scholarly journals Community-Based Efforts Aim to Improve the Food Environment within a Highly Obese Rural Appalachian County

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2200
Author(s):  
Rachel Gillespie ◽  
Emily DeWitt ◽  
Heather Norman-Burgdolf ◽  
Brynnan Dunnaway ◽  
Alison Gustafson
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Percentage Increase ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Gas Stations ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Store Location ◽  
Change In Mean ◽  
Total Sales

Rural communities in Appalachia are displaying increased obesity prevalence, yet traditional interventions have not provided a broad enough impact to improve dietary consumption patterns. Therefore, expanding efforts that address the food environment and incorporate behavioral nudges through community-developed marketing strategies may be a viable mechanism to improve food and beverage choices within this unique population. This study installed shelf-wobblers across n = 5 gas stations in one rural Appalachian county in Kentucky. Smart Snacks were identified from store inventory lists utilizing the CDC Food Service Guideline for Federal Facilities calculator and were categorized into high-protein snacks, low-fat carbohydrate snacks, meal replacement snacks, and no-calorie beverages. NEMS-CS audits were conducted, and monthly sales data was collected at baseline and for six months thereafter for each store location. A difference-in-difference model was used, adjusting for total sales or total mean sales for each Smart Snack model to assess the percentage change within and between stores. Overall, percent change in mean sales and total sales across all stores resulted in a percentage increase of sales of Smart Snack items following wobbler installment. This study provides unique insight into how a community-driven approach to marketing can influence the sale of healthier food and beverage items.

scholarly journals Perspectives of Healthy Eating Environment on Campus: A Qualitative Study in a Private University in Ankara, Turkey

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Z. Begüm Kalyoncu ◽  
Özlem Çetiner ◽  
Tuğçe Nur Balcı ◽  
Zeynep Büşra Eroğlu ◽  
Türkan Kutluay Merdol
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Private University ◽  
Administrative Staff ◽  
Food Services ◽  
Perceptions Of Students ◽  
Food And Beverage

Aim: Universities provide food service to not only students, but also to their employees from all levels. However, the limited literature persists in terms of evaluating the campus food environment by different kinds of stakeholders. Therefore, this study aims to understand and conceptualize the experiences and perceptions of students and university staff towards campus food environment. Subjects and Methods: We conducted six focus groups among sixty-four people that belong to a private university in Ankara with the following roles; (i) Turkish and international students, (ii) Academic staff, (iii) Administrative staff, and (iv) Support staff. Thematic analyses were conducted by NVivo software and triangulation is done by evaluating a monthly lunch menu of the cafeteria with Nutrient Rich Food Index 9.3 (NRF 9.3) nutrient profiling model. Results: Qualitative analyses revealed that participants were aware of the nutritional importance of food services and consequences of consuming meals, foods, and beverages with low nutritional value. Nutritional value of the food was among the most important drivers of food selection and participants demanded menus to be planned by a dietitian. The seven overarching themes that were determined within the qualitative analysis were; (i) administrative process, (ii) nutritional value, (iii) variety, (iv) taste-flavor, (v) hygiene and food safety, (vi) intercultural inclusiveness, and (vii) price. NRF 9.3 scores of the campus lunch menu alternatives were low (Ranged from 0.09 to 3.19) in a way that triangulated the qualitative findings. Conclusion: This study shows that nutritional value and variety of the food and beverage services is a main driving factor for food selection and participants’ experiences even more than price and taste of the food. The results highlight the importance of serving healthy menus to all the stakeholders of a university, which could best be achieved by employing dietitians.

Impact of the home food environment on disease risk factors in obese adults from rural communities

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey Maurer ◽  
Kristen Medina ◽  
Danielle Lespinasse ◽  
Samantha Minski ◽  
Manal Alabduljabbar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Obese Adults ◽  
Home Food Environment ◽  
Home Food

scholarly journals Losses, Gains, and Changes to the Food Environment in a Rural Kentucky County during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 3929
Author(s):  
Makenzie L. Barr ◽  
Courtney Martin ◽  
Courtney Luecking ◽  
Kathryn Cardarelli
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Home Food Environment ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Fresh Food ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Home Food ◽  
Community Food Environment ◽  
Made In

