A novel measurement method of, and factors associated with, the healthfulness of parent-child food purchasing interactions

textThe aims of this research were to 1) demonstrate the validity of using a personally-worn micro-camcorder (PWMC) method to assess in-store parent-child food-purchasing interactions and environmental factors related to these behaviors; 2) examine the relationship between child at-home TV-exposure, home food availability/accessibility, parent dietary modeling, and child-feeding style with the healthfulness of child in-store food purchasing requests; and 3) examine the relationship between parent weight status, parent diet quality, food purchasing intentions, perceived relative cost of healthy food, and the use of nutrition facts labels with the healthfulness of parent responses to child in-store food purchasing requests. A total sample of 40 parent-child dyads completed the study. Parents were a mean age of 36.5 years (±6.3), and children were a mean age of 3.8 years (±1.1). Dyads were met at their usual grocery store and shopping time. Children wore a micro-camcorder or eButton on a hat to capture what they saw. Parents also completed a questionnaire about nutrition behaviors and the home food environment based on validated questions from the literature. Coded personally worn micro-camcorder (PWMC) data were highly correlated (rho = 0.345-0.911, p<0.01) with in-person observational data for assessing in-store behavioral and environmental factors, and the method demonstrated a high degree of reliability for assessing purchasing decisions compared to receipt data (Cohen's kappa = 0.787). Also, inter-rater reliability for assessing environmental/behavioral variables ranged from moderate to almost perfect (Cohen's kappa = 0.466-0.937). Children whose parents reported high levels of unhealthy dietary modeling had lower odds of a food request being healthy (OR=0.50, P=0.021), and having parents who report non-directive child-feeding had increased odds of a request being healthy (OR=1.66, P=0.028). Healthy weight parents were more likely to make healthy responses to child food purchasing requests than overweight/obese parents (OR=2.06, P=0.022). Behavioral interventions that seek to improve the healthfulness of food purchasing in families with young children should include components to promote non-directive feeding styles, discourage unhealthful dietary modeling, provide additional resources to target overweight/obese parents' responses to child requests, and use the PWMC method for efficient measurement of these behaviors.Nutritional Science

Biomechanical Knee Joint for Exoskeleton

Our senior design project consisted of designing and manufacturing a biomechanically accurate, actuated knee joint to be integrated into an exoskeleton being developed by the Lower Limb Exoskeleton Assist Project (LLEAP), a part of the EMPOWER student association at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. As the human knee flexes and extends throughout gait motion, the center of rotation changes. Currently marketed exoskeletons have one point of rotation, which over constrains the knee and causes misalignment between the user and the suit [1]. Our goal was to mimic natural knee joint motion by changing the center or rotation, thus reducing misalignment and limiting power loss. We designed this knee joint for our prospective exoskeleton user: Carlo Ruggiero, a 21-year-old Cal Poly student with a complete C8 injury to his spine which resulted in loss of function and sensation from his chest and below. Our design consists of a linear actuator mounted along the outside of the user’s thigh, which drives a four-bar linkage in line with the user’s knee. After manufacturing and testing our design, it was found that the joint met the necessary power requirements and reached the required angles for human gait. However, the linear actuator that was purchased was too long to fit properly on the user’s leg and is unable to vary its speed. This verification prototype proves that mimicking knee joint motion for exoskeleton applications is feasible but requires integration of a linear actuator with greater power density and the ability for speed control. We also recommend using biomedical imaging to accurately determine the center of rotation throughout actuation. This would allow for tuning of the lengths of the links in the four-bar linkage to match the user’s knee biomechanics more precisely

A Cross-Sectional Exploration of Food Security, Depression, and CHAOS in Low-Income Households with Children

