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- All Subjects: Nutrition
Description
Due to persistent undernutrition in India and the increased demands placed on a woman’s body during childbearing and lactation, the Indian government has implemented a program to provide supplemental nutrition packets to women in rural India. This study examines the factors influencing uptake of nutritional packets by lactating mothers in southern, rural Rajasthan. Women were recruited from 65 villages in Rajasthan, India (n=149, minimum of 2 per village) to evaluate the relationship of nutrition packet uptake and two factors--education levels and distance to the health center.
Level of education had little impact on whether or not women received the nutrition packet. Of those women with no education, 63.1% received the packet. Of those with any education, 63.9% got the packet.
In contrast, distance was strongly correlated with whether or not women received the packet. For example, of the women living within 200 meters of the health center, 93.2% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living between 250 meters and one kilometer of the health center, 68.4% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living over one kilometer from the health center, only 25% received a nutrition packet. The relationship between uptake of packets and women’s perception of distance to the health center was also explored. Out of 50 women who did not receive the packet, all of the women who said there was no health center in their village did live more than one kilometer from a health center. Of the women who lived between 250 meters and one kilometer from the health center, 40% felt it was too far. Of the women who lived more than a kilometer from the health center, 66.7% felt it was too far and 29.6% said there was no health center in their village. Again, it does not appear that ‘too far’ is just a default reason for women, but that actual distance, more so than education, is a major contributing factor in their ability to take the nutrition packet. These findings suggest that improving access to supplemental nutrition packets at the village level may increase uptake by the women.
Level of education had little impact on whether or not women received the nutrition packet. Of those women with no education, 63.1% received the packet. Of those with any education, 63.9% got the packet.
In contrast, distance was strongly correlated with whether or not women received the packet. For example, of the women living within 200 meters of the health center, 93.2% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living between 250 meters and one kilometer of the health center, 68.4% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living over one kilometer from the health center, only 25% received a nutrition packet. The relationship between uptake of packets and women’s perception of distance to the health center was also explored. Out of 50 women who did not receive the packet, all of the women who said there was no health center in their village did live more than one kilometer from a health center. Of the women who lived between 250 meters and one kilometer from the health center, 40% felt it was too far. Of the women who lived more than a kilometer from the health center, 66.7% felt it was too far and 29.6% said there was no health center in their village. Again, it does not appear that ‘too far’ is just a default reason for women, but that actual distance, more so than education, is a major contributing factor in their ability to take the nutrition packet. These findings suggest that improving access to supplemental nutrition packets at the village level may increase uptake by the women.
ContributorsJeffers, Eva Marie (Author) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis director) / Maupin, Jonathan (Committee member) / Cook, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The transition from high school to college is, for many, a drastic change in lifestyle, social networks, and dietary choices. The prevalence of obesity in college students has been steadily increasing. Freshmen weight gains have been associated with a decrease in fruits and vegetables and an increase in unhealthy items such as desserts, alcohol, and late night snacking after dinner. A survey of college students was constructed to gauge students' perceptions of nutrition how these perceptions influenced dietary practices and behaviors. Survey results indicated that awareness of nutrition and health does not translate to dietary practices, aligning with results from previous studies. Several sex differences were noted in regards to dietary choices and perceptions, knowledge seeking behavior, and sources of information. While there were some similarities, it is clear from the results obtained that men and women have different approaches and thoughts with regard to nutrition. The results showed that college students who actively seek our nutritional information are more likely to do so in the form of social media or Internet sources. This study could be useful for those planning on conducting college-based nutritional programs in that the results indicate patterns and trends that should be taken into consideration in order for a successful nutrition intervention
ContributorsKeahon, Gabriela Estrada (Author) / Jehn, Megan (Thesis director) / Williams, Deborah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Background:
Pediatric obesity is associated with lower quality of life (QOL) and populations with high obesity rates, such as Latinos, are especially vulnerable. We examined the effects of a 12-week diabetes prevention program on changes in weight-specific QOL in Latino youth.
Method:
Fifteen obese Latino adolescents (BMI%=96.3±1.1;age=15.0±1.0) completed a 12-week intervention. Youth completed weight-specific QOL measures at baseline, post intervention, and 1-year follow-up. For comparison purposes, intervention youth were matched for age and gender with lean controls.
Results:
At baseline, obese youth exhibited significantly lower weight-specific QOL compared with lean youth (70.8±5.4 to 91.2±2.2, p<0.005). The intervention did not significantly impact weight (90.6±6.8 to 89.9±7.2kg, p=0.44). However, significant increases in weight-specific QOL were observed (70.8±20.9 to 86.2±16.9, p<0.001). Post-intervention QOL scores were no longer significantly different than lean controls (P=0.692). Data from nine youth who returned for follow-up indicated that increases in weight-specific QOL were maintained over time (90.5±4.5 to 85.8±5.9, p=0.74).
Conclusion:
These results indicate that a community-based diabetes prevention program can result in sustained improvements in weight-specific QOL among obese Latino youth. Lifestyle interventions that focus on social interaction and physical activity, rather than weight-loss per se, may help improve the psychosocial health of obese Latino youth.
