The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, Omaha, NE, USA.
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Appetite. 2022 Dec 1;179:106288. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106288. Epub 2022 Aug 29.
The purpose of this study was to preliminarily develop novel self-administered measures to assess nutrition security and choice in dietary characteristics. Measures were piloted in a convenience sample of households at risk for food insecurity in the United States. The survey included the new measures, construct validation variables (household food security, self-reported general health, and dietary variables), and demographic questions. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess dimensionality, internal (Cronbach's alpha (CA)), and construct validity were assessed (Spearman's correlation). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess added utility of the new measures beyond food security measurement. Finally, brief screener versions of the full measures were created. Participants in the analytic sample (n = 380) averaged 45 years old, 71% experiencing food insecurity, 42% with high school diploma or less, 78% were women, and racially/ethnically diverse. Scores for the Household Nutrition Security (CA = 0.85; Mean = 2.58 (SD = 0.87)), Household Healthfulness Choice (CA = 0.79; Mean = 2.47 (SD = 0.96)), and Household Dietary Choice (CA = 0.80; Mean = 2.57 (SD = 0.90)) were positively associated with food security (0.401-0.657), general health (0.194-0.290), fruit and vegetable intake frequency (0.240-0.280), and "scratch-cooked" meal intake (0.328-0.350), and negatively associated with "processed" meal intake (-0.162 to -0.234) and an external locus of nutrition control (-0.343 to -0.366). Further, findings show that the new measures are useful for assessing risk for poor dietary and health outcomes even after controlling for household food security status and sample characteristics. These findings are encouraging and support reliability, construct validity, and utility of these new measures. Following further testing, such as Confirmatory Factor Analysis in future samples, these measures may be used in various applications to contribute to a better understanding of households' limitations for accessing healthful foods and foods that meet their preferences.
本研究的目的是初步开发新的自我管理措施，以评估营养安全和饮食特征选择。这些措施在美国处于食物不安全风险中的家庭便利样本中进行了试点。调查包括新措施、结构验证变量（家庭食物安全、自我报告的一般健康状况和饮食变量）和人口统计问题。探索性因素分析用于评估维度，内部（Cronbach 的 alpha（CA））和结构效度进行评估（Spearman 相关性）。多元逻辑回归模型用于评估新措施在食物安全测量之外的附加效用。最后，创建了完整措施的简短筛选器版本。分析样本中的参与者（n=380）平均年龄为 45 岁，71%经历食物不安全，42%高中文凭或以下，78%为女性，种族/民族多样化。家庭营养安全（CA=0.85；平均值=2.58（SD=0.87））、家庭健康选择（CA=0.79；平均值=2.47（SD=0.96））和家庭饮食选择（CA=0.80；平均值=2.57（SD=0.90））的分数与食物安全（0.401-0.657）、一般健康（0.194-0.290）、水果和蔬菜摄入量频率（0.240-0.280）和“scratch-cooked”餐摄入量（0.328-0.350）呈正相关，与“加工”餐摄入量（-0.162 至-0.234）和营养控制的外部位置（-0.343 至-0.366）呈负相关。此外，研究结果表明，即使在控制家庭食物安全状况和样本特征后，这些新措施也可用于评估不良饮食和健康结果的风险。这些发现令人鼓舞，支持这些新措施的可靠性、结构有效性和效用。在未来的样本中进行进一步的测试，如验证性因素分析后，这些措施可能会在各种应用中使用，有助于更好地了解家庭获取健康食品和符合其偏好的食品的限制。