Depression has been linked to food security, particularly among low-income mothers. However, less is known about the relationship between CHAOS (Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale), a measure of family functioning such as timeliness and order, and varying levels food security. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the relationship between depression, CHAOS, and sociodemographics on the level of food insecurity in a cross-sectional sample of low-income households with children, ages 0-18 years. Participants were recruited from low-income communities in a medium sized Midwestern city in the United States. Eligible participants were ≥19 years of age, a parent or primary caregiver to at least one child, and English- or Spanish- speaking. Survey items included participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), food security, depression, CHAOS, and sociodemographics/family characteristics. Descriptives and Chi-square tests were conducted for all variables. Potential covariates were assessed (e.g., age, income, education, race/ethnicity, sex, SNAP participation, number of children and adults in the household, and marital status) and included in the final logistic regression model through backward elimination. All statistics were conducted using SAS (version 9.4, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Participants (N=252) were 75% female, 42% Non-Hispanic Black, 31% Non-Hispanic White, 12% Hispanic, and 15% other race categories. The mean number of children in households was 2.33 (SD=1.58), and half of the respondents reported earning ≤$10,000/year. Chi-Square tests showed univariate relationships between study variables and varying household food security levels. Those in the “high” and “medium” groups for depression and CHAOS were both more likely than the “low” groups to experience low or very low food security. Income and education were also related to food security, with low levels of education and low income being associated with low or very low food security. Age, sex, race/ethnicity, and marital status were not associated with food security status. The fully adjusted logistic regression models of depression and CHAOS accounted for 10% and 14% of the variance in food security, respectively (depression: (OR=0.31, CI=0.15-0.65; pp In the current study, CHAOS demonstrated a stronger relationship with food security than depression, when controlling for sociodemographics. CHAOS is a measurement that has not been tested widely among food insecure populations, but has been shown to be an influencing factor on child development, and might help explain some of the stress experienced by low-income families. Understanding more about the psychological aspects of food insecurity may help inform the development of tailored interventions to alleviate food insecurity in low-income households, and ultimately improve health, achievement and related outcomes in children

Relationship Between Food Security, Nutrition Security, and Diabetes: the Role of Supplemental Nutrition assistance Program Participation

BACKGROUND: Inadequate nutrition and poor diet quality are associated with a heightened risk of diabetes. The connection between food insecurity measures and diabetes has been established, with evidence indicating that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation contributes to reductions in food insecurity. Recently developed nutrition security measures, defined as the ability to acquire healthful foods to prevent diseases, and their association with diabetes and SNAP participation are not yet understood. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the relationship between food security and nutrition security in relation to diabetes overall and by SNAP participation and nutrition security as potential modifiers. METHODS: Secondary data analysis of cross-sectional pilot study data collected from adults in 5 US states (N = 517). Logistic regression mixed models included moderation analysis and clustering effects by state to address site-level confounding. RESULTS: Higher nutrition security scores among adults, after adjusting for confounders, were significantly associated with lower odds of diabetes risk (adjusted odds ratio = 0.59; 95% confidence interval: 0.40, 0.87; CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the early exploration of the intricate relationship between nutrition security and diabetes. The findings suggest that a higher nutrition security score, after adjusting for confounders, was significantly associated with lower odds of diabetes risk. Notably, there were statistically significant interaction effects in these associations based on SNAP participation

Food Security, Hunger-coping, and Hunger-Symptoms, and Their Relationship With Daily Fruit and Vegetable Intake Frequency in a Low-income Sample

