USING A BRIEF HOUSEHOLD FOOD INVENTORY AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATOR OF INDIVIDUAL DIETARY PRACTICES

Objectives. This study examined whether foods in household pantries ar e an indicator of household members' diet. Methods. in a random-digit- dial survey, the presence in the house of 15 high-fat foods was assess ed with whoever answered the phone. A randomly selected household memb er was surveyed about diet-related behaviors (n = 1002). Results. Indi viduals in the precontemplation stage of dietary change had more high- fat foods in their pantry than those in maintenance (means of 7.4 and 5.8, respectively). Individuals with low-fat pantries had an intake of 32% energy from fat vs 37% for those with high-fat pantries. Conclusi ons. Household food inventories are a practical and valid approach to monitoring dietary behaviors in community-based studies.