Fathers' daily intake of fruit and vegetables is positively associated with children's fruit and vegetable consumption patterns in Europe: The Feel4Diabetes Study

Background: Past research has focused on the relationship between mothers' and children's eating habits, although little is known about fathers as potential agents. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between fathers' and children's fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in the context of fathers' education level and family income insecurity. Methods: Crosssectional analysis using baseline data from the multicentre Feel4Diabetes Study were collected in 2016. Participants were parentdyads (fa- thers, n = 10,038) and school children (n = 12,041) from six European countries. Sociodemographic and dietary data were collected using questionnaires. Asso- ciations were assessed applying the multinomial logistic regression model. Results: Overall, European children have low FV intake, especially in Southern European countries (Greece, Spain and Hungary). Children with fathers con- suming FV daily were more likely to consume fresh fruit (odds ratio [OR] = 2.75; 95% condence interval [CI] = 1.95–3.88) and vegetables (OR = 2.55; 95% CI = 1.80–3.60) 1–2 times per day. After adjusting for paternal educational level and family income insecurity signicant associations remained for fresh fruit (ORadj = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.82–3.69) and vegetables (ORadj = 1.98; 95% CI = 1.38–2.86). Country dierences showed that fathers' educational level and income insecurity might be important factors worth considering for FV intake in Greece. Conclusions: The present study showed that fathers' FV intake was positively associated with children's daily intake of these foods. Implementation of future populationbased strategies promoting FV intake not only in mothers, but also in fathers could be an eective public health initiative to increase FV intake in children. Policymakers should give special attention to families dwelling in Southern European regions.