Purpose To examine daily fruit and vegetable (FV) intake frequency by household food security status (high food security, marginal food security, low food security, and very low food security), and scores on three hunger-coping behavior scales (i.e., “rationing food supplies”, “financial strategies”, and “trade-off strategies”), and one physiological hunger symptoms scale among a very low-income population in the Midwestern United States. Methods Adult participants (aged 19 and older and caregivers to at least one child aged 0-18) were recruited from public libraries, food pantries, and other community locations to participate in a cross-sectional self-administered survey (n = 306). The primary outcome variable was daily FV intake frequency, measured from five items from the 16-item NYPANS dietary screener (fruit, green salad, carrots, other vegetables, and non-fried potatoes). These items were converted into daily frequencies and then summed. Daily FV intake frequency was also log transformed to meet statistical model assumptions. The main independent variables in this study were household food security (measured using the 6-item USDA Household Food Security Survey Module), scores on three 5-item hunger-coping behavior scales (max scores = 5), and one 5-item physiological hunger symptoms scale (max scores = 5). Potential sociodemographic and household characteristics (e.g., sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, income, marital status, food assistance, income assistance, food pantry use, household child to adult ratio, and automobile access) were assessed as potential covariates. Generalized linear models were used to assess the relationship between independent variables and daily FV intake frequency. Results 278 participants provided complete data for the outcome variable and were included in the sample. The sample was 73% female, 45% African American, 14% Hispanic, and 28% Caucasian. A majority of participants (60%) reported annual household incomes under $15,000. A high proportion of participants (42%) had very lowfood security, as compared to the national average of 6%. Participants reported consuming FV 2.40 times per day (SD=1.76) on average. Compared the high food secure group (In adjusted models), being in the “very low” food security group was associated with a 26% decrease, on average, in daily FV intake frequency (exp(β)=0.74, 95%CI=0.61-0.88, p Conclusions Compared to the high food secure group, those in the “very low” food secure group reported a significantly lower mean daily FV intake frequency, but not those in the “low” food secure group. This emphasizes the need to examine the “low” and “very low” food secure groups separately when studying factors associated with diet. Engaging in hunger-coping behaviors and experiencing physiological hunger symptoms was associated with decreased daily FV intake frequency. It is not clear if the hunger coping-behaviors themselves directly lead to decreased daily FV intake frequency, or if they were a marker for food insecurity and associated economic distress. These constructs and relationships should be examined in future studies. Programs and policies, which seek to promote fruit and vegetable intake among low-income populations, should target the “very low” food secure as the most at-risk for low intake. Also, researchers and community organizations working with food insecure groups could potentially measure hunger-coping behaviors and hunger symptoms in a complementary fashion to traditional measures of food insecurity to gain more contextual information about the experiences of this population

Monthly SNAP benefit duration and its association with food security, hunger-coping, and physiological hunger symptoms among low-income families

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit duration (i.e., the number of weeks each month a participants’ SNAP benefits provide food), and five primary outcome variables: food security, three hunger-coping behavior scales (rationing food supplies, financial strategies, making trade-offs), and physiological hunger symptoms, among a sample of families with children 0-18 years currently receiving SNAP benefits. Methods Baseline survey data were collected as part of a community-based intervention to alleviate child hunger. Participants included in the analytic sample were current SNAP recipients, parents (or caregivers), and 19 years of age and older (n=161). The survey assessed sociodemographics, household characteristics, food and financial assistance use, food security, three hunger-coping behavior scales, diet intake frequency, and one physiological hunger symptoms scale. The three hunger-coping scales and the physiological hunger scale were dichotomized into a “high” group (if above the sample median score) and a “low” group (if at or below the sample median score). Sociodemographic and family characteristics were included as covariates. Logistic regression models were used to assess relationships between monthly SNAP benefit duration and the five primary outcome variables in this study. Results Respondents were predominately mothers/female caregivers (78%), a majority reported annual family incomes below $10,000 (58%), and 80% were experiencing “low” or “very low” food security. The sample was 43% non-Hispanic black, 30% non-Hispanic white, 10% Hispanic/Latino, 17% American Indian or other racial/ethnic groups. Monthly SNAP benefit duration (M=2.8, SD=1.0) was not likely driven by allotment amount, because households’ percent of the federal poverty line (a proxy measure for allotment amount) was not associated with the number of weeks each month that benefits lasted (p=0.36). After controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables and household characteristics, the more weeks each month participants reported their SNAP benefits lasting, the lower their odds of experiencing “low” or “very low” food security (OR=0.444, 95%CI=0.259-0.761; p Conclusions These findings suggest that monthly SNAP benefit duration may be useful as a proxy for SNAP allotment adequacy in the context of food security and hunger. Families that were not able to make monthly benefits extend as long as other families were more likely to be food insecure and experience “high” levels of physiological hunger symptoms. While associations with hunger-coping behaviors were only significant in univariate analysis, they were in the direction expected and should be further examined in future studies as these behaviors may be exacerbate, buffer, or be symptoms of the experience of food insecurity and hunger among low-income families. Policies are needed to better tailor SNAP benefit allotments to the needs of disadvantaged families, and research and programming is needed to investigate ways these families can better utilize their current allotments as a potential path to address food insecurity and hunger

