The role of availability as a moderator of family fruit and vegetable consumption

The public health objective to improve the diet of Americans includes incre asing the consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V). The availability of F &V in the home has been suggested but not confirmed as one environmental fa ctor that influences the types and quantities of F&V eaten by family member s. Using a model of parental and child influences on a child's intake of F& V, the authors investigated F&V availability as a moderating variable for t he relationships between the model constructs and how the relationships mig ht change with varying levels of F&V availability. Path analysis and multig roup structural equation modeling were the analytic tools. Results indicate d that homes with more F&V available had a richer and generally stronger se t of motivating factors for parent and child F&V consumption than homes wit h low F&V availability. Findings have implications for parental involvement in interventions to enhance the diet of fourth-grade children.