Quality of Nutrition Environments, Menus and Foods Served, and Food Program Achievement in Oklahoma Family Child Care Homes

Child care environments foster children’s healthy eating habits by providing exposure to healthy foods and feeding practices. We assessed the healthfulness of nutrition environments, menu/meal quality, and the achievement of Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) guidelines and best practices in Oklahoma CACFP-enrolled family child care homes (FCCHs) (n = 51). Two-day classroom observations were conducted. Healthfulness of classroom nutrition environments was assessed using the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO). Foods served to and consumed by children were quantified using the Dietary Observations in Child Care (DOCC) tool. Nutrient analysis was performed to determine total energy for foods listed on menus, served to, and consumed by children. Menu and meal food variety and CACFP Guideline Achievement Scores were determined. Average nutrition environment score was 11.7 ± 1.2 (61.5% of maximum possible score). Energy (kcals) from menus and consumed by children was insufficient to meet two-thirds of their daily reference intake. Children were exposed to 1.7 vegetables and 1.3 fruits per meal. CACFP Guideline Achievement Scores were 66.3% ± 7.8 for menus and 59.3% ± 7.6 for mealtimes. Similar to previous research, our findings indicate a need for improved FCCH nutrition practices. Tailored interventions for FCCHs are needed.

The Need for A Multidisciplinary Approach to Face Challenges Related to Food, Health, and Sustainability: The Contribution of CRC I-WE

The importance of the impact of the food system not only on human health but also on planet health is gaining growing attention, and there is now an urgent call to action for developing multi-stakeholder strategies able to end poverty and maintain prosperity and health for people and for the planet. To provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between food, well-being and environment, it is pivotal to generate multidisciplinary knowledge on the promotion of human well-being in relation to multiple interconnected factors such as diet and nutrition, environment, economic, social, and legal aspects. Based on these premises, the present paper aims at describing the proposed role of the Joint Research Center “Innovation for Well-Being and Environment” (CRC I-WE) that was brought to light in 2019 with a strong interdisciplinary nature at the University of Milan, Italy. In 2021, the Center hosted its first annual conference aimed at identifying case studies from the food, health, and sustainability fields particularly deserving an interdisciplinary approach, and which may provide the basis for opening a wider discussion with the scientific community.

Impact of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefit Reduction or Loss on Food-at-Home Acquisitions and Community Food Program Use

Since Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are vital for food-at-home (FAH) acquisitions among participating families, changes in participation or benefit amounts may impact FAH purchase and use of community-based food programs (CFP). The association of the loss of or a reduction in SNAP benefits with FAH acquisitions and CFP use was assessed using 2012–2013 National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey data. Households with incomes equal to or below 130% of the Federal Poverty Level were categorized as (1) current SNAP households, (2) households with benefit loss in the preceding year, or (3) households with benefit loss for more than a year. Current SNAP households were classified as receiving (1) lesser-than-usual benefits or (2) usual benefits. Regression analyses examined associations of the loss of or a reduction in benefits with the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) scores of FAH purchases and CFP use. Benefit loss in the preceding year was related to a lower total HEI-2015 score for FAH acquisitions, whereas benefit reduction was associated with lower green/bean and added sugar scores and increased CFP use. This study suggests that the loss of or a reduction in SNAP benefits may adversely impact the quality of FAH purchases. The findings also suggest that efforts enhancing the nutrition environment of community food sources could support healthy food acquisition by families experiencing benefit reduction.

Imputation on the Food, Nutrition and Environment Surveys 2007 and 2009 data

<p>The Food Nutrition Environment Survey (FNES) is a survey of New Zealand early childhood centres and schools and the food and nutritional services that they provide for their pupils. The 2007 and 2009 FNES surveys were managed by the Ministry of Health. Like all the other social surveys, the FNES has the common problem of unit and item non-responses. In other words, the FNES has missing data. In this thesis, we have surveyed a wide variety of missing data handling techniques and applied most of them to the FNES datasets. This thesis can be roughly divided into two parts. In the first part, we have studied and investigated the different nature of missing data (i.e. missing data mechanisms), and all the common and popular imputation methods, using the Synthetic Unit Record File (SURF) which has been developed by the Statistics New Zealand for educational purposes. By comparing all those different imputation methods, Bayesian Multiple Imputation (MI) method is the preferred option to impute missing data in terms of reducing non-response bias and properly propagating imputation uncertainty. Due to the overlaps in the samples selected for the 2007 and 2009 FNES surveys, we have discovered that the Bayesian MI can be improved by incorporating the matched dataset. Hence, we have proposed a couple of new approaches to utilize the extra information from the matched dataset. We believe that adapting the Bayesian MI to use the extra information from the matched dataset is a preferable imputation strategy for imputing the FNES missing data. This is because the use of the matched dataset provides more prediction power to the imputation model.</p>