Development of three new multidimensional measures to assess household food insecurity resilience in the United States

IntroductionThis study aimed to develop and test novel self-administered measures (Absorptive capacity, Adaptive capacity, and Transformative capacity) of three aspects of a household's resilience to financial shocks (e.g., job loss) that can increase food insecurity risk.MethodsMeasures were piloted in a convenience sample of households at risk for food insecurity in the United States. The survey included the new measures, validation variables (financial shock, household food security, general health, personal resilience to challenges, and financial wellbeing), and demographic questions. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess dimensionality, internal consistency was assessed [Cronbach's alpha (CA)], and construct validity was assessed (Spearman's correlation). Also, brief screener versions of the full measures were created.ResultsParticipants in the analytic samples (n = 220-394) averaged 44 years old, 67% experienced food insecurity, 47% had a high school diploma or less, 72% were women, and the sample was racially/ethnically diverse. Scores for Absorptive capacity [one factor; CA = 0.70; Mean = 1.32 (SD = 0.54)], Adaptive capacity [three factors; CAs 0.83-0.90; Mean = 2.63 (SD = 0.85)], and Transformative capacity [three factors; CAs 0.87-0.95; Mean = 2.70 (SD = 1.10)] were negatively associated with financial shocks (−0.221 to −0.307) and positively associated with food insecurity (0.310-0.550) general health (0.255-0.320), personal resilience (0.231-0.384), and financial wellbeing (0.401-0.474).DiscussionThese findings are encouraging and support reliability and validity of these new measures within this sample. Following further testing, such as Confirmatory Factor Analysis in future samples, these measures may prove useful for needs assessments, program evaluation, intake screening, and research/surveillance. Widespread adoption in the future may promote a more comprehensive understanding of the food insecurity experience and facilitate development of tailored interventions on upstream causes of food insecurity

New measures to assess the “Other” three pillars of food security–availability, utilization, and stability

Abstract Background In recent reviews of available measures, no existing measures assessed all four pillars of food security and most only assessed one or two pillars–predominantly the access pillar. The purpose of this study was to preliminarily develop novel measures of availability, utilization, and stability that are complementary to the USDA’s household food security survey measure (HFSSM). Methods A formative phase included an expert advisory group, literature scans, and interviews with individuals experiencing food insecurity. From April-June 2021, the new measures were piloted in five states (California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington). The cross-sectional pilot survey included the new measures (perceived limited availability, utilization barriers, and food insecurity stability), scales and items for validation (e.g., food security, and self-reported dietary and health outcomes), and demographic questions. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess dimensionality, internal consistency was assessed using Kuder-Richardson formula 21 (KR21), and convergent and discriminant validity were assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficients. Also, a brief screener version was created for the utilization barriers measure that may be necessary for certain applications (e.g., clinical intake screening to inform referrals to assistance programs). Results The analytic samples (perceived limited availability (n = 334); utilization barriers (n = 428); food insecurity stability (n = 445)) were around 45 years old on average, most households had children, over two-thirds were food insecure, over three-fourths were women, and the samples were racially/ethnically diverse. All items loaded highly and unambiguously to a factor (factor loadings range 0.525–0.903). Food insecurity stability showed a four-factor structure, utilization barriers showed a two-factor structure, and perceived limited availability showed a two-factor structure. KR21 metrics ranged from 0.72 to 0.84. Higher scores for the new measures were generally associated with increased food insecurity (rhos = 0.248–0.497), except for one of the food insecurity stability scores. Also, several of the measures were associated with statistically significantly worse health and dietary outcomes. Conclusions The findings support the reliability and construct validity of these new measures within a largely low-income and food insecure sample of households in the United States. Following further testing, such as Confirmatory Factor Analysis in future samples, these measures may be used in various applications to promote a more comprehensive understanding of the food insecurity experience. Such work can help inform novel intervention approaches to address food insecurity more fully