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused alterations to be made in the way many people access, prepare, and consume food. Rural communities are particularly impacted due to pre-existing structural vulnerabilities, i.e., poverty, lack of infrastructure, and limited fresh food options. This study aimed to characterize experiences of one rural Appalachian community’s changes to the food environment during the pandemic. In April 2021, six focus groups were conducted with residents of Laurel County, Kentucky. Using grounded theory, we identified losses, gains, and overall changes to the community food environment since the onset of COVID-19. Seventeen Laurel Countians (17 female; ages 30–74) participated in the six focus groups. Three main themes emerged regarding food environment changes—(1) modifications of community food and nutrition resources, (2) expansion and utilization of online food ordering, and (3) implications of the home food environment. Rural communities faced considerable challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part, due to gaps in existing infrastructure and loss of pre-existing resources. This study illustrates the complexity of changes occurring during COVID-19. Using the preliminary data obtained, we can better understand pre-existing issues in Laurel County and suggestions for future programming to address the inequitable access and response during public health emergencies and beyond.

Food and beverage operations and management

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Cousins ◽  
David Foskett ◽  
David Graham ◽  
Amy Hollier
Keyword(s):  
Financial Management ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Customer Relations ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Service Operations ◽  
Management Team ◽  
Team Development ◽  
Service Operation ◽  
Operational Management ◽  
Food And Beverage

Food and beverage (or food service) operations are concerned with the provision of food and a variety of beverages within business. The international food service industry provides millions of meals a day in a wide variety of types of food service operation. For managers in food and beverage operations, skills in marketing, merchandising, staff management, team development, training, customer relations, financial management and operational management are necessary for the management of both the service sequence (delivery) and the customer process (experience), and ultimately for the survival of the business. The various elements that make up a food and beverage operation can be summarised into the eight stages of the Food Service Cycle.

scholarly journals Nutrition in Practice: A Shift from Nutrition Education Alone to Incorporation Into Medical Students’ Food Choices

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 598-598
Author(s):  
JuliSu DiMucci-Ward ◽  
Demetri Tsiolkas ◽  
Elizabeth Zipprer,
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Purchasing Behavior ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
School Canteen ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Product Loss ◽  
Product Inventory

Abstract Objectives This study aims to show that if provided healthy food options in the on-campus canteen, medical students will develop healthier eating habits. Methods A mixed methods approach was utilized to conduct primary market research which look at the purchasing behavior of medical students, and faculty. The inventory offered in the school canteen, was tracked from 2016 through the first fifteen weeks of 2019. The data from the vendor listed the food items into 9 categories: bottled beverages, candy, general merchandise, ice cream, juice, large snacks, milk, non-carb beverage, and pastry. Of these categories, the top 10 sales for each year were obtained. This study included customer survey data, suggestion box data and product inventory data from the vendor. The customer input was summarized and shared with the vendor in the spring of 2018. The vendor accommodated the medical school customers in all the food and beverage options available for purchase beginning in the next stocking cycle. These changes were implemented over the following three months, despite early food service institutional barriers. Results Utilizing the vendor's product inventory excel spread sheets records of sales, product loss, and cost over a three-year period basic statistical analysis indicated that despite an initial drop in sales healthier foods began to trend in the highest sales categories. The foods and beverages that were suggested by students were shown to have been bought more abundantly and frequently after the changes to the canteen were made. Of the nine categories that were analyzed, the beverages showed the most dramatic changes from unhealthy to healthy choices; the sales of healthy beverages increased by 17% over the study period. Interestingly, there was an overall increase in the canteen's total profit in the last year of this study compared to the two previous years. Conclusions Students as active participants, when provided healthier food and beverage options demonstrated purchasing behavior indicating a desire to consume the healthier foods. This will be invaluable in the practice of medicine, as it is more efficacious to educate and motivate patients who need instruction regarding their nutritional needs if the providers are already living by that example. Funding Sources None

scholarly journals Sugar-sweetened soft drinks and obesity: a systematic review of the evidence from observational studies and interventions

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigrid Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Excess Body Weight ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cochrane Reviews ◽  
Change In Mean ◽  
Diet And Lifestyle

