Full-Time Employment, Diet Quality, and Food Skills of Canadian Parents
Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
7 February 2019
Abstract
Purpose: To explore the associations between full-time employment status, food skills, and diet quality of Canadian parents.
Methods: A sample of Canadian parents (n = 767) were invited to complete a web-based survey that included sociodemographic variables, questions about food skills, and a validated food frequency questionnaire. Results were analyzed with linear and logistic regression models, controlling for sociodemographic variables and multiple testing.
Results: After controlling for covariates and multiple testing, there were no statistically significant differences in foods skills between parents’ employment status. Time was the most reported barrier for meal preparation, regardless of work status, but was significantly greater for full-time compared with other employment status (P < 0.0001). Additionally, parents who worked full-time had lower odds of reporting food preferences or dietary restrictions (P = 0.0001) and health issues or allergies (P = 0.0003) as barriers to food preparation, compared with parents with other employment status. These results remained statistically significant even after controlling for covariates and multiple testing.
Conclusions: Overall, food skills did not differ significantly between parents’ employment status. Time, however, was an important barrier for most parents, especially those working full time. To promote home-based food preparation among parents, strategies to manage time scarcity are needed.
Résumé
Objectif. Explorer les associations entre une situation d’emploi à temps plein, les compétences alimentaires et la qualité de l’alimentation des parents canadiens.
Méthodes. Un échantillon de parents canadiens (n = 767) a été invité à répondre à un sondage Web comprenant des variables sociodémographiques, des questions sur les compétences alimentaires et un questionnaire de fréquence alimentaire validé. Les résultats ont été analysés au moyen de modèles de régression linéaire et logistique en tenant compte des variables sociodémographiques et des tests multiples.
Résultats. Après avoir tenu compte des covariables et des tests multiples, aucune différence statistiquement significative n’a été observée quant aux compétences alimentaires des parents en fonction de leur situation d’emploi. Le temps était l’obstacle à la préparation des repas le plus souvent mentionné, quelle que soit la situation d’emploi, mais il était considérablement plus important chez les personnes travaillant à temps plein comparativement aux personnes ayant une autre situation d’emploi (P < 0,0001). De plus, les parents qui travaillaient à temps plein avaient moins de chances d’indiquer que leurs préférences ou restrictions alimentaires (P = 0,0001) et leurs problèmes de santé ou leurs allergies (P = 0,0003) étaient des obstacles à la préparation des aliments, comparativement aux parents se trouvant dans une autre situation d’emploi. Ces résultats sont demeurés statistiquement significatifs même après avoir tenu compte des covariables et des tests multiples.
Conclusions. Dans l’ensemble, les compétences alimentaires des parents ne différaient pas de façon significative en fonction de leur situation d’emploi. Le temps était cependant un obstacle important pour la plupart des parents, surtout pour ceux qui travaillent à temps plein. Afin de favoriser la préparation des aliments à la maison par les parents, des stratégies pour les aider à gérer le manque de temps sont nécessaires.
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Financial support: Data collection for this study was made possible through a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); funding reference number GIR-127078. The funding agency did not have any role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, in the writing of the report and any decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Melissa Anne Fernandez is a CIHR Fellow; funding reference number MFE-152525.
Conflicts of interests: Melissa Anne Fernandez is the Associate Editor/French Editor of the Canadian Journal of Dietetics Practice and Research. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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Published In
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 80 • Number 2 • June 2019
Pages: 63 - 71
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Version of record online: 7 February 2019
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© 2019.
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Melissa Anne Fernandez PhD, RD, Marie Marquis PhD, RD, Sophie Desroches PhD, RD, Mylène Turcotte MSc, RD, and Véronique Provencher PhD, RD. 2019. Full-Time Employment, Diet Quality, and Food Skills of Canadian Parents. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research.
80(2): 63-71. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2018-041
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