Finite Element Analysis of a Hobie 16 Mast and Possible Alternatives

Hobie Cat is one of the most popular sailboat production companies to ever exist, and the Hobie 16 is the most popular boat in the Hobie Cat line-up. The key to Hobie’s success was largely in part to advancements in strong and lightweight materials. This advancement allowed Hobie to achieve record breaking performance in their particular class of boat. The mast of the Hobie 16 is one of the heavier pieces of the craft. The overall mass and center of mass is greatly affected by this component, which begs to question if there may possibly be room for improvement. A sailboat mast is defined as a tall vertical spar, sometimes sectioned, that rises from the keel or deck of a sailing vessel to support the sails and the standing and running rigging. Sailboat masts are long, slender structures. They must be designed to be able to hold the thrust loads that are acting on them from the sails which will differ based on wind conditions. A mast must also be made of a material that will allow it to go through the varying environmental conditions without fatiguing. When designing a sailboat mast a few of the main goals are to have a low center of gravity, be light weight, and also aerodynamically efficient. During this research a Hobie 16 mast design was taken as a baseline design for testing. The current mast on the market weighs between 50–60 lbs. While this is not extremely heavy, the center of gravity is approximately 13.5 feet from the end of the mast. This high center of gravity makes it tough to raise and lower the mast when launching the boat. One important objective in this work is to create a mast that will be easier for the user to raise and lower without sacrificing the structural integrity of the mast. Three masts have been created in solid modeling software, and their performance characteristics have been tested using finite element analysis software ANSYS. Two of the designs are original works, while one is a copy of the original Hobie Cat design. The original design was analyzed, providing baseline data for which to compare the new designs with. In addition to the new designs, all designs have been constructed from three different materials as Aluminum Alloy 6061, Aluminum Alloy 7075 and Acrylic. This allows for comparison of designs and possible new materials. After an in depth analysis of all masts, the recommendation is made that Hobie 16 users would benefit greatly from the use of a tapered mast made of aluminum alloy 7075. Copyright © 2014 by ASM

Lessons Learned from the 2019 Nebraska Floods: Implications for Emergency Management, Mass Care, and Food Security

This qualitative study aimed to understand the actions, challenges, and lessons learned for addressing the food and water needs of flood survivors, with a special focus on vulnerable populations and the implications for food security, to inform future disaster response efforts in the U.S. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted from January to August 2020 with the local, state, and national stakeholders (n = 27) involved in the disaster response to the 2019 Nebraska floods, particularly those involved in providing mass care, such as food, water, and shelter, for the flood survivors. The challenge themes were related to limited risk awareness and apathy, the large scope of the impact, the difficulty with coordination and communication, the challenges in risk communication, the limited local-level capacity, and the perceived stigma and fear limiting the utilization of governmental assistance. The mitigation recommendations included the need to consider zoning and infrastructure updates, the implementation of efficient systems that leverage technology for coordination and communication, and guidance on how to address certain human factors. This study reinforces previous findings related to flood disasters and adds to our understanding of disaster response and food insecurity. The practical takeaways from this study can inform future flood-related disaster mitigation approaches in Nebraska and other rural areas