Life Sciences Commons^™

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%) …

Factors Affecting Bone Mineral Density In Elite Female Runners, Maureen E. Cartoon

Nutrition Theses

Introduction: The benefits of regular exercise on skeletal health have been well-documented in terms of stimulation of bone accrual and bone maintenance. Medium-impact sports activities such as running have been demonstrated to exert site-specific enhancement of bone mass in the lower appendicular skeleton. However, elite female runners engaged in high intensity training and sports activity may also be at risk of amenorrhea and low bone mineral density (BMD) resulting from inadequate caloric intake. Purpose: To investigate the effect of intensive exercise and maintenance of adequate caloric intake on BMD in a group of elite female runners. Methods: This study represents …

Pb1647-Do You Need To Take A Vitamin Supplement?, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Health, and Fitness

W hat you eat is important to your health. Almost every day new research confirms the benefits of healthful eating. The Food Guide Pyramid offers a reliable and easy-to-follow plan for healthful eating. If you eat the recommended number of servings from each of the pyramid food groups and eat a variety of foods from within each of the food groups, you should get all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients you need. People who consume a well-balanced diet usually do not need a vitamin/ mineral supplement.

Qualitative Description Of College Students' Dinner Groups, Brita Michelle Ball

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to discover how college students conduct dinner groups and students' perceptions of the benefits and difficulties of participation.

Design: Qualitative study conducted with seven focus groups.

Setting: A university campus.

Participants: Thirty-six college students participating in dinner groups. Dinner groups were defined as a group of ≥3 people cooking for each other (or together) and eating together ≥4 times a week.

Analysis: The focus groups were recorded, transcribed, coded, and reconciled. NUDIST® NVivo software was used in identifying themes and subthemes.

Results: Dinner groups were composed of roommates and/or other students living nearby. …

Survival And Inflammation In Patients With Heart Failure: The Impact Of Overweight, Obesity, Diabetes And Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Heather Payne-Emerson

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Overweight and obesity are paradoxically associated with better survival in patients with heart failure (HF). This association is poorly understood, in part because the impact of diabetes (DM) on survival of overweight and obese HF patients has not been considered. Inflammation may contribute to worse survival in overweight and obese HF patients with DM, and levels of inflammation may be associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. However, neither of these relationships has been investigated in patients with HF.

The purposes of this dissertation were to a) examine the effect of DM on survival of overweight and obese patients with HF, …

Nutrition-Related Knowledge And Behaviors Of Healthcare Professionals: A Pilot Study, Sarah Dale Zeola

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Healthcare consumers have a plethora of resources of nutrition guidance available, yet many sources provide unreliable information. Healthcare professionals are expected to be the expert source of nutrition information and dietary guidance for their clients and patients.

Purpose: To determine the nutrition knowledge, behaviors, and beliefs of healthcare professionals to identify which, if any, professional group are experts in nutrition and which professionals are the best resource for nutrition information and guidance for healthcare consumers.

Research Design: A self-reported online survey gathered information on participants’ (n=201) BMI, knowledge of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, dietary intake, and beliefs about …