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. 2021 Oct;24(15):4840-4850.
doi: 10.1017/S1368980021000835. Epub 2021 Feb 19.

Gender-based eating norms, the family environment and food intake among Costa Rican adolescents

Rafael Monge-Rojas  1 , Uriyoán Colón-Ramos  2 , Anne Chinnock  3 , Vanessa Smith-Castro  4 , Benjamín Reyes-Fernández  4
Affiliations

Gender-based eating norms, the family environment and food intake among Costa Rican adolescents

Rafael Monge-Rojas et al. Public Health Nutr. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between family environment variables (parenting styles, family meal atmosphere), gender-based stereotypes and food intake in Latin American adolescents.

Design: Structural equation modelling applied to cross-sectional data, 2017.

Setting: Urban and rural sites of San José, Costa Rica.

Participants: n 813; 13-18 years old.

Results: Data suggest direct associations between gender-based stereotypes and intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) (β = 0·20, P < 0·05), unhealthy foods (fast food (FF)) (β = -0·24, P < 0·01) and ultra-processed foods (β = -0·15, P < 0·05) among urban girls; intake of legumes among rural girls (β = 0·16, P < 0·05) and intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) among rural boys (β = 0·22, P < 0·05). Family meal atmosphere was associated with legume intake (β = 0·19, P <·05) among rural girls. Authoritative parenting style was associated with FV intake (β = 0·23, P < 0·05) among urban boys and FF intake (β = 0·17, P < 0·05) among urban girls. Authoritarian parenting style was associated with FV consumption (β = 0·19, P < 0·05) among rural boys, and with SSB and FF consumption (β = 0·21, P < 0·05; β = 0·14, P < 0·05, respectively) among urban girls.

Conclusions: Findings are the first to describe the complex family environment and gender-based stereotypes within the context of a Latin American country. They emphasise the need for culturally relevant measurements to characterise the sociocultural context in which parent-adolescent dyads socialise and influence food consumption.

Keywords: Adolescents; Costa Rica; Family environment; Food intake; Gender stereotypes; Parenting styles; Social eating norms.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Basic structural equation model specified in the current study. Only structural loadings are depicted. This model was separately specified and estimated five times, one for each of the food intake outcome variables: fruits and vegetables, legumes, sugary drinks, ultra-processed foods and fast food. Models were adjusted by age. Information on results for these models is presented in Tables 2–4
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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