.; Wilroy, J.; Litterbach, E.; Greder, K.; Fiese, B.; Teran-Garcia, M. The Abriendo Caminos Team. The Evolving Family Mealtime: Findings From Focus Group Interviews With Hispanic Mothers. JMIR Pediatr. Parent. 2020, 3, e18292. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Lincoln, Y.S.; Guba, E.G. Naturalistic Inquiry; SAGE Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, 1985. [Google Scholar]
- Morgan, D.L.; Krueger, R.A.; King, J.A. Focus Group Kit; SAGE Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, 1998. [Google Scholar]
- Braun, V.; Clarke, V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual. Res. Psychol. 2006, 3, 77–101. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Dedoose. 8.3.47 DV. Web Application for Managing, Analyzing, and Presenting Qualitative and Mixed Method Research Data; Sociocultural Research Consultants LLC.: Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2021. [Google Scholar]
- Brown, J. Bowen Family Systems Theory and Practice: Illustration and Critique. Aust. N. Z. J. Fam. Ther. 1999, 20, 94–103. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Stavridou, A.; Kapsali, E.; Panagouli, E.; Thirios, A.; Polychronis, K.; Bacopoulou, F.; Psaltopoulou, T.; Tsolia, M.; Sergentanis, T.; Tsitsika, A. Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic. Children 2021, 8, 135. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Storz, M.A. The COVID-19 pandemic: An unprecedented tragedy in the battle against childhood obesity. Clin. Exp. Pediatr. 2020, 63, 477–482. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Hales, C.M. Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2015–2016. NCHS Data Brief 2017, 288, 1–8. [Google Scholar]
- Kompaniyets, L.; Goodman, A.B.; Belay, B.; Freedman, D.S.; Sucosky, M.S.; Lange, S.J.; Gundlapalli, A.V.; Boehmer, T.K.; Blanck, H.M. Body Mass Index and Risk for COVID-19–Related Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit Admission, Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, and Death—United States, March–December 2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Atlanta, GA, USA, 2021.
- Skeer, M.R.; Sonneville, K.R.; Deshpande, B.R.; Goodridge, M.C.; Folta, S.C. Going Beyond Frequency: A Qualitative Study to Explore New Dimensions for the Measurement of Family Meals. J. Child Fam. Stud. 2018, 27, 1075–1087. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Blass, E.M.; Anderson, D.R.; Kirkorian, H.L.; Pempek, T.A.; Price, I.; Koleini, M.F. On the road to obesity: Television viewing increases intake of high-density foods. Physiol. Behav. 2006, 88, 597–604. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gortmaker, S.L.; Must, A.; Sobol, A.M.; Peterson, K.; Colditz, G.A.; Dietz, W.H. Television Viewing as a Cause of Increasing Obesity Among Children in the United States, 1986–1990. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 1996, 150, 356–362. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Coon, K.A.; Goldberg, J.; Rogers, B.L.; Tucker, K.L. Relationships between use of television during meals and children’s food consumption patterns. Pediatrics 2001, 107, E7. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Benzeval, M.; Burton, J.; Crossley, T.; Fisher, P.; Jacke, A.; Perelli-Harris, B.; Walzenbach, S. Briefing Note COVID-19 Survey: Family Relationships; Understanding Society Working Paper Series; University of Essex: Colchester, UK, 2020. [Google Scholar]
- Greder, K.; Zaman, A.; Routh, B.; Hammons, A.; Villegas, E. Rural Midwestern Mexican Fathers’ Perspectives on Family Food, Mealtimes, and Physical Activity. Ecol. Food Nutr. 2020, 1–26. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lora, K.R.; Cheney, M.; Branscum, P. Hispanic Mothers’ Views of the Fathers’ Role in Promoting Healthy Behaviors at Home: Focus Group Findings. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet. 2017, 117, 914–922. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dallacker, M.; Hertwig, R.; Mata, J. The frequency of family meals and nutritional health in children: A meta-analysis. Obes. Rev. 2018, 19, 638–653. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Demographics | N (%) |
---|---|
Ethnicity | |
Asian | 2 (4) |
Hispanic | 39 (81) |
White | 7 (15) |
Median child age | 11.5 |
Education | |
Less than high school | 14 (29) |
High school | 14 (29) |
Technical school | 4 (8) |
Professional degree | 2 (4) |
Bachelor’s degree | 5 (10) |
Master’s degree | 7 (15) |
Declined to respond | 2 (4) |
Income (annually) | |
$19,999 or less | 13 (27) |
$20,000–$29,999 | 5 (10) |
$30,000–$39,999 | 6 (13) |
$40,000–$49,999 | 5 (10) |
$50,000–$59,999 | 3 (6) |
$60,000–$69,999 | 3 (6) |
$70,000–$79,999 | 2 (4) |
$80,000–$89,999 | 1 (2) |
$90,000–$99,999 | 1 (2) |
$100,000 or more | 8 (17) |
Declined to respond | 1 (2) |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Hammons, A.J.; Robart, R. Family Food Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study. Children 2021, 8, 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8050354
Hammons AJ, Robart R. Family Food Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study. Children. 2021; 8(5):354. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8050354
Chicago/Turabian StyleHammons, Amber J., and Ryan Robart. 2021. "Family Food Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study" Children 8, no. 5: 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8050354
APA StyleHammons, A. J., & Robart, R. (2021). Family Food Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study. Children, 8(5), 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8050354