Image-based dietary assessment ability of dietetics students and interns

Image-based dietary assessment (IBDA) may improve the accuracy of dietary assessments, but no formalized training currently exists for skills relating to IBDA. This study investigated nutrition and dietetics students’ and interns’ IBDA abilities, the training and experience factors that may contribute to food identification and quantification accuracy, and the perceived challenges to performing IBDA. An online survey containing images of known foods and serving sizes representing common American foods was used to assess the ability to identify foods and serving sizes. Nutrition and dietetics students and interns from the United States and Australia (n = 114) accurately identified foods 79.5% of the time. Quantification accuracy was lower, with only 38% of estimates within ±10% of the actual weight. Foods of amorphous shape or higher energy density had the highest percent error. Students expressed general difficulty with perceiving serving sizes, making IBDA food quantification more difficult. Experience cooking at home from a recipe, frequent measuring of portions, and having a food preparation or cooking laboratory class were associated with enhanced accuracy in IBDA. Future training of dietetics students should incorporate more food-based serving size training to improve quantification accuracy while performing IBDA, while advances in IBDA technology are also needed. © 2017 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Influence of Parenting Practices on Eating Behaviors of Early Adolescents during Independent Eating Occasions: Implications for Obesity Prevention

Among early adolescents (10–14 years), poor diet quality along with physical inactivity can contribute to an increased risk of obesity and associated biomarkers for chronic disease. Approximately one-third of United States (USA) children in this age group are overweight or obese. Therefore, attention to factors affecting dietary intake as one of the primary contributors to obesity is important. Early adolescents consume foods and beverages during eating occasions that occur with and without parental supervision. Parents may influence eating behaviors of early adolescents during eating occasions when they are present or during independent eating occasions by engaging in practices that affect availability of foods and beverages, and through perceived normative beliefs and expectations for intake. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to describe the influence of parenting practices on eating behaviors in general and when specifically applied to independent eating occasions of early adolescents. This information may be helpful to inform parenting interventions targeting obesity prevention among early adolescents focusing on independent eating occasions

Parents\u27 Calcium Knowledge Is Associated with Parental Practices to Promote Calcium Intake Among Parents of Early Adolescent Children

The study reported here aimed to identify the relationship of parents\u27 calcium knowledge with diet-related parental practices and determinants of calcium knowledge. A cross-sectional survey was conducted measuring parental practices, calcium knowledge, and demographics. A convenience sample of 599 racially/ethnically diverse parents of children 10-13y completed questionnaires. Higher education and having a daughter were associated with higher calcium knowledge; being Asian or Hispanic and born outside the U.S. were associated with lower calcium knowledge. Parents with greater calcium knowledge were more likely to engage in healthy parenting practices. These factors may be important considerations for Extension educators in nutrition education

Parent and Household Influences on Calcium Intake Among Early Adolescents

Background: Calcium intake during early adolescence falls short of requirements for maximum bone accretion. Parents and the home food environment potentially influence children’s calcium intakes. This study aimed to quantify parental psychosocial factors (PSF) predicting calcium intakes of Asian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white (NHW) early adolescent children from a parental perspective. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving the administration of a validated calcium-specific food frequency questionnaire to a convenience sample of children aged 10–13 years and the primary individual responsible for food acquisition in the child’s household. Based on Social Cognitive Theory, parental factors potentially associated with children’s calcium intake were also assessed via parent questionnaires. The total study sample consisted of 633 parent-child pairs (Asian = 110, Hispanic = 239, NHW = 284). Questionnaires were completed at community-based centers/sites. Outcome measures were the association between parent-child calcium (mg), milk (cups/day), and soda (cans/day) intakes and the predictive value of significant parental PSF towards calcium intakes of their children. Sex-adjusted linear regression and multivariate analyses were performed. Results: Calcium intakes of parent-child pairs were positively associated among all ethnic groups (r = 0.296; P \u3c 0.001). Soda intakes were positively associated among Hispanic parent-child pairs only (r = 0.343; P \u3c 0.001). Home availability of calcium-rich foods (CRF), parental rules and expectations for their child’s intake of beverages, and parents’ calcium intake/role modeling were positively associated with children’s calcium intake and overwhelmed all other PSF in multivariate analyses. Significant cultural differences were observed. Parental role modeling was a significant factor among Hispanic dyads only. Multivariate models explained 19–21% of the variance in children’s calcium intakes. Conclusions: Nutrition interventions to improve children’s calcium intakes should focus on parents and provide guidance on improving home availability of CRF and increasing rules and expectations for the consumption of CRF. Among Hispanic families, interventions promoting parental modeling of desired dietary behaviors may be most successful

