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- All Subjects: Nutrition
- Creators: Bruening, Meg
- Creators: Lespron, Christy
- Creators: Levinson, Simin
Description
Fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption continues to lag far behind US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommendations. Interventions targeting individuals' dietary behaviors address only a small fraction of dietary influences. Changing the food environment by increasing availability of and excitement for FV through local food production has shown promise as a method for enhancing intake. However, the extent to which local production is sufficient to meet recommended FV intakes, or actual intakes, of specific populations remains largely unconsidered. This study was the first of its kind to evaluate the capacity to support FV intake of Arizona's population with statewide production of FV. We created a model to evaluate what percentage of Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations, as well as actual consumption, state-level FV production could meet in a given year. Intake and production figures were amended to include estimates of only fresh, non-tropical FV. Production was then estimated by month and season to illustrate fluctuations in availability of FV. Based on our algorithm, Arizona production met 184.5% of aggregate fresh vegetable recommendations, as well as 351.9% of estimated intakes of Arizonans, but met only 29.7% of recommended and 47.8% of estimated intake of fresh, non-tropical fruit. Much of the excess vegetable production can be attributed to the dark-green vegetable sub-group category, which could meet 3204.6% and 3160% of Arizonans' aggregated recommendations and estimated intakes, respectively. Only minimal seasonal variations in the total fruit and total vegetable categories were found, but production of the five vegetable sub-groups varied between the warm and cool seasons by 19-98%. For example, in the starchy vegetable group, cool season (October to March) production met only 3.6% of recommendations, but warm season (April to November) production supplied 196.5% of recommendations. Results indicate that Arizona agricultural production has the capacity to meet a large proportion of the population's FV needs throughout much of the year, while at the same time remaining a major producer of dark-green vegetables for out-of-state markets.
ContributorsVaudrin, Nicole (Author) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Thesis advisor) / Bruening, Meg (Thesis advisor) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Committee member) / Villalobos, J. Rene (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Objectives Through a cross-sectional observational study, this thesis evaluates the relationship between food insecurity and weight status, eating behaviors, the home food environment, meal planning and preparation, and perceived stress as it relates to predominantly Hispanic/Latino parents in Phoenix, Arizona. The purpose of this study was to address gaps in the literature by examining differences in "healthy" and "unhealthy" eating behaviors, foods available in the home, how time and low energy impact meal preparation, and the level of stress between food security groups. Methods Parents, 18 years or older, were recruited during two pre-scheduled health fairs, from English as a second language classes, or from the Women, Infants, and Children's clinic at a local community center, Golden Gate Community Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. An interview, electronic, or paper survey were offered in either Spanish or English to collect data on the variables described above. In addition to the survey, height and weight were collected for all participants to determine BMI and weight status. One hundred and sixty participants were recruited. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models, adjusting for weight status, education, race/ethnicity, income level, and years residing in the U.S., were used to assess the relationship between food security status and weight status, eating behaviors, the home food environment, meal planning and preparation, and perceived stress. Results Results concluded that food insecurity was more prevalent among parents reporting lower income levels compared to higher income levels (p=0.017). In adjusted models, higher perceived cost of fruits (p=0.004) and higher perceived level of stress (p=0.001) were associated with food insecurity. Given that the sample population was predominately women, a post-hoc analysis was completed on women only. In addition to the two significant results noted in the adjusted analyses, the women-only analysis revealed that food insecure mothers reported lower amounts of vegetables served with meals (p=0.019) and higher use of fast-food when tired or running late (p=0.043), compared to food secure mothers. Conclusion Additional studies are needed to further assess differences in stress levels between food insecure parents and food insecure parents, with special consideration for directionality and its relationship to weight status.
