(P24-078-23) The Home Food Environment for Children in Beijing and Shandong, China: A Qualitative Study

Objectives: The importance of the home food environment to children's dietary intake is established. There is however, limited research on the key components of the home food environment for children in China. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the perspectives and perceptions of parents and their children (6-11 years) on the home food environment, in two sites in China.

Methods: Children aged 6-11 years old and their parents were recruited in Beijing and Shandong. Overall, 28 children and 30 parents participated from the two sites. Online semi-structured one-to-one and focus group interviews were conducted in Chinese. The interview schedules included topics relating to the foods in the home, parents’ feeding practices, family food rules and family meal routines. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated from Chinese to English, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. This entailed data exploration, coding and thematic analysis; software (NVivo 12 Plus) was used to support the data management and analysis.

Results: The analysis identified several initial themes: (1) Parents’ knowledge and understanding; (2) Children influencing food in the family home; (3) Food practices and food rules at home; (4) Grandparents; (5) COVID-19. Children's preferences emerged as a main factor influencing family food purchases; meanwhile, parents’ knowledge and views on food also influenced their family's food provision. Parents adopted various strategies when considering their children’s dietary intake; these included using verbal encouragement, changing cooking methods, restricting or strictly controlling certain foods. Some children and parents also reported that children helping with food preparation could be limited due to homework commitments. Notably, findings pointed to the substantial contribution and influence of grandparents on the home food environment in many families.

Conclusions: The analysis revealed important features of the home food environment for families in China, including how children, parents and grandparents played a role in family food provision. Further research, to gain a better understanding of the home food environment, including the influence of grandparents within the family home, is recommended.

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