Pediatric obesity is associated with lower quality of life (QOL) and populations with high obesity rates, such as Latinos, are especially vulnerable. We examined the effects of a 12-week diabetes prevention program on changes in weight-specific QOL in Latino youth.
Method:
Fifteen obese Latino adolescents (BMI%=96.3±1.1;age=15.0±1.0) completed a 12-week intervention. Youth completed weight-specific QOL measures at baseline, post intervention, and 1-year follow-up. For comparison purposes, intervention youth were matched for age and gender with lean controls.
Results:
At baseline, obese youth exhibited significantly lower weight-specific QOL compared with lean youth (70.8±5.4 to 91.2±2.2, p<0.005). The intervention did not significantly impact weight (90.6±6.8 to 89.9±7.2kg, p=0.44). However, significant increases in weight-specific QOL were observed (70.8±20.9 to 86.2±16.9, p<0.001). Post-intervention QOL scores were no longer significantly different than lean controls (P=0.692). Data from nine youth who returned for follow-up indicated that increases in weight-specific QOL were maintained over time (90.5±4.5 to 85.8±5.9, p=0.74).
Conclusion:
These results indicate that a community-based diabetes prevention program can result in sustained improvements in weight-specific QOL among obese Latino youth. Lifestyle interventions that focus on social interaction and physical activity, rather than weight-loss per se, may help improve the psychosocial health of obese Latino youth.
ContributorsBrito, Elizabeth (Author) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Thesis director) / Barroso, Cristina (Committee member) / Patrick, Donald (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The purpose of this research was to analyze the EPODE Model for the development community-based interventions against childhood obesity and its transferability on a global scale. The Ensemble, Prevenons L'Obesite des Enfant (EPODE: Together Let's Prevent Childhood Obesity) Model was developed in France following the successful results of a community-based intervention there. The Model is illustrated by four pillars that are essential to program implementation and positive results. These pillars are: political support, research & evaluation, social marketing principles and public/private partnerships. Using these four pillars, the model has been transferred to diverse countries around the globe and has shown results in these diverse locations. In order to understand what makes this model so transferrable to so many diverse locations, this researcher traveled to the Netherlands, Belgium and France visiting program locations and interviewing professionals who have been involved in the development of the model, its modification and implementation. These interviews addressed specific modifications to the model that were made for implementation in the Netherlands and Belgium. This paper outlines the key transferrable components of this model and outlines a proposed model to be used in the United States.
ContributorsNielsen, Abigail Fanchon (Author) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Thesis director) / Barroso, Cristina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Chronic stress often leads to cognitive deficits, especially within the spatial memory domain mediated by the hippocampus. When chronic stress ends and a no-stress period ensues (i.e., washout, WO), spatial ability improves, which can be better than non-stressed controls (CON). The WO period is often the same duration as the chronic stress paradigm. Given the potential benefit of a post-stress WO period on cognition, it is important to investigate whether this potential benefit of a post-stress WO period has long-lasting effects. In this project, chronic restraint (6hr/d/21d) in Sprague-Dawley rats was used, as it is the minimum duration necessary to observe spatial memory deficits. Two durations of post-stress WO were used following the end of chronic restraint, 3 weeks (STR-WO3) and 6 weeks (STR-WO6). Immediately after chronic stress (STR-IMM) or the WO periods, rats were tested on various cognitive tests. We corroborated past studies that chronic stress impaired spatial memory (STR-IMM vs CON). Interestingly, STR-WO3 and STR-WO6 failed to demonstrate improved spatial memory on a radial arm water maze task, performing similarly as STR-IMM. Performance outcomes were unlikely from differences in anxiety or motivation because rats from all conditions performed similarly on an open field task and on a simple object recognition paradigm, respectively. However, performance on object placement was unusual in that very few rats explored, suggesting some degree of anxiety or fear in all groups. One possible interpretation of the unusual results of the 3 week washout group may be attributed to the different spatial memory tasks used across studies or external factors from the study. Further exploration of these other factors led to the conclusion that they did not play a role and the STR-WO3 RAWM data were anomalous to other studies. This suggests that a washout period following chronic stress may not be fully understood.
ContributorsFlegenheimer, Aaron Embden (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather (Committee member) / Ortiz, J. Bryce (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This creative project seeks to demonstrate the nutritional and financial benefits of cooking in versus eating out to college age students. We sought to determine what factors significantly differentiated restaurant meals versus home-cooked versions, and how we could share this information with our peers to potentially influence them to make a healthy lifestyle change. The first step was to determine the factors that influence college-aged students eating habits, and was presented with a review of relevant literature in several topics. We researched food literacy in young adults, the impact of fast food, social media's role in healthy eating habits, health behavior change in young adults, and the benefits of home cooking to obtain a general baseline of the knowledge of college-aged students. The initial research was utilized to write more effective blog posts that appropriately addressed our targeted demographic and to determine what platforms would be most appropriate to convey our information. These ideas were taken and then translated into a blog and Instagram account that contained healthy, copycat recipes of popular restaurant meals. We wrote 30 blog posts which were made up of 20 original recipes, 8 nutrition informational posts, and an introduction/conclusion. Finally, a focus group was hosted to ascertain the opinions of our peers, and to determine if they would be willing to make a lifestyle change in the form of cooking more frequently as opposed to eating out regularly. We provided them with a pre and post survey to gather their opinions before and after reviewing the findings of our research and project. We concluded that if given the information in an accessible way, college students are willing to eat in, not out.