ContributorsVillanova, Christina (Author) / Bruening, Meg (Thesis advisor) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Committee member) / Vega-Lopez, Sonia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The body is capable of regulating hunger in several ways. Some of these hunger regulation methods are innate, such as genetics, and some, such as the responses to stress and to the smell of food, are innate but can be affected by body conditions such as BMI and physical activity. Further, some hunger regulation methods stem from learned behaviors originating from cultural pressures or parenting styles. These latter regulation methods for hunger can be grouped into the categories: emotion, environment, and physical. The factors that regulate hunger can also influence the incidence of disordered eating, such as eating in the absence of hunger (EAH). Eating in the absence of hunger can occur in one of two scenarios, continuous EAH or beginning EAH. College students are at a particularly high risk for EAH and weight gain due to stress, social pressures, and the constant availability of energy dense and nutrient poor food options. The purpose of this study is to validate a modified EAH-C survey in college students and to discover which of the three latent factors (emotion, environment, physical) best predicts continual and beginning EAH. To do so, a modified EAH-C survey, with additional demographic components, was administered to students at a major southwest university. This survey contained two questions, one each for continuing and beginning EAH, regarding 14 factors related to emotional, physical, or environmental reasons that may trigger EAH. The results from this study revealed that the continual and beginning EAH surveys displayed good internal consistency reliability. We found that for beginning and continuing EAH, although emotion is the strongest predictor of EAH, all three latent factors are significant predictors of EAH. In addition, we found that environmental factors had the greatest influence on an individual's likelihood to continue to eat in the absence of hunger. Due to statistical abnormalities and differing numbers of factors in each category, we were unable to determine which of the three factors exerted the greatest influence on an individual's likelihood to begin eating in the absence of hunger. These results can be utilized to develop educational tools aimed at reducing EAH in college students, and ultimately reducing the likelihood for unhealthy weight gain and health complications related to obesity.
ContributorsGoett, Taylor (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Chong (Committee member) / Lespron, Christy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Dietary counseling from a registered dietitian has been shown in previous studies to aid in weight loss for those receiving counseling. With the increasing use of smartphone diet/weight loss applications (app), this study sought to investigate if an iPhone diet app providing feedback from a registered dietitian improved weight loss and bio-markers of health. Twenty-four healthy adults who owned iPhones (BMI > 24 kg/m2) completed this trial. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three app groups: the MyDietitian app with daily feedback from a registered dietitian (n=7), the MyDietitian app without feedback (n=7), and the MyPlate feedback control app (n=10). Participants used their respective diet apps daily for 8-weeks while their weight loss, adherence to self-monitoring, blood bio-markers of health, and physical activity were monitored. All of the groups had a significant reduction in waist and hip circumference (p<0.001), a reduction in A1c (p=0.002), an increase in HDL cholesterol levels (p=0.012), and a reduction in calories consumed (p=0.022) over the duration of the trial. Adherence to diet monitoring via the apps did not differ between groups during the study. Body weight did not change during the study for any groups. However, when the participants were divided into low (<50% of days) or high adherence (>50% of days) groups, irrespective of study group, the high adherence group had a significant reduction in weight when compared to the low adherence group (p=0.046). These data suggest that diet apps may be useful tools for self-monitoring and even weight loss, but that the value appears to be the self-monitoring process and not the app specifically.
ContributorsThompson-Felty, Claudia (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Levinson, Simin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The aim of this paper is to investigate a few of the primary pillars of the Paleo diet for evidence to either support or refute their efficacy and safety such that a more educated decision can be made by lay-persons who are wishing to make improvements in their overall health via dieting. To accomplish this goal a basic overview of The Paleo Diet (also known to some as the Paleolithic Nutrition Movement) is given based on the writings of Dr. Loren Cordain in his book The Paleo Diet. Next, analyses of a few of the basic characteristics of the diet are presented based on an in-depth literature review that was performed using PubMed (Medline), Cochrane and Google Scholar databases until March of 2015. The findings of this investigation raise concerns with respect to the safety of some of the main principles of the diet such as its high protein, low carbohydrate content that is relies heavily on the consumption of red meat. The current literature on what the diet of the people of the Paleolithic era may have consisted of is also presented in order to shed light on the origins of the diet and see how closely the diet prescribed The Paleo Diet meshes with the most current data on the topic.