Imputation on the Food, Nutrition and Environment Surveys 2007 and 2009 data

<p>The Food Nutrition Environment Survey (FNES) is a survey of New Zealand early childhood centres and schools and the food and nutritional services that they provide for their pupils. The 2007 and 2009 FNES surveys were managed by the Ministry of Health. Like all the other social surveys, the FNES has the common problem of unit and item non-responses. In other words, the FNES has missing data. In this thesis, we have surveyed a wide variety of missing data handling techniques and applied most of them to the FNES datasets. This thesis can be roughly divided into two parts. In the first part, we have studied and investigated the different nature of missing data (i.e. missing data mechanisms), and all the common and popular imputation methods, using the Synthetic Unit Record File (SURF) which has been developed by the Statistics New Zealand for educational purposes. By comparing all those different imputation methods, Bayesian Multiple Imputation (MI) method is the preferred option to impute missing data in terms of reducing non-response bias and properly propagating imputation uncertainty. Due to the overlaps in the samples selected for the 2007 and 2009 FNES surveys, we have discovered that the Bayesian MI can be improved by incorporating the matched dataset. Hence, we have proposed a couple of new approaches to utilize the extra information from the matched dataset. We believe that adapting the Bayesian MI to use the extra information from the matched dataset is a preferable imputation strategy for imputing the FNES missing data. This is because the use of the matched dataset provides more prediction power to the imputation model.</p>

The Animal Welfare Science of Working Dogs: Current Perspectives on Recent Advances and Future Directions

Working dogs are prevalent throughout our societies, assisting people in diverse contexts, from explosives detection and livestock herding, to therapy partners. Our scientific exploration and understanding of animal welfare have grown dramatically over the last decade. As community attitudes toward the use of animals continue to change, applying this new knowledge of welfare to improve the everyday lives of working dogs will underpin the sustainability of working with dogs in these roles. The aim of this report was to consider the scientific studies of working dogs from the last decade (2011–2021) in relation to modern ethics, human interaction, and the five domains of animal welfare: nutrition, environment, behavioral interaction, physical health, and mental state. Using this framework, we were able to analyze the concept and contribution of working dog welfare science. Noting some key advances across the full working dog life cycle, we identify future directions and opportunities for interdisciplinary research to optimize dog welfare. Prioritizing animal welfare in research and practice will be critical to assure the ongoing relationship between dogs and people as co-workers.

A Quantitative Assessment of Changes in the Consumer Nutrition Environments of New York City Hispanic Caribbean Restaurants During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives (1) Examine changes in healthy food availability among Hispanic Caribbean restaurants (HCR) in response to COVID-19. (2) Assess the association between changes and restaurant type. Methods A random sample of HCRs (n = 89) offering Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican cuisine, were examined in Summer 2019 (T1) using the NEMS-HCR, an adapted version of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R) and reassessed after the onset of COVID-19 in January 2021 (T2, n = 76) using online menus. We examined menu changes between T1 and T2 data sets in the NEMS-HCR overall healthy food availability (HFA) score, and specific variables: the number of healthy main dish salads (HMDS) and the menu proportion of nonfried foods (NFF) on the menu. We then examined changes by restaurant type (sit-down vs. counter-style) using repeated measures ANOVA. Results Between T1 and T2, 7 HRCs permanently closed, 1 closed for the season, and 5 were excluded due to lack of online menus. Mean proportion of NFF significantly decreased from 71.7% ± 17.5 (T1) to 66.1% ± 17.8 (T2) (P = 0.002). Changes in HFA scores (4.5 ± 2.0 to 4.1 ± 2.2) and HMDS (1.7 ± 2.8 to 1.8 ± 3.0) were not statistically significant (P = 0.06 and P = 0.65, respectively). Repeated measures ANOVA indicated no correlation between the decrease in availability of NFF between T1 and T2 and restaurant type (P = 0.29). Conclusions Restaurants can play a significant role in the mitigation of diet-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes by providing customers with healthy menu offerings. Our study showed a decrease in healthier menu options, particularly non-fried entrees, contributing to our understanding of how restaurants may need to adapt for their own survival in times of crisis such as a pandemic or disaster. Because unfavorable menu options can contribute to the rising incidence of diet-related chronic diseases within the community, more research is needed to understand how restaurants respond to crises in order to better support the preservation of HFA within their menu selections, and the effects of these changes in customers’ diets. Funding Sources CUNY PSC Award and NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Body Image and Restaurant Meal Consumption Among College Students

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between body image satisfaction/dissatisfaction among college students and meal consumption at restaurants. Methods Four surveys were used to collect all data: NEMS-P, SATAQ-3, SATAQ-4 and the EDE-A. NEMS-P was used to assess the food and nutrition environment, SATAQ-3 was used to assess societal influences on body image, SATAQ-4 was used to assess the internalization of appearance ideals and the EDE-A survey was used to measure eating disorder psychopathology. Participants had to be enrolled as a student during the 2019–2020 academic year on the college campus where this study occurred to participate. Pearson and Spearman correlation were used to assess association between restaurant meal consumption and body image. Chi-square test was used to analyze categorial variables (n = 185). Results There was a significant association between students who were unhappy with their weight consuming meals more frequently at fast-food restaurants compared to sit down restaurants (P &lt; 0.001); there was also a significant association between students who were unhappy with their weight choosing to eat at a combination of restaurants (fast-food, food courts, cafeteria's etc.) more frequently than sit-down restaurants (P &lt; 0.05). A significant association was also noted between students who were unhappy with their shape choosing to eat more frequently at fast-food restaurants compared to sit-down restaurants (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusions A higher mix of fast-food and fast casual restaurants on the college campus may contribute to an obesogenic environment, while the availability of sit-down restaurants may contribute to a more healthful eating environment. Creating a supportive nutrition environment on college campuses by increasing the availability of healthy food choices and providing resources that can assist students with developing a healthy relationship with food and their bodies is important for overall health, well- being and academic success. Funding Sources N/A.