This study surveyed working young adults to explore their food choice influences. Focus group data determined which food choice influences were important for young adults and were used to develop a pilot survey. Analysis of the pilot survey assisted in revising the survey which was again pilot tested; minor revisions were made before data collection. The sample included 18-24 year old young adults who were taking nine or fewer credit hours and were not living with a parent or child. Of the 111 subjects, 42 percent were male, 64 percent female; 77 percent Caucasian, 16 percent Hispanic; and 68 percent were taking no classes. The food choice influences which appear to be the strongest for working young adults are, in order of strength: Appearance of food, Taste, What was eaten as a child, Convenience, What friends eat, Health, Calorie content, Advertising, and Price. Appearance of food and taste were much stronger than the rest. Cluster analysis identified three groups of working young adults: Socially-oriented, health-oriented, and time-oriented. The socially-oriented group viewed what friends ate and convenience as significantly more important. This group tended to be less educated. Health-oriented working young adults rated eating healthy and low-calorie foods as significantly more important while they were significantly less concerned about price and advertising. Time-oriented working young adults were significantly less concerned about eating healthy foods and thought their time for food preparation was significantly less adequate. Taste and appearance of food were significantly less important for this group. Time-oriented working young adults tended to be the most educated. The proportion of males and females in each cluster was approximately equal to the sample distribution. Nutrition educators should focus less on health, calories, and price and more on taste and appearance in their nutrition messages; cooking demonstrations and food samples are suggested approaches. Nutrition education messages also need to recognize that an effective message to one young adult may be ineffective with another. Targeting nutrition messages to various types of young adults may result in realizing greater success in promoting adoption of healthier eating patterns.

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In the modern United States, capitalism is the predominant cultural value that structures the food system. The current American relationship to food is strained, at best, as two-thirds of Americans experience overweight and obesity and are at risk for a number of serious health complications. An understanding of the historic and political-economic aspects of the American food system is necessary to address the effects of our modern food habits on our ideas of our selves. This thesis analyzes the types of foods Americans eat, why they make the food choices that they do, how they feel about their eating habits and their habits' effects on their bodies, and how this all relates to our sense of identity as Americans. / by Marlena Kay Dates. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Acculturation, defined as the process of adopting the behaviors and beliefs of the dominant host culture, is often associated with dietary change and negative health outcomes, such as increased risk for obesity and diet-related diseases. The large and rising immigrant population in the U.S. necessitates a better understanding of the acculturation process in order to design appropriate health and nutrition interventions. It is well established that parents play a key role in child and preadolescent nutrition through parenting style and control of the home food environment. However, little is known about the potential influence of parental acculturation on preadolescent children's dietary patterns and habits, frequency and characteristics of family meals, and parent child-feeding behaviors, particularly among families who have lived in the U.S. for a considerable time and whose children have grown up in the U.S. The objective of this study was to quantitatively examine the association between parental acculturation and parent child-feeding behaviors, family meals, and child dietary patterns and habits in families where the primary food-providing parent self-identified as Asian/Asian American ("Asian") or Hispanic/Latino ("Hispanic"). Nativity was used as a proxy measure of acculturation, with foreign-born (FB) parents assumed to be less acculturated than native-born (NB). Sampled participants from nine states consisted of 74 Asian and 134 Hispanic parents or caretakers and their preadolescent children. Survey questions addressed children's intake of foods considered typical of the American diet to determine associations between frequency of consumption and parental nativity. Parent child-feeding behaviors examined were parental encouragement of milk-drinking and breakfast consumption, and discouragement of soda-drinking. Lastly, associations between frequent family meals and meals away from home and parental nativity were examined. Among Asian participants, no statistically significant associations were found between child intakes, family meals, or parenting behaviors among NB versus FB parents. However, among the Hispanic group, parental nativity was significantly associated with several variables. Children of NB parents were more likely to frequently consume hamburgers or hot dogs with cheese, chocolate bars, cupcakes or cake, and soda. By contrast, children of FB parents were more likely to consume raw broccoli and pancakes, waffles, or French toast frequently. NB parents had greater odds of encouraging children’s milk intake at lunch. Families with NB parents also had significantly greater odds of consuming dinner together five or more days per week. The findings of this study suggest that parental nativity may have some influence on children's dietary patterns and habits, parent child-feeding behaviors, and family meals among Hispanics. More research is needed in larger, more representative, and culturally specific samples. The results of this study suggest that nutrition interventions targeting Asian and Hispanic families with preadolescent children may benefit families with a wide range of parental acculturation, although some interventions may be slightly more applicable to the more or less acculturated. Potential areas for intervention include coaching parents on effective child-feeding behaviors and strategies for fostering healthy eating practices, promoting quality family meals, and educating parents on the health risks and sources of excess sugar. / Graduation date: 2012