ContributorsMurphy, Daniel Jordan (Author) / Morse, Lisa (Thesis director) / Lespron, Christy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The intention of this thesis is to create a cookbook to best serve the needs of all who attend Lions Camp Tatiyee. The cookbook was used as a resource in providing the Lions Camp Tatiyee Kitchen staff with simple, healthy recipes to use in the implementation of their summer menu. This thesis discusses the culmination of the idea, the process of execution, current research concerning the relationship between nutrition and health concerns related to special needs, and achievements and further advancements of my creative project.
ContributorsCornella, Krystiana Mana (Author) / Lespron, Christy (Thesis director) / Dixon, Kathleen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
The objective of this study was to access whether there were any associations between food insecurity, weight status and emotional eating for adults and youth, and to discover whether emotional eating was prevalent for both age groups. By gathering participants from six various low-income housing communities throughout the Phoenix, Arizona, the researchers were able to gather data from 114 participants, 57 adults and 57 youth. The participants were a convenience sample, and were recruited by flyers sent via the mail and door-to-door announcements in the spring and summer of 2014. The adult and youth were asked to complete a survey that was part of a larger study, which included the Weight-Related Eating Questionnaire to access the participants' emotional eating. The participants' height and weight were measured manually and were integrated into the BMI system, and the participants' food insecurity statuses were validated using the US Household Food Security Survey. The results of the study illustrated associations between food insecurity and emotional eating for adults, but not for youth. In addition, there were no associations between adults' emotional eating and their child's emotional eating. The results from this study were consisted with the current research examining the associations of food insecurity and emotional eating, where there is only a correlation between food insecurity and emotional eating for adults. However, this study was not consistent with past research accessing the associations between adults' emotional eating and their child's emotional eating since this study found no relationship between the two. Being that a cross-sectional survey-based research was incorporated into this study, further research needs to explore on food insecurity, weight status and emotional eating to determine their causality.
ContributorsVannortrick, Taylor Michelle (Author) / Bruening, Meg (Thesis director) / Lucio, Joanna (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
Background. Research suggests that fish oil can be used as an intervention to increase clotting times and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Objective. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of fish oil supplementation on blood coagulation parameters in adults with blood type A (BTA) compared to blood type O (BTO) over an eight-week intervention.
Design. The study was a randomized, double-blind dietary intervention using healthy adults with blood types A or O. A total of 18 participants completed the study. Subjects were randomized into two groups: an experimental group (fish oil) made up of 7 BTO and 4 BTA adults, and a control group (coconut oil) made up of 4 BTO and 3 BTA adults. Non-fasting blood was drawn and analyzed for prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT), and international normalized ratio (INR) at weeks 0 and 8. A food frequency questionnaire was completed at week 0, and anthropometric data collected at weeks 0 and 8.
Results. Baseline PTT results differed significantly between blood types, 28.1±1.4 seconds and 29.7±1.3 seconds for BTA and BTO respectively (p<0.05). Physical activity differed significantly between the experimental and control group at baseline, 53.9±26.8 METS and 86.0±41.9 METS, respectively (p<0.05). In the Fish oil group, prothrombin time increased for BTA vs. BTO, 0.18±0.29 seconds vs -0.11±0.31 seconds respectively (p<0.10indicating a statistical trend). There were no other differences between groups for the other outcome variables.
Conclusion. Fish oil supplementation prolonged clotting time in BTA adults and may be a useful strategy in this population for reducing cardiovascular disease risk. More research is needed to verify and expand these results.
Objective. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of fish oil supplementation on blood coagulation parameters in adults with blood type A (BTA) compared to blood type O (BTO) over an eight-week intervention.
