Pink And Dude Chefs: Effectiveness Of An After-School Nutrition Knowledge And Culinary Skills Program For Middle School Students To Increase Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Alyssa S. Vaziri

Master's Theses

The rate of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 12-19 years has more than tripled since 1980, and disproportionately impacts low-income and marginalized populations. Reduction in adolescent obesity rates may result in decreased health risks, decrease healthcare costs, and increased quality of life. Effective intervention methods for adolescent participants have incorporated nutrition knowledge and culinary skill building into afterschool programs. This study examines whether building knowledge, skills, and confidence through a culinary intervention can improve adolescent participants’ choices of healthful foods through increased fruit and vegetable intake.

Pink and Dude Chefs (PDC) is an afterschool nutrition education and culinary skills …

Assessing The Effect Of Nutritional Interventions On Body Composition Changes During Pregnancy In Moderately Malnourished Malawian Women, Megan K. Kitagawa

Master's Theses

Background: Malnutrition can affect the body composition changes that occur in healthy pregnancy, resulting in adverse effects to both the mother and infant. Supplementary foods with high quality protein may result in more favorable changes in lean mass and fat mass in pregnant malnourished women.

Objective: To retrospectively assess changes in body composition in moderately malnourished pregnant Malawian women in response to one of three nutritional interventions.

Methods: Height, weight, MUAC, and TSF were measured in pregnant women with MUAC >20.6 cm and19) were compared using ANOVA. If differences were detected, differences between groups were tested using the Tukey HSD …

Physical Activity And Nutritional Behavior Of Overweight College Students Trying To Lose Weight 2014, Santino Vallejos M.S.

Master's Theses

Although there are numerous benefits to increased physical activity and proper dietary behaviors, the decreased participation in physical activity and poor dietary behaviors has emerged as a significant problem within the college student population. The focus of this research study was to identify the relationship between physical activity and dietary behavior to weight loss behaviors within an undergraduate student sample of a small, comprehensive northeastern university. College-aged students (age range: 17 to 27 years old) completed the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) National College Health Assessment II (NCHA) during the years 2009 and 2012. According to the results, there were …

Evaluation Of A Theory-Based Farm To School Program, Rebecca Kent Bishop

Master's Theses

Fruit and vegetable (FV) intakes in MS children remain lower than recommended. Theory-based, multi-component nutrition education interventions like Farm to School (F2S) target FV consumption and utilize such interventions to improve children’s dietary behaviors by incorporating nutrition and agriculture education. The current study was designed with Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as its framework. An intervention was implemented to enhance beliefs, norms, and self-efficacy regarding FV, thus potentially increasing the intention to consume more FV. The research objectives of this study are to describe changes over the course of the intervention in (1) nutrition knowledge; (2) norms, beliefs, and self-efficacy …

Associations Between Alcohol Consumption And Fasting Blood Glucose In Young Adults, Julie Ann Lucca

Master's Theses

Current research shows moderate alcohol consumption is associated with decreased risk of diabetes and excessive consumption or binge drinking can cause insulin resistance and diabetes. In 2010, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United Statesand was responsible for significant health complications: blindness, kidney failure, and limb amputations, and is a large national economic burden. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) is a tool used to help diagnose diabetes. Abnormally high FBG, ≥100 mg/dl, is indicative of diabetes and pre-diabetes. Few studies have observed diabetic prevalence among young adults or college students. Studying young adults can help provide added …

Parenting Nutrition Skills Workshop: An Evaluation Of Facilitated Group Discussions To Enhance Parenting Nutrition Self Efficacy, Lisa A. Dawes

Master's Theses

Abstract

Parenting Nutrition Skills Workshops: An Evaluation of Facilitated Group Discussions to Enhance Parenting Nutrition Self-Efficacy

By: Lisa Dawes, RD, CDE

This research study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using facilitated group discussion (FGD), a less traditional method of nutrition education, for increasing parents’ feelings of self-efficacy in their ability to make nutrition-related decisions, and to set and enforce nutrition-related boundaries with their children.

Childhood obesity is on the rise; poor food choices, portion control, and inactivity are identified as contributing causes. Parents play a major role in creating healthy habits and providing a well-balanced diet for their …

Dietary Protein Influences Paracellular Calcium Transport: Two Molecular Targets, Belinda M. Kotler

Master's Theses

The effect of dietary protein on bone health remains controversial. We have shown that increasing dietary protein increases calcium absorption in both humans and rats with no change in bone resorption. We used a rat model in which dietary protein increases intestinal calcium absorption and whole body calcium retention, to explore the molecular basis for this effect. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a low (5%) or high (40%) protein diet for 7 days. On day 7, duodenal mucosa was harvested and total RNA isolated. Microarray analyses using these RNA samples identified 208 genes whose expression was at least 1.5 fold …

Cholesterol Lowering Effects Of Milk With Added Phytosterols, Laura Kells Cusack

Master's Theses

Foods incorporating plant sterols (PS) reduce Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) on average approximately 10%. PS with a higher lipid solubility may promote greater reductions. We examined the cholesterol lowering effect of a novel triglyceride recrystallized phystosterol (TRP). Twenty subjects (mean ± SD; age, 56 ± 10 years; BMI, 27 ± 5) with elevated LDL (>100 mg/dL) participated in three 4-week phases; Phase I, 2% milk; Phase II, milk with 2.0 grams (g) free PS; Phase III, milk with 2.0 g TRP. Before and after each phase two fasting blood draws were obtained for determination of serum cholesterol. Between the 2% …

Supporting School Wellness Policices Through Game On! Implementation In 13 High-Need Connecticut Schools, Sarah M. Bourque

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Formative Evaluation For A Food Choices Intervention In A Mississippi Delta Community: A Focus Group Of Rural African American Adolescents, Jovan Chantrell Eugene Williams

Master's Theses

A needs assessment should be conducted to plan effective interventions. This study used a qualitative research approach to examine the eating patterns, food purchasing and preparation skills and practices, barriers and facilitators of dietary change, social and contextual influences on food choices, and preferences for communication and presentation channels and styles of low-income rural African American adolescents. Seven focus groups were conducted with a total of 33 participants, 21 girls and 12 boys, aged 13-18. Adolescents were grouped by age and gender. A moderator, who was trained in focus group methodology, conducted the session using a focus group discussion guide …

Development And Formative Implementation Of A Nutrition Assessment And Peer Education Program Based On Dietary Analysis At A California State University, Janay Jelso

Master's Theses

A healthy diet has been established as a key component contributing to an individual’s quality of life. Statistics show that the diet of Americans needs improvement (Guenther et al., 2007) indicating possible lack knowledge of what healthy eating behaviors are. There is an abundance of nutrition misinformation available to the consumer (American Dietetic Association, 2002a). Dietary interventions that provide credible education based on readiness to change behaviors and goal setting have been successful in increasing awareness of what healthy eating behaviors are and changing existing behaviors over time (Ammerman et al., 2002; Evans & Sawyer-Morse, 2002; Gambera et al., 1995; …