Intergenerational Dietary Behaviours and the Local Food Environment: Linking Maternal and Child Diets in the Born in Bradford Cohort

What we eat is influenced not only by personal choices, but also by the food environment around us – the shops, supermarkets, and takeaways we encounter every day. Children’s eating habits are strongly shaped within families, yet we know relatively little about how mothers’ diets and children’s diets interact, and how their shared neighbourhood food environments might play a role. This study will explore how the local food environment influences both mothers’ and children’s eating behaviours, and whether it shapes similarities or differences between them. Information on mothers’ and children’s dietary intakes will be linked to detailed location data to understand where families live and the types of food outlets nearby. To characterise the food environment, we will use Ordnance Survey Points of Interest (POI) data, which identifies the locations and types of food outlets such as supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, and takeaways. Each participant’s residential address will be linked to this data to estimate individual-level exposure to different food outlet types within their local area. By combining these rich datasets, we will investigate: (1) how closely mothers’ and children’s diets are related; (2) whether certain food environments strengthen or weaken this relationship; and (3) which types of outlets are most influential for each group. Findings from this research will help us understand how the built environment shapes family dietary patterns and inform future policies and urban planning strategies to support healthier food choices for both parents and children.