Digital Commons Network^™

Obesity In The United States, Kimberly Greenlee, Larry Pilgrim

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Recipe Makeover: Finding Flavorful Healthy Alternatives For Traditional Foods, Rebecca Blubaugh

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Feeding Condensed Distillers’ Solubles To Feedlot Finishing Steers And The Effects Of Feed Additives In Adaptation Diets, Marie Elizabeth Harris

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

By-products from the dry-milling ethanol process can be used in cattle diets to replace corn. There is a significant interaction between corn processing methods as CCDS concentration increases in the diet. Improvements are observed for SFC in final BW, ADG, and G:F over DRC. An experiment was conducted to determine if greater concentrations of CCDS could be fed in SFC based diets and maintain or improve performance. Performance and carcass characteristics were evaluated with increasing concentrations of CCDS at 0, 9, 18, 27, or 36% in place of SFC in feedlot finishing diets. As CCDS concentration increased, DMI decreased quadratically. …

30 Days On $200: A Cooking Guide For Tasty & Healthy Eating On A Budget, Benjamin J. Slocum

Osteopathic Medicine Student Projects

Meal planning and cooking guide created to help people on food assistance and others better utilize their resources. This book contains health information, grocery shopping tips, meal planning guides, and easy instruction on cooking and the use of leftovers. With simple-to-read, image-based instruction, it teaches the basics on how to budget, plan meals, make shopping lists, and prepare food. The book assumes no prior cooking experience, and while anyone can benefit from the book regardless of income level, it makes a particular effort to demonstrate preparation for foods commonly acquired at food pantries.

Sweet Results, Winston J. Craig

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Is It Culturally Appropriate? Evaluation Efforts For Measuring The Cultural Appropriateness In Nutrition Education Programs Targeting The Hispanic Population, Andrea Aguilar Corrales

All Theses

Background: In the United States, nearly 70% of the population is overweight. The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey says Hispanics have the second prevalence of obesity, thus, increasing the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes in the largest minority group in the U.S. (U.S. Census, 2010). This requires effective and culturally appropriate interventions to promote healthy lifestyles. (WHO, 2003). Objective: The purpose of this study was to design and pilot-test a culturally appropriate tool to assure the nutrition information provided to the Hispanic population is appropriate. Design: The research design consisted of a triangulation of methods …

Cooking Healthy, Eating Smart (Ches): Evaluating The Feasibility Of Using Volunteers To Deliver Nutrition And Food Safety Education To Rural Older Adults, Morgan Getty

All Theses

Due to their limited resources, rural, older adults in the United States are at risk for poor diet-related health outcomes. Nutrition education is a key component in improving health outcomes in older adults. Cooking Healthy, Eating Smart (CHES) is a nine-lesson curriculum designed to teach rural, older adults culturally appropriate nutrition and food safety information. Funding to hire health professionals to deliver such a curriculum is limited, presenting the need to explore a less expensive mode of dissemination. In this community-based, participatory research study, a formative evaluation and feasibility study were conducted to examine the use of volunteers to deliver …

25-Hydroxyvitamin D, Igf-1, And Waist Circumference A Cross-Sectional Study, Damon Mccune

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: Waist circumference has been shown to have a link to various forms of chronic disease and low levels of Vitamin D (25(OH)D) and IGF-1. The purpose of this study is to assess if there is a relationship with Vitamin D (25(OH)D) and IGF-1 levels and waist circumference.

Methods: As part of a cross-sectional correlation study, participants were males and females (n=26), ages 25-65, who were students at UNLV and/or individuals who attend local health and wellness facilities as well as attendees of classes held by the UNLV Nutrition Center. Participants reported to UNLV to review and sign informed consent …

The Environmental And Health Costs Of Alternative Diets: A Comparative Study Of The U. S. Diet Relative To The French, Japanese, Mediterranean, And Nordic Diets, Sarah Rehkamp

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis contributes to the literature on sustainable consumption by using scenario analysis to evaluate the environmental and health costs of the U.S. diet relative to the French, Japanese, Mediterranean, and Nordic diets, identified in the literature as healthier diets. As a first step in estimating environmental costs, the energy efficiencies of each diet are calculated by decomposing each of the diets into their respective components. Then, the dietary efficiencies are translated into CO₂ emissions. As a first step in estimating health costs, a pooled cross-section time-series dataset is used to find the association between BMI and five countries, …

A Multicultural Nutrition And Culinary Intervention For Middle School Students: Pink And Dude Chefs, Phase 2, Jaime Lynn Lockhart

Master's Theses

The prevalence of adolescent obesity in the United States has more than quadrupled in the past 30 years, growing from 5% to nearly 21% in 12-19 year olds. Although obesity has many interrelated causes, a lack of knowledge and practical skill to prepare healthy food from scratch is an important factor. Research indicates that nutrition and culinary interventions based on behavioral change theories may improve mediators of healthful eating in adolescents.

