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Social network concordance in food choice among spouses, friends, and siblings.

ABSTRACT: We investigated whether eating behaviors were concordant among diverse sets of social ties.We analyzed the socioeconomic and demographic distribution of eating among 3418 members of the Framingham Heart Study observed from 1991 to 2001. We used a data-classification procedure to simplify choices into 7 nonoverlapping patterns that we matched with information on social network ties. We used correlation analysis to examine eating associations among 4 types of peers (spouses, friends, brothers, and sisters). Longitudinal multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate evidence for peer influences on eating.Of all peer types, spouses showed the strongest concordances in eating patterns over time after adjustment for social contextual factors. Across all peers, the eating pattern most likely to be shared by socially connected individuals was "alcohol and snacks." Models estimating one's current eating pattern on the basis of a peer's prior eating provided supportive evidence of a social influence process.Certain eating patterns appeared to be socially transmissible across different kinds of relationships. These findings represent an important step in specifying the relevant social environment in the study of health behaviors to include eating.

SUBMITTER: Pachucki MA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3222397 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Social network concordance in food choice among spouses, friends, and siblings.

Pachucki Mark A MA Jacques Paul F PF Christakis Nicholas A NA

American journal of public health 20110922 11

<h4>Objectives</h4>We investigated whether eating behaviors were concordant among diverse sets of social ties.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed the socioeconomic and demographic distribution of eating among 3418 members of the Framingham Heart Study observed from 1991 to 2001. We used a data-classification procedure to simplify choices into 7 nonoverlapping patterns that we matched with information on social network ties. We used correlation analysis to examine eating associations among 4 types of pee ...[more]

PMID: 21940920

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Project description:BackgroundSnack eating occasions contribute approximately a third of children's energy intake, with approximately half of all unhealthy foods consumed during snack times. Therefore, it is critical to understand the drivers of primary food providers' snack provision. The study aims were to determine the relative importance of physical resources and social supports when primary food providers are choosing snacks to provide to their child, and to investigate how these attributes differ in social versus non-social occasions, and between subgroups of primary food providers based on socio-economic position.MethodsPrimary food providers of three to seven-year olds completed an online discrete choice experiment, by making trade-offs when completing repeated, hypothetical choice tasks on the choice of snacks to provide to their child in: 1) non-social and 2) social condition. Choice tasks included two alternatives consisting of varying attribute (i.e. factor) levels, and an opt-out option. The order of conditions shown were randomized across participants. Multinomial logit model analyses were used to determine utility weights for each attribute.ResultsTwo-hundred and twenty-five primary food providers completed the study, providing 1125 choice decisions per condition. In the non-social condition, the top three ranked attributes were type of food (utility weight 1.94, p?<?0.001), child resistance (-?1.62, p?<?0.001) and co-parent support (0.99, p?<?0.001). In the social condition, top ranking attributes were child resistance (utility weight?-?1.50, p?<?0.001), type of food (1.38, p?<?0.001) and co-parent support (1.07, p?<?0.001). In both conditions, time was not a significant influence and cost was of lowest relative importance. Subgroup analyses revealed cost was not a significant influence for families from higher socio-economic backgrounds.ConclusionsType of food, child resistance and co-parent support were of greatest relative importance in primary food providers' snack provision decision-making, regardless of social condition or socio-economic position. In designing future interventions to reduce unhealthy snacks, researchers should prioritize these influences, to better support primary food providers in changing their physical and social opportunity.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry no. ACTR N12618001173280.

Dataset Information

Social network concordance in food choice among spouses, friends, and siblings.

Publications

Social network concordance in food choice among spouses, friends, and siblings.

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