Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Sustained Breastfeeding In Low-Income Mothers, Rebecca Gayle Renegar

Masters Theses

Despite recent increases in breastfeeding initiation in the U.S., exclusive breastfeeding rates at six months remain below Healthy People 2020 goals, especially for mothers who are young, less educated, low-income, or racial minorities. Demographic factors and some aspects of parenting identity, such as parenting self-efficacy and maternal role satisfaction, have been studied in relation to breastfeeding; however, little research has explored the parenting identity construct of maternal role salience or aspects of the couple-relationship in successful breastfeeding, especially in low-income populations. Framed in role theory, this study examined data from low-income women (N = 70) to investigate whether various demographic …

The Economics Of Global Saturated Fat Intake And Implications For Public Health, Amelia Grace Ahles

Masters Theses

An increasing prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases has heavily contributed to increased economic challenges including decreased economic productivity and increased healthcare expenditures globally. Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are readily found in foods and have been linked to increased risk for diet-related diseases leading to increased mortality and morbidity worldwide. Identifying factors that influence SFA consumption is essential to government intervention strategies to improve dietary choices, decreasing obesity and diet-related diseases. The goal of this study is to estimate the relationship between saturated fat consumption and economic factors such as nation income, food prices, and socio-demographics globally. SFA intake data …

Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A Culturally Adapted Cooking Curriculum To Address Dietary Acculturation And Food Security In A Refugee Population, Marissa Mcelrone

Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Sub-Saharan African refugees in the United States have reported food security rates up to seven times below the national average. Dietary acculturation issues have been noted as a contributing factor. However, there is no existing evidence-based or culturally tailored programs to address the unique dietary acculturation barriers to food security for this population.Methods: A four-phase, community-based curriculum adaptation process (information gathering [literature review, researcher informed, and formative research], preliminary adaptation design [data incorporation and steering committee], pilot testing [n=10 youth/adult dyads], and refinement) was applied to the existing evidence-based iCook 4-H curriculum using a five strategy (peripheral, evidential, linguistic, …

Youth Can! Grow Their Community: Qualitative Evaluation Of A Gardening-Enhanced Positive Youth Development Program, Marissa Black

Masters Theses

Background: Rates of obesity and overweight for children and adolescents have remained above objectives and disproportionately affect minority youth. Diet quality is one factor related to overweight and obesity and is suboptimal for American youth. Nutrition education programs with additional components including gardening have targeted factors related to diet quality such as increasing fruit and vegetable intake and youth development strategies have been used to empower youth to make healthy changes. This study, in which participants engaged in a nutrition education and gardening program with a focus on improving the health of their community, evaluated the participants’ perceived ability to …

A Multi-Method Measurement Of Adolescent Food Environments And Related Health Behaviors And Food Choices: School, Community, And Home Environments, Kristin Ashley Riggsbee

Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Many researchers have investigated the role of environments in food behavior. Methods used to assess these environments often involve community members’ participation. Adolescents engaging in food environment assessments may impact health behavior change and food choices. Methods: Development of the Food Environment Curriculum (FEC) included a cyclic action research approach with inclusion of students engaging in food environment data collection as a component of a nutrition high school wellness class. Adolescents (n=17; 13-15 years of age) at one high school, in one wellness class, participated in testing of the FEC. Quantitative testing included pre-and post-surveys assessing fruit and vegetable …

Perceptions And Food Acquisition Behaviors Among Food Pantry Users In Rural Appalachia, Adeline Mae Grier-Welch

Masters Theses

Objective: To ascertain how food pantry users perceive their use of food pantries and how the food pantry fits into the broader scope of food acquisition among rural Appalachian households. Design: Using a grounded theory approach, semi-structured interviews with food pantry users were conducted in-person and over-the-phone. Verbatim interview transcripts were uploaded into NVivo 11.4 software for thematic analysis and theory formulation. Demographic data were collected via survey. Setting: Rural Appalachian food pantries. Subjects: Participants (n=20) were predominately female (80%) and Caucasian (95%) with a mean age of 48 years (+SD= 13.4) with experience using food pantries in rural Appalachia. …

Youth Can! Improve Their Communities, Alexandra Alford

Masters Theses

This study examined the impact of a program with positive youth development combined with nutrition education and youth advocacy, Youth Can! Improve their Communities (n=7). The curriculum for this program was created by combining three previously used curricula, Youth Can!, the Mikva Challenge, and Michigan Model for Health. The eight-week summer program intended to increase nutrition knowledge, community engagement, and self-efficacy, assessed via pre- and post-test surveys. The results indicated that Youth Can! Improve their Communities significantly increased nutrition knowledge (t = 3.422, df = 6, p = 0.014), but not community engagement activities, community engagement beliefs, nor self-efficacy. Since …