Pink and Dude Chefs, Phase 2, an eight-week after-school nutrition and culinary intervention targeted towards middle school students in a predominantly low-income, Hispanic community, was developed and evaluated. The …

The Association Of Wellness Policy Quality And Percentage Of Obesity In Schools, Bryce M. Abbey

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Schools possess a unique opportunity to reach a large captive audience and are becoming one of the battlegrounds for childhood obesity. To address the school environment’s role on the influence of American children’s nutritional intake and participation in physical activity, the United States (US) Federal Government adopted the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, placing an emphasis on implementation of the local school wellness policy (LSW). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between LSW and percentage of obesity in school districts within Nebraska. Aggregate district-wide body mass index (BMI) percentile data were utilized from previously collected …

Metagenomic Identification Of A Novel Salt Tolerance Gene From The Human Gut Microbiome Which Encodes A Membrane Protein With Homology To A Brp/Blh-Family Beta-Carotene 15,15'-Monooxygenase, Eamonn P. Culligan, Roy D. Sleator, Julian R. Marchesi, Colin Hill

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The human gut microbiome consists of at least 3 million non-redundant genes, 150 times that of the core human genome. Herein, we report the identification and characterisation of a novel stress tolerance gene from the human gut metagenome. The locus, assigned brpA, encodes a membrane protein with homology to a brp/blh-family β-carotene monooxygenase. Cloning and heterologous expression of brpA in Escherichia coli confers a significant salt tolerance phenotype. Furthermore, when cultured in the presence of exogenous β-carotene, cell pellets adopt a red/orange pigmentation indicating the incorporation of carotenoids in the cell membrane.

Study Of Intuitive Eating Ratings And Self-Efficacy Differences In Women With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (Pcos), Meaghan Ormsby Schillinger

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder, which if left untreated can lead to infertility and diabetes.

Objective: To determine whether women with PCOS who practice intuitive eating skills are more confident in sustaining healthy lifestyle changes.

Methods: A web-based survey was completed by 120 women with PCOS. Bivariate associations between the self-efficacy and intuitive eating scales was investigated using scatterplots, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and a simple linear regression model. Ratings on the intuitive eating scale were dichotomized as high or low and self-efficacy ratings were compared.

Results: Of the 120 responses, 89% of …

"Wake Up The Knowledge That You Have": An Assessment Of Community Food Security In Fellsmere, Florida, Susan Marie Tyler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the global industrial agricultural system many people lack access to high-quality nutritious foods and food production techniques are often inefficient and reliant on harsh chemical inputs. While numerous strategies exist to address the disparities present in the global food system, increasingly researchers and practitioners are looking to local food systems for solutions to strengthen community food security (CFS). CFS emphasizes small-scale production strategies such as farmer's markets, community gardens, and consumer supported agriculture. As these efforts evolve, research is needed to understand how these strategies affect communities. To explore a local CFS initiative, qualitative data were collected from community …

Can Anyone With Low Income Be Food Secure?: Mitigating Food Insecurity Among Low Income Households With Children In The Tampa Bay Area, Edgar Allan Amador

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the US over the last few years, approximately 14.5% of households experience food insecurity at some point throughout the year. While studies on food insecurity in the US have determined that household income and specifically income available to spend on food is of critical importance to food security, it is still unclear why some households with low income are able to maintain food security while others experience food insecurity in a pattern characterized as not constant but recurrent. This dissertation compares households with children at different levels of food security and insecurity using the USDA Core Food Security Module …

Target Shooting As A Serious Leisure Pursuit–An Exploratory Study Of The Motivations Driving Participant Engagement, David Spencer Martin, Douglas Murray, Martin A. O'Neill, Martin Maccarthy, Jason Gogue

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

The current study is an attempt to better understand the motivations of consumers that engage in target shooting as a serious leisure activity. The instrument design was based on the Leisure Satisfaction Scale and the Leisure Motivation Scale. A total of 5502 usable surveys were collected utilising the Internet and a website related to gun ownership and target shooting. Exploratory in nature, results indicated that three variables in particular, Escapism, Social Interaction and Self-Actualisation, were primary motivators when it comes to engagement in target shooting as a serious leisure pursuit. These findings have important implications to the target-shooting community, and …

