1.Determinants of diet quality among mothers of young children in an urban slum area in Jakarta: Mother’s age, vegetables availability, and eating out frequency
Fitya Safira Birahmatika ; Dian Novita Chandra ; Luh Ade Ari Wiradnyani
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 2022;28(No.2):177-190
Introduction: Poor diet quality is a major issue, and health concerns may be
related to diet. Mothers with young children usually have their meals at home;
thus, home food environment plays a role in determining dietary behaviours. This
study examined the association between health concerns and diet quality among
mothers; additionally, the effect of home food environment on this relationship
was assessed. Methods: This cross-sectional study comprising 229 mothers (aged
19–49 years) with young children was conducted in an urban slum area in North
Jakarta. Data were collected via interviews using a structured questionnaire. The
General Health Interest Scale and Consumer Behaviour Questionnaire were used
to assess health concern and home food environment, respectively. The 24-hour
dietary recall method was used to calculate the Diet Quality Index-International
(DQI-I) score. Spearman’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and path analysis
were used to analyse the data. Results: Majority of the mothers had poor diet
quality (mean DQI-I score, 41.44/100). No significant correlation between health
concern and diet quality was observed. After adjusting for age, the relationship
between health concern and diet quality was not mediated by vegetables availability
or eating out frequency (indirect effect=0.012; p=0.096). Multiple linear regression
analysis revealed age as a significant predictor of diet quality (B=0.196; p=0.024).
Conclusion: Diet quality among mothers of young children differed with age and was
related to both health concerns and home food environment. Thus, the development
of strategies to promote healthy eating based on different age groups is warranted.