Pkm2 Influences The Metabolic Fate Of Butyrate In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Megan Louise Pence

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Chronic Disease Prevention Program, Ashley Northcutt

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of A Visually Appealing And Interactive Snack Activity On Fruit And Vegetable Intake Of Preschool-Aged Children, Kristen Leigh Clay

Masters Theses

Background: Previous research has shown the potential of increasing vegetable intake by incorporating the senses into interventions. However, little to no research has specifically looked at the impact that the use of the senses can have on intake of vegetables among preschool-aged children.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to examine if mean intake of vegetable snacks and/or willingness to try the vegetable snacks would be significantly higher among preschool-age children who participated in a visually appealing and interactive snack activity compared to children who received control vegetable snacks.

Methods: Two preschools were selected to participate in the study. …

The Effect Of Television Watching And Portion Size On Intake During A Meal, Rachel Nicole Rosenthal

Masters Theses

Background: Several investigations have examined the influence of television and portion size on intake. Results have found that watching television while eating or being provided larger portions increases intake. However, no investigation has examined the combined effect of these variables on food intake, when these factors are combined they may enhance consumption.

Methods: To test the influence of television and portion size on intake during a meal in healthy weight adults, a 4X2X2 mixed factorial design was used, with a between-subject factor of order of conditions and within-subject factors of television (TV vs. NO TV) and portion size (SMALL vs. …

Associations Of Cooking Self-Efficacy And Frequency Of Icook-4h Youth Participants With Dietary Quality And Bmi At Baseline, Amber Donaldson Ford

Masters Theses

Background: With increased obesity has come increased ready-made and fast food consumption and decreased homemade food consumption. Previous studies have shown associations between cooking self-efficacy (SE) and cooking frequency (CF) with dietary quality and weight status. Cooking interventions have shown positive associations with dietary outcomes, such as increased fruit and vegetable intake and decreased fast food consumption. There is still much unknown about SE and CF, especially among youth.

Objective: The objective of this project was to determine baseline SE and CF and the associations with dietary quality and body mass index (BMI) of youth enrolled in iCook 4-H.

Methods: …

Protein-Related Knowledge, Perceptions, Sources Of Information, And Behaviors Among College-Age Males, Amy Leigh Sparks

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to describe thoughts, knowledge, and dietary practices with regard to protein, and how these factors related to current recommendations among college-age males. A convenience sample of non-athlete college-age males (n=47), ages 18-24 years, completed 7 day dietary records (analyzed using NDSR), accelerometer assessments, anthropometric assessments (height, weight, waist circumference, and Bod Pod), and a brief semi-structured interview on protein knowledge and behaviors.

Participants were grouped according to protein intake with 15% consuming less than 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg/d), 70% consuming 0.8-1.99 g/kg/d, and 15% consuming ≥2 …

The Effects Of A High-Protein Diet On Obesity And Other Risk Factors Associated With Cardiovascular Disease, Daniel L. Phillips

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Active Video Gaming Compared To Unstructured, Outdoor Play In Children: Measurements Of Estimated Energy Expenditure And Measured Percent Time In Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity, Susan Brittin Macarthur

Masters Theses

It is recommended that children and adolescents participate in > 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. Despite the current recommendations and positive health benefits, many children and adolescents still do not engage in regular physical activity (PA).

One challenge for assisting children in becoming more active is sedentary screen-based activities (SBAs), such as watching television (TV), using computers, and playing sedentary video games (VGs), as SBAs may compete with time for being physically active in children. One modification to sedentary VGs that may increase PA in children is to alter them so that the VGs actually provide an …

Nutritional Ergogenic Aids: The Influences Of Carbohydrate-Protein Supplementation During Endurance Exercise, Adriana Marina Coletta

Masters Theses

Mixed results, in terms of performance benefits, have been found when comparing carbohydrate (CHO) and carbohydrate-protein (CHO-P) supplementation during endurance exercise. Thus this study assessed performance from three different supplements (CHO-P, CHO, double carbohydrate [CHO-CHO]) as compared to a placebo (PLA) during a time trial (TT) run. Twelve male recreational runners (age = 32.4 ± 9.5 yrs; body mass index [BMI] = 22.7 ± 1.5 kg/m2; VO2max = 59.68 ± 7.53 mL/kg body weight; 100% white) individually completed four, 12-mile TT runs, 7-10 days apart, at about 75% of the their race pace. Dietary and physical activity consistency within the …

