Postpartum teens' perception of the food environments at home and school ; Health Educ Behav

Background ; An environment that supports healthy eating is one factor to prevent obesity. However, little is known about postpartum teen's perceptions of their home and school environments and how this relates to dietary behaviors. ; Purpose ; This study explores the relationship between home and school environments and dietary behaviors for postpartum teens. ; Design ; Conducted cross-sectionally during 2007-2009 across 27 states; included 889 postpartum teens enrolled in Parents as Teachers Teen Program. Data included measures of sociodemographics and perceptions of school and home food environments. A 7-day recall of snack and beverage frequency assessed dietary behaviors. Logistic regression explored associations between baseline environment measures and dietary behaviors at baseline and post-intervention (approximately 5 months after baseline) for the control group. ; Results ; Respondents reported greater access and selection (i.e., variety of choices) of healthy foods and beverages at home than school. At baseline, fruit and vegetable intake was associated with home selection (1.9, 95% CI: 1.3-2.9) and availability (1.8, 95% CI: 1.3-2.6), sweet snack consumption was associated with selection (1.5, 95% CI: 1.0-2.1), and total snack consumption and sugar-sweetened beverage intake were associated with selection (snack: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.5-3.0; beverage: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.4) and availability (snack: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.4-3.1; beverage: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0-2.3). Water intake at baseline and at the post-intervention for control group teens was associated with selection (1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.2). No significant associations were identified between the school environment and dietary behaviors. ; Conclusions ; Interventions should target improvements in the home environment for high risk, postpartum teens. ; P30 DK092950/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States ; 1 R01 CA121534/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; T32CA009314-3/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; U48/DP001903/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States ; 1P30DK092950/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States ; R01 CA121534/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; T32 CA009314/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; 2017-02-01T00:00:00Z ; 26272783 ; PMC5015643