A conceptual model of how US families with athletic adolescent daughters manage food and eating

Health professionals concerned about the risks of adolescent obesity and disordered eating practices need greater understanding of how families with adolescents manage food in today's fast paced environment. This paper sought to gain conceptual understanding of the food and eating routines of families with a female adolescent athlete from the perspectives of mothers and daughters. Ten white, non-Hispanic mothers and their daughters were purposively sampled from high school track and cross country teams in Upstate New York. Informants completed in-depth, qualitative interviews. Researchers used the constant comparative method to analyze transcripts for emergent themes and to build a conceptual framework that represented the many factors and processes involved in the construction of family food routines. Families varied in forms and patterns of family eating activities with mothers playing a pivotal role in these routines. Family members’ individual needs and values were negotiated in constructing these routines. In this sample the daughters’ involvement in sports influenced family eating routines, but mothers’ employment, ethnicity, social support, income, and areas of residence also played a role. The model describes how individual participants’ food choice processes interact to produce family food routines. The conceptual model can inform research and practice related to the family environments in which adolescents experience food and eating.