ContributorsKirch, Jayme Elizabeth (Co-author) / Sanford, Victoria (Co-author) / Lehmann, Jessica (Thesis director) / Martinelli, Sarah (Committee member) / Levinson, Simin (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Advancements in both the medical field and public health have substantially minimized the detrimental impact of infectious diseases. Health education and disease prevention remains a vital tool to maintain and propagate this success. In order to determine the relationship between knowledge of disease and reported preventative behavior 180 participants amongst the ASU student population were surveyed about their knowledge and prevention behavior for 10 infectious diseases. Of the 180 participants only 138 were completed surveys and used for analysis. No correlation was found between knowledge or perceived risk and preventative measures within the total sample of 138 respondents, however there was a correlation found within Lyme disease and Giardia exposure to information and prevention. Additionally, a cultural consensus analysis was used to compare the data of 17 US-born and 17 foreign-born participants to analyze patterns of variation and agreement on disease education based on national origins. Cultural consensus analysis showed a strong model of agreement among all participants as well as within the US-born and foreign-born student groups. There was a model of agreement within the questions pertaining to transmission and symptoms. There was not however a model of agreement within treatment questions. The findings suggest that accurate knowledge on infectious diseases may be less impactful on preventative behavior than social expectations.
ContributorsVernon, Samantha (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Jehn, Megan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and quality of HEAL International's HIV/AIDS education prevention program for secondary school students in the Arusha region of Tanzania during the summer of 2016 using a cross-cultural teaching team. Basic HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes concerning risk reduction behaviors as well as towards people living with HIV/AIDS were studied among Form 1 and Form 3 students from two secondary schools in rural Tanzania. The intervention program aimed to increase knowledge and positive attitudes related to HIV/AIDS in order to motivate healthy behavior change. 211 Form 1 students and 156 Form 3 students received the intervention and completed both pre- and post-evaluation surveys. At the post-evaluation, all students showed increases in basic HIV/AIDS knowledge levels as well as positive attitudes concerning HIV/AIDS risk reduction and about people living with HIV/AIDS. Students' levels of uncertainty when answering the survey questions were also decreased. Overall, the study findings indicate that HEAL's program had a positive impact on HIV/AIDS related knowledge and attitudes of secondary school students in Arusha, Tanzania. While this study had many limitations, it also offers areas of improvement for future HEAL International volunteer programs.
ContributorsPrynn, Tory Ayn (Author) / Jacobs, Bertram (Thesis director) / Maupin, Jonathan (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
My aims with this research project were to conduct a network analysis on collaborators in the ¡Viva Maryvale! project, a diabetes prevention program in Maryvale, AZ. The goals of the social network analysis were to measure the connections that collaborating organizations have to each other, the strength of these connections, and the activities that connected organizations collaborate on. I hypothesized that performing a network analysis would inform me of the strengths and weaknesses of the ¡Viva Maryvale! project in order to advise the next steps of a targeted approach to diabetes prevention among vulnerable populations, thus affecting public health outcomes in the greater Phoenix Valley.
ContributorsKellog, Anna (Author) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Thesis director) / Soltero, Erica (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) virus has had severe impacts on college students' ways of life. To examine how students were coping and perceiving the Covid-19 pandemic, a secondary analysis of an online survey across the three Arizona public universities investigated students’ knowledge about Covid-19, engagement with preventive strategies, pandemic preparedness and gauged their risk perception. Results from our analysis indicate that the students were knowledgeable about Covid-19 and were changing their habits and engaging with preventive measures. Results further suggest that students were prepared for the pandemic in terms of resources and were exhibiting high-risk perceptions. The data also revealed that students who were being cautious and engaging with preventive behaviors had a higher risk-perception than individuals who were not. As for individuals who were prepared for the pandemic in terms of supplies, their risk perception was similar to those who did not have supplies. Individuals who were prepared and capable of providing a single caretaker to tend to their sick household members and isolate them in a separate room had a higher risk perception than those who could not. These results can help describe how college students will react to a future significant event, what resources students may be in need of, and how universities can take additional steps to keep their students safe and healthy. The results from this study and recommendations will provide for a stronger and more understanding campus community during times of distress and can improve upon already established university protocols for health crises and even natural disasters.
ContributorsNaqvi, Avina Itrat (Co-author) / Shaikh, Sara (Co-author) / Jehn, Megan (Thesis director) / Adams, Marc (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05