Evaluation of Messages to Promote Intake of Calcium-Rich Foods in Early Adolescents

Parental practices influence intake of calcium-rich foods and beverages (CRFB) in adolescents. This study aimed to test two posters promoting such parental practices for comprehension, cultural and personal relevance, and ability to motivate parents to encourage CRFB intake. Interviews were conducted with 14 Hispanic and 6 Asian parents to evaluate two posters entitled “Good play starts with calcium” and “Strong families start with good nutrition.” Responses were reviewed for themes. For “Good play,” both racial/ethnic groups of parents understood the message to provide CRFB. Only Hispanics, however, recognized the connection between calcium and strong bones. For “Strong families,” both groups had difficulty understanding that foods pictured were calcium rich. Both posters were considered culturally and personally relevant; however, not all respondents indicated motivation to provide CRFB. Modifications are needed to emphasize the connection between images and taglines and calcium intake for use in a future intervention to improve CRFB-promoting practices

Perceptions of How Parents of Early Adolescents Will Personally Benefit From Calcium-Rich Food and Beverage Parenting Practices

OBJECTIVE: To identify and rank perceived personal benefits from parenting practices that promote intake of calcium-rich foods and beverages (CRF/B) by early adolescents. METHODS: A convenience sample of parents/caregivers (n = 133) of early adolescents (10-13 years) from 6 states (CA, HI, MN, OH, OR, UT) participated in a qualitative study using a Nominal Group Technique process. Benefits identified by parents/caregivers were ranked by importance, given a score weight, and summed to create a total weighted score across states. RESULTS: The top benefit from making CRF/B available was parent emotional rewards. The top benefit perceived by parents from role modeling intake of CRF/B and setting expectations for intake of CRB was child health promotion. CONCLUSIONS and IMPLICATIONS: Child health promotion and parent emotional rewards were important perceived benefits derived from CRF/B parenting practices, and thus, should be included as the focus of education to increase the frequency of these practices.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by the Society For Nutrition Education and Behavior and published by Elsevier. It can be found at: http://www.jneb.org/Keywords: expectations, adolescents, availability, practices, calcium-rich foods and beverages, role modeling, parent

Parent calcium-rich-food practices/perceptions are associated with calcium intake among parents and their early adolescent children

Objective: The study aimed to (i) segment parents of early adolescents into subgroups according to their Ca-rich-food (CRF) practices and perceptions regarding early adolescent CRF intake and (ii) determine whether Ca intake of parents and early adolescents differed by subgroup. Design: A cross-sectional convenience sample of 509 parents and their early adolescent children completed a questionnaire in 2006–2007 to assess parent CRF practices and perceptions and to estimate parent and child Ca intakes. Setting: Self-administered questionnaires were completed in community settings or homes across nine US states. Subjects: Parents self-reporting as Asian, Hispanic or non-Hispanic White with a child aged 10–13 years were recruited through youth or parent events. Results: Three parent CRF practice/perception segments were identified, including ‘Dedicated-Milk Providers/Drinkers’ (49 %), ‘Water Regulars’ (30 %) and ‘Sweet-Drink-Permissive Parents’ (23 %). Dedicated-Milk Providers/Drinkers were somewhat older and more likely to be non-Hispanic White than other groups. Ca intakes from all food sources, milk/dairy foods and milk only, and milk intakes, were higher among early adolescent children of Dedicated-Milk Providers/Drinkers compared with early adolescents of parents in other segments. Soda pop intakes were highest for early adolescents with parents in the Water Regulars group than other groups. Dedicated-Milk Providers/Drinkers scored higher on culture/tradition, health benefits and ease of use/convenience subscales and lower on a dairy/milk intolerance subscale and were more likely to report eating family dinners daily than parents in the other groups. Conclusions: Parent education programmes should address CRF practices/perceptions tailored to parent group to improve Ca intake of early adolescent children.Keywords: Calcium-rich foods, Parenting practice, Parents, Early adolescent childre

Online Nutrition Education: Enhancing Opportunities for Limited-Resource Learners

Delivering nutrition education using the Internet could allow educators to reach larger audiences at lower cost. Low-income adults living in a rural community participated in focus groups to examine their interest in, experience with, and motivators to accessing nutrition education online. This audience described limited motivation in seeking formal nutrition education. However, they were interested in relevant, compelling tools emphasizing cooking and saving money. The likelihood of using the Internet for food/nutrition information was influenced by website characteristics. The insights from the study will help educators design online tools that capture and sustain the interest of low-income clientele