Influences of a supermarket intervention on the food choices of parents and their children

The Nutrition for a Lifetime System (NLS) is a public access, interactive information system that was located in a supermarket and designed to help shoppers alter their purchases to meet National Cancer Institute (NCI) guidelines. This study investigated the influence of the NLS on parents' food choices, and assessed how changes in parental food choices and preferences affected their children. During the intervention phase, experimental participants (parents only) received nutrition education and feedback. Participants were 24 families, parents and their children ages 10 to 13 years, who were recruited from the larger sample of 77 NLS participant families. The results showed that parents and children reported making similar changes that followed NCI guidelines. This was most evident for increases in the consumption of fruit. These results provide evidence of the impact of a parent-based intervention on their children's food choices. Future interventions should enhance the components of an overall program directed toward children and other family members.