Relationships between children's exposure to ethnic produce and their dietary behaviors

Abstract

The current study examined relationships between children's ethnic produce exposure and healthy dietary practices among Latino, Hmong and non-Hispanic white children. One hundred Latino, 100 Hmong, and 92 non-Hispanic white parents of children ages 5-8 years old in northern California completed a cross-sectional survey. Children's exposure to ethnic produce from Hmong and Latino cultures, overall fruit and vegetable consumption, and fast food and ethnic restaurant use were measured. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare variables across different ethnic groups. Spearman's correlation was used to assess the relationship between variables. Children's overall ethnic produce exposure, as well as exposure to produce from other cultures, was significantly correlated with overall fruit and vegetable consumption. There was a marginal (p = 0.053) negative association between ethnic produce exposure and fast food restaurant use among Latino children. These findings suggest that promoting ethnic produce is an effective strategy for enhancing healthy dietary practices among children.