Digital Commons Network^™

Essays On Advertising, Sodium Intake, And Soda Taxes, Ezgi Cengiz

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation empirically explores the economics of advertising, sodium intake, and sweetened beverage taxes in food and beverages industries in the United States. I use recent advances in econometrics and statistics and provide causally interpretable results to deepen our understanding of how individuals respond to changes in advertising and public health policies in consumer packaged good industries. In the first chapter, titled “Is traditional advertising effective? New evidence from mass-produced lager beer in the United States,” I present new evidence regarding the effectiveness of traditional advertising on product demand for mass-produced lager beer in the United States using …

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, …

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 …

Micronutrients, Inflammation And Depression Among Women Of Reproductive Age From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2008, Joycelyn M. Faraj

Doctoral Dissertations

Depression is the leading cause of disease burden among women. Recent evidence indicates that inflammation is associated with depression, and factors that contribute to inflammation can be addressed through nutritional and lifestyle interventions. Vitamins B₆ and D have been linked with depression and have established roles in inflammation, yet their associations with depression in the presence of low-grade inflammation remain unknown. The purpose of this research was to investigate how high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a biomarker of inflammation, contributes to different dimensions of depression and to determine to what degree inflammation affects the association between vitamins B_{6 …}

Using The Plasma Free Amino Acid Dose Response Method To Determine Metabolizable Protein Concentrations Of Lysine And Methionine In Rumen Protected Supplements, Nancy Lee Whitehouse

Doctoral Dissertations

Balancing diets for lysine (Lys) and methionine (Met) in dairy rations is becoming a regular practice in today’s industry. In order to be able to use rumen-protected AA (RPAA) in those diets a method to assess the efficacy and bioavailability needs to be proposed. The objective of the following studies was to propose the acceptance of the plasma free AA dose-response technique as a standardized methodology for evaluating RPAA in lactating dairy cows. Thirteen dose-response Latin square studies using ruminally-cannulated multiparous Holstein cows were conducted. Regression analysis of the slopes against the difference between plasma Lys concentration of basal and …

The Relationship Between Sleep And Nutrition In Message Framing Among College Students, Abbey G. White

Doctoral Dissertations

The college years are often depicted as a time of immense change, specifically in relation to college students' level of nutrition and sleep quality. However, these health concerns not only impact college students' health but also their academic performance, mood, and as a result their future. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether technologically enhanced health messages are more effective than the traditional text format for creating healthy behavioral changes amongst college students. Secondly, the study provides the opportunity to examine previous research involving message framing, specifically, regulatory focus theory and self-efficacy, in order to provide further …

A Nursing Intervention To Improve Nutrition For Health Promotion For A Vulnerable Urban Adult Group, Meridell Joy Gracias

Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose: Low-income adults often have nutrition-related health issues, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, and others. Factors identified as contributing to these issues are lack of nutrition education and lack of access to quality, healthy food choices. The purpose of this project was to improve nutrition for health promotion in a group of vulnerable adults in an urban setting, and answer questions of (a) Will a program of targeted nutrition education, with advocacy for quality food, be associated with increased knowledge and dietary behavior change? (b) Will such an intervention result in increased self-efficacy for food choices and their impact …

Everyday Food Practices Among Three Low-Income Groups: Rural, Homeless, And Refugee, Amy L. Redman

Doctoral Dissertations

Lower-income groups are more susceptible to diet-related diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease (CDC, 2010). They are also more likely to need food and nutritional assistance (USDA, 2011). Yet very little is known about the day-to-day food practices of these individuals and families. Many times those who are relatively adjacent in terms of income are assumed to have similarities in food consumption (Hupkens, Knibbe, & Drop, 2000); however, this has not been empirically examined. The main objectives of this research are to 1) gain an exploratory in-depth understanding of the everyday food practices of individuals in three low-income groups: …

Test Model Of A Healthy Lifestyle Intervention Program, Jorie C. Allen

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a worksite health promotion (WHP) delivered in a small workplace, improves health risk factors, is cost-effective, and positively impacts health behaviors.

Comparison (C, n = 31) and Intervention (I, n = 29) groups underwent health risk assessment and screening at baseline, 12 and 24 months. The I group attended lifestyle classes at the workplace and reported pedometer step counts. Data were analyzed using general linear model ANOVA or Chi square analysis.

