Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine the association and predictors of dietary intake resemblance between urban low-income African-American adolescents and their mothers. METHODS: Detailed dietary data collected from 121 child-parent pairs in Chicago during fall 2003 were used. The association was assessed using correlation coefficients, kappa, and percentage of agreement, as well as logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall, the association was weak as indicated by correlations and other measures. None of the mother-son correlations for nutrients and food groups were greater than 0.20. Mother-daughter pairs had stronger correlations (0.26 for energy and 0.30 for fat). The association was stronger in normal-weight mothers than in mothers with overweight or obesity. Logistic models showed that mother being a current smoker, giving child more pocket money, and allowing child to eat or purchase snacks without parental permission or presence predicted a higher probability of resemblance in undesirable eating patterns, such as high-energy, high-fat, and high-snack intakes (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Mother-child diet association was generally weak, and varied considerably across groups and intake variables in this homogenous population. Some maternal characteristics seem to affect the association.