Design. The study was a randomized, double-blind dietary intervention using healthy adults with blood types A or O. A total of 18 participants completed the study. Subjects were randomized into two groups: an experimental group (fish oil) made up of 7 BTO and 4 BTA adults, and a control group (coconut oil) made up of 4 BTO and 3 BTA adults. Non-fasting blood was drawn and analyzed for prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT), and international normalized ratio (INR) at weeks 0 and 8. A food frequency questionnaire was completed at week 0, and anthropometric data collected at weeks 0 and 8.
Results. Baseline PTT results differed significantly between blood types, 28.1±1.4 seconds and 29.7±1.3 seconds for BTA and BTO respectively (p<0.05). Physical activity differed significantly between the experimental and control group at baseline, 53.9±26.8 METS and 86.0±41.9 METS, respectively (p<0.05). In the Fish oil group, prothrombin time increased for BTA vs. BTO, 0.18±0.29 seconds vs -0.11±0.31 seconds respectively (p<0.10indicating a statistical trend). There were no other differences between groups for the other outcome variables.
Conclusion. Fish oil supplementation prolonged clotting time in BTA adults and may be a useful strategy in this population for reducing cardiovascular disease risk. More research is needed to verify and expand these results.
ContributorsRyder, Ashley Brooke (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis director) / Lespron, Christy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Objective: Fewer than 50% of female college freshmen meet physical activity (PA) guidelines. Innovative approaches that help college women increase their PA are warranted. The study purpose was to pilot test a magazine-based discussion group for improving PA, self-worth, and nutrition behaviors in freshmen college females. Method: Thirty-seven women (18-20 years) were randomized to intervention (n=17) and control (n=20) groups. The intervention group participated in an 8-week magazine-based discussion group adapted from a previously tested social cognitive theory based intervention, Fit Minded. Excerpts from a popular women's health magazine were discussed during weekly meetings incorporating PA, self-worth and nutrition education. The control group did not attend meetings, but received the magazines. Outcomes and feasibility measures included: self-reported PA, general self-worth, knowledge self-worth, self-efficacy, social support, and daily fruits, vegetables, junk food, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Results: Twelve participants from the intervention group attended more than 75% of meetings. A time effect was observed for PA (p=0.001) and family social support (p=0.002). Time x group effects were observed for PA (p=0.001), general self-worth (p=0.04), knowledge self-worth (p=0.03), and daily sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (p=0.03), with the intervention group reporting greater increases in PA, general self-worth and knowledge self-worth and greater decreases in daily sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Although not significant, the intervention group demonstrated positive trends in self-efficacy, friend social support and fruit and veggie consumption as compared to the control group. Conclusion: A magazine-based discussion group may provide a promising platform to improve PA, self-worth and nutrition behaviors in female college freshmen.
ContributorsPellitteri, Katelyn (Author) / Huberty, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Bruening, Meg (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This thesis project will discuss how the three macronutrients, protein, carbohydrate and fat, benefit the body and what happens when the body is lacking in any of them. It also delves into micronutrients and supplements and how those can aid in the recovery process following an injury. Inflammation and sleep as well as mood disturbances are also explained. Meal options are available in the second half of this paper displaying pictures of nutritional meals along with their ingredients, instructions and calories. This project displays how a lack of protein can decrease muscle protein synthesis, how carbohydrate deficiency can lead to fatigue and more injury and how Omega-3 fatty acids are more beneficial than Omega-6 fatty acids. In addition, the paper discusses how vitamins, such as vitamin D and C, are important in providing bone strength and preventing excess inflammation. Supplements are reported to be beneficial, however, a disadvantage of consuming nutrients from a synthetic source can rob the athlete of a healthy mixture of nutrients and minerals. Overall, consumption of proper nutrients can aid in the recovery process following an injury and sleep is an important factor that should also be considered while the body heals.
ContributorsGorke, Haley Nicole (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / Hoffner, Kristin (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05