Relationship between Income and Parents Including Functional Foods in Their Children’s Diet Olivia DeLeon, MS; Yunhee Chang, PhD; Mary Roseman,* PhD, RD Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management University of Mississippi ABSTRACT Functional foods are foods or food components that may provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition and may play a role in minimizing risk of certain disease or health conditions. With growing interest in nutritional benefits of certain foods in the diet, the appeal for functional foods has emerged. While there is research on adult usage of functional foods in their diet, research on parents intentionally including functional foods into their children’s diet is non-existent. The purpose of this study was to examine if relationships exist between demographic and socioeconomic indicators of parents and feeding their children functional foods. Parents in two school districts in northern Mississippi were surveyed in February 2015 (n = 187) using Qualtrics and pen/paper surveys. Research found that of the 27 functional food classes, parents fed 12.2 of them to their children. Parents with family income of $100,000 or higher fed their children more functional foods than parents with near or slightly below median income ($35,000-$50,000 and $50,000-$75,000) (p < .10). These findings are supported by studies on lower income families and 1) lower fruit and vegetable intake, 2) higher intakes of energy dense, satiating foods, and 3) less healthful food options at local grocery stores. Dietetic practice plays a critical role in addressing the relationship of family income and nutritious diet, such as addressing food insecurity issues, increasing awareness of food deserts, educating families on low cost functional foods in family meal planning, and educating families on the role functional foods can play on improving health. METHODS Instrument: A quantitative, descriptive study design was utilized in conducting research on household income of parents/guardians and their relationship to functional foods in familial dietary practices. Participants: 18 years of age or older with children 18 years of age or younger Children were enrolled in public school in one of two urban clusters in Northern Mississippi (Tupelo or Oxford area). Procedures: Take-home flyers with instructions regarding the Qualtrics survey link. Email with the same flyer with instructions regarding the Qualtrics survey link. Variables: Independent Variable: Parental household income Dependent Variables: 27 functional food classes with specific health benefits They were further broken down into six health benefit categories (digestive, heart cancer, weight, bone, and other) as shown in Table 1. They are measured as % of functional foods within the category that were fed to children. Analyses: Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were conducted on all variables in order to determine correlations between the dependent and independent variables. RESULTS Age: Parents 35-44 years of age feed their children more functional food classes compared to 18-24 year old parents. Regarding functional food categories, parents 25-34, 35-44, and 45-54 years of age feed their children more functional foods for “weight” benefits than 18-24 year old parents. Feeding their children more functional foods with “other” health benefits was also significant for 25-34 and 35-44 year old parents. Race: Parents of the race category “other” feed their children functional foods with digestive health benefits significantly more than “white” parents. Gender: Female parents feed their children functional foods for “other” health benefits more than male parents. Income: Participants with a household (HH) income of $35-$50K and $50-$75K feed their children less functional foods than parents with HH incomes of $100K or more. Parents with HH incomes of $35K or less, $35K-$50K, and $50K-$70K feed their children less functional foods in specific health benefit categories (e.g. digestive, cancer, and “other”) than parents from HHs of $100K or more. Self-rated Health: Parents who self rated their health high feed their children more functional food with digestive, cancer and “other” health benefits than parents who did not. BMI was a significant for parents feeding their children functional foods for “other” health benefits. BACKGROUND Food choices and motives of individuals can be determined by household income and the cost and availability of food items (Laster et al., 2013; Roos, Lehto & Ray, 2011). Families with lower household incomes have lower intakes of fruits and vegetables, and higher intakes of energy-dense, satiating foods such as refined grains and added sugars (Drewnowski & Darmon, 2005; Kirkpatrick et al., 2012; Riediger et al., 2007; Story, Neumark- Sztainer & French, 2002; Xie et al., 2002; Yu, Penner Protudjer, Anderson, & Fieldhouse, 2010). Less healthful dietary choices may be due to the following: relative price of fruits and vegetables, scarce variety of healthful food options offered at select local grocery stores, and fewer grocery store locations found in lower income neighborhoods that offer healthful food options at affordable prices (Drewnowski & Darmon, 2005). High-calorie items may be more attractive due to their low cost, convenience, and extended shelf life (Skala et al, 2012). REFERENCES Drewnowski, A., & Darmon, N. (2005). Food Choices and Diet Costs: an Economic Analysis. The Journal of Nutrition, 900-904. Ford, C. N., Slining, M. M., & Popkin, B. M. (2013, January). Trends in Dietary Intake among US 2- to 6-Year-Old Children, 1989-2008. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113(1), 35-42. Kirckpatrick, S. I., Dodd, K. W., Reedy, J., & Krebs-Smith, S. M. (2012, May). Income and Race/Ethnicity Are Associated with Adherence to Food- Based Dietary Guidance among US Adults and Children. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(5), 624-635. Laster, L. R., Lovelady, C. A., West, D. G., Wiltheiss, G. A., Brouwer, R. J., Stroo, M., & Ostbye, T. (2013, November). Diet Quality of Overweight and Obese Mothers and Their Preschool Children. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113(11), 1476-1483. Ohly, H., Pealing, J., Hayter, A., Pettinger, C., Pikhart, H., Watt, R. G., & Rees, G. (2013). Parental food involvement predicts parent and child intakes of fruits and vegetables. Appetite, 69, 8-14. Riediger, N., Shooshtari, S., & Moghdasian, M. (2007, September). The Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Patterns of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Canadian Adolescents. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 107(9), 1511-1518. Roos, E., Lehto, R., & Ray, C. (2012). Parental family food choice motives and children's food intake. Food Quality and Preference, 24, 85-91. Skala, K., Chuang, R., Evans, A., Hedberg, A., Dave, J., & Sharma, S. (2012, January 20). Ethnic Differences in the Home Food Environment and Parental Food Practices Among Families of Low-Income Hispanic and African-American Preschoolers. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health, 14, 1014-1022. Story, M., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & French, S. (2002, March). Individual and environmental influences on adolescent eating behaviors. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 102(3), 40-51. Xie, B., Gilliland, F. D., Li, Y., & Rockett, H. (2002). Effects of Ethnicity, Family Income, and Education on Dietary Intake among Adolescents. American Health Foundation, 30-40. Yu, B., Penner Protudjer, J., Anderson, K., & Fieldhouse, P. (2010). Weight status and determinants of health in Manitoba children and youth. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 71(3), 115-121. IMPLICATIONS This study found that parents’ household income, age, self-rated health, and BMI were the most significant indicators of parents feeding their children functional foods for their health benefits. Food preferences and dietary habits are formed during early childhood and are heavily influenced by parental figures (Ford et al., 2013; Laster et al., 2013; Ohly et al., 2013; Riediger et al., 2007; Skala et al., 2012; Story et al., 2002; Xie et al., 2002). This study indicates that parents are feeding their children functional foods for the health benefits they provide; especially for weight, digestive, cancer, and “other health benefits. This can have a positive influence on children’s dietary habits. The implementation of school nutrition and healthy lifestyle education may increase the awareness and usage of functional foods for children’s health. With the inclusion of the children’s parent(s) in the nutrition education classes, healthful familial dietary practices may be adopted.