Cardiac Kids: Obesity Intervention Program In Elementary School Children, Christen Rose Waddell, Lisa Wagoner, Bonnie Callen, Carolyn Perry-Burst, Aneisa Mcdonald, Marcia Spence

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Curricular Competencies Related To Cultural Competence For The Education And Training Of Registered Dietitians, Tegan Jean Medico

Masters Theses

Increasing demographic diversity, persistent health disparities, and ongoing efforts to reduce health care costs have made cultural and linguistic competence in the United States health care system a premier concern. Integral to improving cultural competence in health care is providing health professionals with adequate education and training in cultural competence. For this reason, there has been increasing attention paid by academia across health-related disciplines and by national organizations and governmental health agencies to delineating what cultural competence in education and training entails. Though a multidisciplinary body of literature on developing curricula related to cultural competence for health professionals exists, still …

Youth Can! Grow Healthy!, Andrew Nils Carberry

Masters Theses

This study presents a formative evaluation of an afterschool program that combined youth development and school garden curricula. This program used a novel approach to teach elementary school children about fruits and vegetables and to engage them in advocacy for the physical activity and nutrition environments in their community. The youth development curriculum included sessions on team building, community pride, healthy eating and physical activity, and advocacy. Photovoice was used as a method to allow participants to assess their community and communicate findings with leaders. Participants selected community leaders to invite to their school and shared their findings via a …

Family Mealtimes, Dietary Quality, And Body Mass Index In Children, Claudia Christine Favre

Masters Theses

Frequency of family mealtimes has been positively linked to dietary quality and weight status in children; however, there is a lack of research identifying what components of family mealtimes are associated with this positive effect. This study investigated family mealtime components that may impact dietary intake and weight status in children aged 5-11 years.

Participants were 50 parent/child pairs (child: age = 7.3 ± 2.0 years, female = 44%, standardized body mass index (zBMI) = 0.55 ± 1.0, overweight/obese = 26.0%; parent: age = 36.8 ± 8.7 years, female = 76%, BMI = 29.0 ± 6.6 kg/m2, overweight/obese = 74.0%) …

Defining A Snack Self-Definitions And Snack Patterns Of College Freshmen, Rachel Ann Kinney

Masters Theses

A consistent definition for snacks has not been developed in dietary research despite the significant contribution of snacks to overall dietary intake. The purpose of this research was to examine self-reported definitions of a snack and to examine snacking patterns among a college freshman population. Aim 1 consisted of a qualitative analysis of self-definitions of the word "snack" (n=663). Aim 2 consisted of a quantitative analysis of snack patterns reported from seven-day food records (n=105). Participants were 18-19 year old entering freshman of a large state university. Aim 1 participants responded to the question "How would you define the word …

The Effect Of Nutritionally Adequate Ketogenic Diets Consistent In Protein, Fiber And Micronutrient Content On Seizures In El/Suz Mice, Katherine Jones Irwin

Masters Theses

The ketogenic diet (KD) is an effective mode of therapy for epilepsy, although the mechanism(s) of action remains unknown. In investigating mechanism(s) of action, controlling for dietary factors, such as protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, is a critical component of experimental design, particularly as many nutrients modify metabolism and gene regulation. Furthermore, experimental nutrient and energy deficient diets are not readily applicable to humans. Nonetheless, a nutritionally adequate nutrient-controlled KD has not previously been developed and evaluated for utility in an experimental model. In this study, we tested the efficacy of novel ketogenic and calorie restricted diets while maintaining consistent …

Content Validation Of A Model For Organizational Cultural Competence Of Health-Related Post-Secondary Academic Departments Or Units, Diane Elizabeth Krause

Masters Theses

OBJECTIVE: Health-related academic units need to be culturally competent to meet workforce needs for culturally competent personnel and to establish effective academic-practice linkages. This study was designed to test the content validity of a model, developed from a literature review, for organizational cultural competence of health-related academic units. METHODS: An expert panel convened as a virtual team to provide input on domains and criteria statements that are important and relevant for academia. An iterative process was used as a series of large and small group telephone conferences and e-mail comment period. RESULTS: Over a 4-month period, the expert panel revised, …