Sugar-sweetened soft drinks (SSD) are a special target of many obesity-prevention strategies, yet critical reviews tend to be more cautious regarding the aetiological role of SSD in promoting excess body weight. Since ongoing evaluation of this issue is important, the present systematic review re-examined the evidence from epidemiological studies and interventions, up to July 2008. Database searches of Medline, Cochrane reviews, Google scholar and a hand search of cross-references identified forty-four original studies (twenty-three cross-sectional, seventeen prospective and four intervention) in adults and children, as well as six reviews. These were critically examined for methodology, results and interpretation. Approximately half the cross-sectional and prospective studies found a statistically significant association between SSD consumption and BMI, weight, adiposity or weight gain in at least one subgroup. The totality of evidence is dominated by American studies where SSD consumption tends to be higher and formulations different. Most studies suggest that the effect of SSD is small except in susceptible individuals or at high levels of intake. Methodological weaknesses mean that many studies cannot detect whether soft drinks or other aspects of diet and lifestyle have contributed to excess body weight. Progress in reaching a definitive conclusion on the role of SSD in obesity is hampered by the paucity of good-quality interventions which reliably monitor diet and lifestyle and adequately report effect sizes. Of the three long-term (>6 months) interventions, one reported a decrease in obesity prevalence but no change in mean BMI and two found a significant impact only among children already overweight at baseline. Of the six reviews, two concluded that the evidence was strong, one that an association was probable, while three described it as inconclusive, equivocal or near zero. Reasons for some discrepancies are presented.

Are campus food environments healthy? A novel perspective for qualitatively evaluating the nutritional quality of food sold at foodservice facilities at a Brazilian university

2016 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isadora Santos Pulz ◽  
Paula Andréa Martins ◽  
Charles Feldman ◽  
Marcela Boro Veiros
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Food Ingredients ◽  
Nutrition Environment ◽  
Food And Beverage

Aims: The purpose of this novel study was to evaluate the food environment at a Brazilian university, encompassing 6 restaurants and 13 snack bars. The investigation uniquely analyses the food environment (barriers, facilitators, type of foods and prices). This was a food-based analysis of the nutritional quality of the products sold on campus. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used, applying the classic Nutrition Environment Measures Survey–Restaurants (NEMS-R) adapted for Brazil and an original methodology to evaluate and classify qualitatively the nutritional quality and characteristics of the food. A census of all campus food environments was applied. Results: The main results show most food and beverage products were made with processed ingredients and had a lower nutritional quality and price when compared with similar products made on premises, that is, processed iced tea compared with fresh tea ( p < .001), fried refined flour salgados compared with baked wholegrain flour salgados ( p < .001) and refined flour biscuits compared with those made with whole grains ( p = .028). Only 16% of the outlets provided food ingredients or nutritional information of products available. Conclusion: The overall options for healthy food choices and good nutritional quality on campus were mostly limited by the availability and higher prices of products. These findings could be used to develop new policy perspectives for the offering of healthy food items and to facilitate better food choices among students in a healthier food environment.

scholarly journals Content Analysis of Media Coverage of Childhood Obesity Topics in UAE Newspapers and Popular Social Media Platforms, 2014-2017

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niyi Awofeso ◽  
Sara Al Imam ◽  
Arwa Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Childhood Obesity ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Food And Beverage

The 2017 prevalence of obesity among children (age 5–17 years) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is 13.68%. Childhood obesity is one of the 10 top health priorities in the UAE. This study examines the quality, frequency, sources, scope and framing of childhood obesity in popular social media and three leading UAE newspapers from 2014 to 2017. During the review period, 152 newspaper articles from three leading national newspapers – Gulf News, The National and Al Ittihad – met the eligibility criteria for this study. There were 57 Facebook posts, 50 Twitter posts, 14 posted YouTube videos, and 13 Media releases on related to childhood obesity between 2014 and 2017. Childhood obesity was consistently problematized, primarily in health terms, but was not strongly linked to socio-economic and geographical factors. Childhood obesity was framed as being predominantly influenced by individual and parental behaviours more frequently (n = 76) compared with structural or environmental factors such as the roles of the food and beverage industry (n = 22). Unlike findings from studies with adult obesity, articles advocating individual behavior changes to address childhood obesity were relatively few (n = 29). Social media may be an effective way to help children overcome obesity, in part through online interaction with health care providers and health conscious obese peers. Areas for improvement in social media use to reduce childhood obesity prevalence in UAE include enhancing public engagement with social media posts on childhood obesity, as reflected in the numbers of Likes and Retweets or Shares.

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