Peer-reviewed article
Parent-Child Concordance in Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Fast-Food Consumption: An Exploratory Study of Portuguese Families.
Oliveira L, Esgalhado M ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how Portuguese parents' eating habits relate to their children's diets, focusing on Mediterranean diet adherence and fast-food consumption. The researchers surveyed 85 parent-child pairs from two schools and found moderate associations between parents' and children's dietary behaviours. Parents who followed the Mediterranean diet more closely tended to have children who also followed it better, while parents who ate fast food more frequently had children who did the same. The findings suggest families share dietary patterns, though the connections were not as strong for Mediterranean diet as for fast-food consumption.
Key points
- Parental Mediterranean Diet adherence was positively associated with child Mediterranean Diet scores (rho = 0.283, p = 0.009)
- Parental fast-food consumption showed strong positive association with child fast-food consumption (rho = 0.724, p < 0.001)
- Parents who followed Mediterranean diet more had children who ate less fast food (rho = -0.304, p = 0.005)
- 76.5% exact agreement on fast-food consumption patterns between parents and children
- Parental Mediterranean Diet score and child age were independent predictors of child Mediterranean Diet adherence
Limitations
This was a small exploratory study of 85 dyads recruited by convenience from only two schools, so findings may not represent all Portuguese families. The study relied on self-reported dietary data rather than direct observation, and was cross-sectional, so it cannot establish whether parents influence children's diets or vice versa.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Parent-child dietary resemblance is well documented, but concordance in Mediterranean Diet adherence and fast-food consumption within the same family dyads remains underexplored in Portugal. This exploratory study examined parent-child associations across these complementary dietary dimensions. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 85 parent/guardian-child dyads recruited by convenience from two Portuguese basic education schools. Parents/guardians completed an online questionnaire for themselves and their child. Mediterranean Diet adherence was assessed using MEDAS and KIDMED. Associations were examined using Spearman correlations with bootstrap 95% confidence intervals, and fast-food concordance using exact agreement and weighted Cohen's kappa. Multivariable linear and ordinal logistic regression models were also fitted. Results: Parental MEDAS was positively associated with child KIDMED (rho = 0.283, 95% CI 0.080-0.482, p = 0.009) and inversely with child fast-food consumption (rho = -0.304, 95% CI -0.491 to -0.094, p = 0.005). Parental fast-food consumption was inversely associated with child KIDMED (rho = -0.480, 95% CI -0.643 to -0.284, p < 0.001) and positively with child fast-food consumption (rho = 0.724, 95% CI 0.571-0.845, p < 0.001). Exact fast-food agreement was 76.5%, with quadratic-weighted kappa = 0.579 (95% CI 0.373-0.759). Adjusted analyses supported associations of parental MEDAS and child age with KIDMED, and parental fast-food frequency with child fast-food consumption. Conclusions: Parent-child dietary behaviours showed concordance across both dimensions, although Mediterranean Diet score concordance was modest. Larger longitudinal studies with direct assessment of both generations are needed to clarify direction and mechanisms in Portugal.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Observational assessment of parent-child dietary concordance through questionnaires measuring Mediterranean Diet adherence (MEDAS for parents, KIDMED for children) and fast-food consumption frequency
- Population
- 85 parent-child dyads from two Portuguese basic education schools
Key finding
Parental MEDAS positively correlated with child KIDMED (rho = 0.283, p = 0.009)