Spousal similarities in fruit and vegetable consumption

Area of Science:

• Public Health Nutrition
• Behavioral Science
• Health Promotion

Background:

• Worksite nutrition interventions are common but their impact on families is less understood.
• Understanding consumption patterns within employee-spouse pairs can inform broader public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the concordance of fruit and vegetable consumption between health center employees and their spouses.
• To identify factors influencing fruit and vegetable intake within employee-spouse dyads.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional mailed survey was administered to 211 health center employee/spouse pairs (422 individuals) across six Massachusetts health centers.
• Data collected included fruit and vegetable consumption frequency, demographics, and knowledge, attitudes, access, and social support (KAAS) related to consumption.
• Statistical analyses included kappa statistic for agreement, Spearman rho for correlations, and Multiple Linear Regression Models to explain consumption differences.

Main Results:

• A 59% response rate yielded data showing mean daily intakes of 4.68 servings for employees and 4.30 for spouses.
• Over 75% of employee and spouse responses for fruit and vegetable consumption information were highly similar.
• Knowledge, attitudes, and access were significantly correlated with consumption for both groups; social support was significant only for spouses. Differences in KAAS explained consumption disparities.

Conclusions:

• Significant similarities in fruit and vegetable consumption exist between employees and their spouses.
• Worksite nutrition interventions could be enhanced by incorporating family or household members into program design and delivery.