Feeding Alkaline Treated And Processed Crop Residue To Feedlot Cattle, Sarah Jean Peterson

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Chemical treatment and decreased particle size are methods used to improve digestibility and utilization of the available nutrients in low quality forages. Previous research has indicated that chemically treated corn residue can take the place of corn when included in finishing rations containing distillers grains. Also, decreasing particle size utilizing methods such as pelleting has been shown to improve DMI and ADG. However, limited research has been completed on use of chemical treatment and pelleting in growing and receiving rations. Also, an ideal distillers inclusion has not yet been identified when including alkaline treated stalks in finishing rations. Therefore, a …

Healing Power Of The Mind, Winston J. Craig

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Iron Nutriture Following Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery, Breanne N. Wright

Open Access Theses

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) is effective for weight loss, but is commonly associated with iron deficiency and its clinical manifestation, anemia. Diagnosing iron deficiency is complex because iron status depends on other nutrients; additionally, anemia following surgery is not specifically due to deficiency in iron, as it can be due to deficiencies in other nutrients including zinc, copper, vitamin B₆, folate, and vitamin B ₁₂. In patients who have undergone RYGB, our aims were to 1) conduct a comprehensive assessment of nutrients involved in iron homeostasis, 2) determine the contribution of dietary intake to iron deficiency, …

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Alters Lipid Metabolism And Epithelialto- Mesenchymal Transition In Metastatic Epithelial Breast Cancer Cells, Alle Nicole Barnard

Open Access Theses

Evidence suggests that high vitamin D status (marked by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)2 D) is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer. It has been established that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH) 2 D) can alter glycolysis and the Krebs cycle of breast cancer cells (Jiang et al., 2010; Zheng et al., 2013) but little information is available on 1,25(OH) 2 D's alterations of lipid metabolism in breast cancer cells. Thus, the current research investigates if there was an effect of 1,25(OH) 2 D on proteins that regulate lipid metabolism in MCF10A, MCF10A-ras, MCF10CA1h, and MCF10CA1a epithelial breast cancer cells. While …

Resveratrol And Cancer: Focus On In Vivo Evidence, Lindsay G. Carter, John A. D'Orazio, Kevin J. Pearson

Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring polyphenol that provides a number of anti-aging health benefits including improved metabolism, cardioprotection, and cancer prevention. Much of the work on resveratrol and cancer comes from in vitro studies looking at resveratrol actions on cancer cells and pathways. There are, however, comparatively fewer studies that have investigated resveratrol treatment and cancer outcomes in vivo, perhaps limited by its poor bioavailability when taken orally. Although research in cell culture has shown promising and positive effects of resveratrol, evidence from rodents and humans is inconsistent. This review highlights the in vivo effects of resveratrol treatment on breast, …

The Antimicrobial, Mechanical, Physical And Structural Properties Of Chitosan-Gallic Acid Films, Xiuxiu Sun, Zhe Wang, Hoda Kadouh, Kequan Zhou

Nutrition and Food Science Faculty Research Publications

Chitosan films incorporated with various concentrations of gallic acid were prepared and investigated for antimicrobial, mechanical, physical and structural properties. Four bacterial strains that commonly contaminate food products were chosen as target bacteria to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the prepared gallic acid-chitosan films. The incorporation of gallic acid significantly increased the antimicrobial activities of the films against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria innocua and Bacillus subtilis. Chitosan films incorporated with 1.5 g/100 g gallic acid showed the strongest antimicrobial activity. It was also found that tensile strength (TS) of chitosan film was significantly increased when incorporating …

Development, Implementation, And Validation Of The Health Density Vending Machine Audit Tool (Hdvmat), Melissa Matthews

Theses - ALL

Vending machines may be contributing to the obesogenic food environment. The Health Density Vending Machine Audit Tool (HDVMAT) was developed to comprehensively evaluate and score vending machines based on machine accessibility, product healthfulness, price, and promotion. A novel nutrient-dense scoring system was created to determine the healthfulness of vended snacks based upon calories and macro/micro-nutrients and of beverages based on type and/or calories. The HDVMAT was implemented in snack and beverage university machines in different states. Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-Vending (NEMS-V) was used to validate the nutrient-density score. Significant differences in HDVMAT snack and beverage scores were found between states. …

Resistant Starch Type 4-Enriched Diet Lowered Blood Cholesterols And Improved Body Composition In A Double Blind Controlled Cross-Over Intervention, Sailendra N Nichenametla, Lee A. Weidauer, Howard Wey, Tianna Beare, Bonny Specker, Moul Dey

Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

A metabolic health crisis is evident as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of mortality in the United States. Effects of resistant starch type 4 (RS4), a prebiotic fiber, in comprehensive management of metabolic syndrome (MetS) remain unknown. This study examined the effects of a blinded exchange of RS4-enriched flour (30% v/v) with regular/control flour (CF) diet on multiple MetS comorbidities. In a double blind (participants-investigators), placebo-controlled, cluster cross-over intervention (n = 86, age≥18, 2-12 week interventions, 2-week washout) in the United States, individuals were classified as having MetS (With-MetS) or not (No-MetS) following International Diabetes Federation (IDF)-criteria. RS4 …

An Examination Of An Environmental Change In Beverages Available To High School Students In Santa Maria, California On Their Consumption Behavior, Susan Eileen Klucker

Master's Theses

Hypothesis: "By an environmental change in high school vending machines, making water available, students will choose water over the sugar sweetened sodas."

This document highlights a case study analysis of vendor-provided refill data for forty-five beverage vending machines at two campus sites in one high school district in 2003 and 2004. The innovative study and publicized negotiated soda contract of a 50:50 (healthy to unhealthy) beverage ratio stipulation became the “Win-Win-WEAN” compromise, in which exposure to healthier beverage options for students might prove to provide the same income opportunity for the school district.

An overview of the political …

Urban Farm And Community Garden Hybrid Models: A Case Study Of The Huerta Del Valle Community Garden, Leah Hochberg

Scripps Senior Theses

This study examines models of community gardens and urban farms and determined a successful hybrid model for future implementation at the Huerta del Valle Community Garden. This was accomplished through analyzing the unique benefits and drawbacks of community gardens and urban farms as defined by the author, and then determining the components of each model that would maximize Huerta del Valle’s social and economic potential. Community gardens are defined in this thesis as places where community members can grow their own food in individual plots, and these spaces often contribute to community building, hands-on gardening education, and improved food access. …

Detection Of Pahs In Commercial And Wild Caught Fish Oil Using Scanning Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Edwin Antonio Pena

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The DeepWater Horizon (DWH) oil spill contaminated a large area in the Gulf of Mexico in summer 2010. It is likely that many aquatic species in the Gulf were affected by the spill. Crude oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs). Some PAHs are carcinogenic to fish and humans. The purpose of this project was to develop menhaden fish oil as a biomonitoring tool for crude oil contaminants such as PAHs using scanning fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS). Menhaden (Genus Brevoortia) is one of the most ecologically and economically important marine fish species along the Atlantic and Gulf coast; however, it is …

Exercise And Diet Program For The College Student, Brooks Briel

Senior Theses

Oftentimes college students can be seen going to the gym with simply no direction in exercise or nutrition. They go through the motions of exercising, but have no real understanding of what they are doing. These students may see some progress, but plateau early and find it discouraging to continue to workout. The goal of this project was to create a personal diet and exercise program that could be used by the average college student to improve their physical fitness levels. The exercise program attempts to improve body composition, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. This is done …

Characterizing And Improving The Oral Sensations And Preference Of Polyphenol-Rich Aronia Berry Juice, Jeeha Park

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Aronia berries (chokeberries) have very high levels of health-promoting polyphenols yet cause "choking" sensations due to bitterness and astringency. We aimed to describe oral sensations and palatability of aronia juice by variations in harvest time and oral sensory phenotype. Sensory blocking combinations were tested to improve juice acceptability. Methods: Ripe aronia berries were harvested at 7 time points and juiced for oral sampling by 50 adults who underwent bitter taste phenotyping. The adults reported quality intensities of prototypical tastes, foods, and aronia juices. Ethyl butyrate (10ppm) and/or sucrose (0.15 and 0.3M) were added to prototypical oral stimuli and aronia …

Effect Of Whole Beetroot On Muscular Endurance And Power In Powerlifters And Physique Competitors, John H. Jewett

Theses & Dissertations

Nitrate ingestion improves aerobic exercise performance, but the efficacy in resistance training has not been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether consuming whole beetroot, as a means to ingest nitrate, had an ergogenic benefit in muscular power and endurance in resistance training in powerlifters and physique competitors. Thirteen men and women (mean ± SE age, 21.2 ± 0.8 y; mass, 83.1 ± 5.9 kg) that had competed in a powerlifting or a physique competition in the previous year were studied in a randomized double blind controlled crossover trial with a seven day washout period. Participants ingested …