Associations Between Mothers’ and Fathers’ Food Skills and Children’s Diet Quality

OBJECTIVE: To assess associations between mothers' and fathers' food skills and children's diet quality. METHODS: Linear regression models using generalized estimating equations were used to assess the association between mothers' (n = 154) and fathers' (n = 100) self-reported conceptualizing and mechanical food skills with children's diet quality (n = 201) assessed using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015. RESULTS: Fathers' food skills were not associated with children's HEI-2015. Mothers' scores were significantly higher than fathers on conceptualizing (P < 0.001) but lower on mechanical food skills (P = 0.02). Mothers' conceptualizing food skills were associated with greater child HEI (B̂ = 1.04, 95% confidence interval = 0.016-1.93, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: While results showed that mothers' food skills are a key determinant of children's diet quality, more studies are needed to explore how both parents' food skills as well as other factors interact to influence children's diets. Future family interventions targeting food skills may be more effective in emphasizing conceptualizing food skills.