At 12 months from baseline, the I group had a decreased LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (126.67 +/- 4.0 mg/dl to 110.86 …

Eating Quality And Variability In Carotenoid Content And Profiles In Winter Squash And Sweet Potato, Jennifer Bonina Noseworthy

Doctoral Dissertations

A comprehensive study at the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) of 16 winter squash cultigens (Cucurbita spp.), including inbred lines and open pollinated and F1 hybrid cultivars from the University of New Hampshire breeding program, was undertaken to determine dry weight (%DW), soluble solids contents (%SSC) and carotenoid contents of mesocarp tissue, major attributes for determining acceptable eating quality and nutritional content. Data were recorded at harvest, either 40 or 60 days after pollination (DAP), and after 30 and 60 days of storage at 14 °C. Carotenoid contents were determined spectrophotometrically and using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

The …

Cellular Uptake And Actions Of Bilberry Anthocyanins In Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, Paul Everett Milbury Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Inflammation and oxidative stress play a significant role in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In AMD, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are damaged by oxidative stress and die via the process of apoptosis. Anthocyanins from fruits and berries, such as bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), possess significant antioxidant activity in vitro and have been used in "traditional medicine" to treat AMD. It is not clear whether intracellular concentrations of anthocyanins are sufficient to quench radical species and mitigate oxidative stress in vivo. In this research project, human RPE cells in vitro were used to establish an oxidative stress model in …

Investigating Determinants Of Macular Pigment Optical Density And Macular Pigment Distribution In Adults Aged 45--73: Can Enhanced Analytical Techniques Improve The Ability To Predict Macular Pigment Status?, Joanne Delaney Burke

Doctoral Dissertations

This research assessed the relationships of dietary, sex, and biochemical factors to macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and macular pigment (MP) distribution in 108 adults. Dietary assessment tools were evaluated for their ability to predict MP status. Macular pigment was assessed at four foveal sites and one parafoveal site. An average composite macular pigment value (CMPV) was calculated based on the MPOD results. Group mean MPOD results from most to least central retinal locations, were 0.43 (SE +/- 0.017), 0.36 (SE +/- 0.013), 0.28 (SE +/- 0.012), and 0.13 (SE +/- 0.008), respectively. The CMTV was 0.26 (SE +/- 0.0 …

Factors That Influence The Decision Regarding Hormone Replacement Therapy In Postmenopausal Women, Ruth A Rogers Reilly

Doctoral Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States today. Prior to menopause women have lower rates of heart disease than men; however, after menopause a woman's risk for heart disease rises dramatically. This is thought to be due the ovaries' decreased production of estradiol, but the mechanisms for this effect have not been fully elucidated. The need exists to investigate the impact of healthy lifestyles on attenuating the risk of cardiovascular disease in women as they age.

The majority of research on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has focused on the biomedical model suggesting that …

Beta-Carotene In The Bovine Corpus Luteum, Stephen Grimmell Judd

Doctoral Dissertations

There have been conflicting reports which associate a low dietary intake or plasma concentration of beta-carotene (BC) with decreased fertility in dairy cows. The bovine corpus luteum (CL), a transient endocrine gland formed subsequent to ovulation, produces the steroid hormone progesterone which sustains pregnancy and is associated with fertility. Because of its high concentrations of the antioxidant nutrient beta-carotene, the CL was examined to identify an in vivo function for BC, other than that as a precursor of retinol. Five non-lactating Jersey cows were fed a basal ration containing a low BC concentration. Each cow received either 0, 1.6, 8.0, …

Macular Pigment In Monozygotic Twins, Billy Randall Hammond

Doctoral Dissertations

Differences in the optical density of macular pigment between ten pairs of identical twins were examined. Foveal and parafoveal sensitivities to lights of 460 and 530 nm were measured by heterochromatic flicker photometry in five separate sessions for the right eye of each twin. These two wavelengths represent the maximum and minimum absorbance for macular pigment. Taking the difference in log sensitivity to the 460 nm light for the fovea and parafovea, after normalizing with respect to 530 nm, yields a measurement of the optical density of macular pigment. Statistically significant differences in macular pigment density were found for five …

The Availability Of Niacin In Certain Feedstuffs For The Hen, Anthanasios George Manoukas

Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.