Change & Maintaining Change in School Cafeterias: Economic and Behavioral-Economic Approaches to Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Developing a daily habit of consuming fruits and vegetables (FV) in children is an important public-health goal. Eating habits acquired in childhood are predictive of adolescent and adult dietary patterns. Thus, healthy eating patterns developed early in life can protect the individual against a number of costly health deficits and may reduce the prevalence of obesity. At present, children in the United States (US) under-consume FV despite having access to them through the National School Lunch Program. Because access is an obstacle to developing healthy eating habits, particularly in low-income households, targeting children’s FV consumption in schools has the advantage of near-universal FV availability among more than 30 million US children. This chapter reviews economic and behavioral-economic approaches to increasing FV consumption in schools. Inclusion criteria include objective measurement of FV consumption (e.g., plate waste measures) and minimal demand characteristics. Simple but effective interventions include (a) increasing the variety of vegetables served, (b) serving sliced instead of whole fruits, (c) scheduling lunch after recess, and (d) giving children at least 25 minutes to eat. Improving the taste of FV and short-term incentivizing consumption of gradually increasing amounts can produce large increases in consumption of these foods. Low-cost game-based incentive program may increase the practicality of the latter strategy

THE TRIAD TRIAL: ONLINE EDUCATION FOR COACHES FOR THE PREVENTION OF THE FEMALE ATHLETE

The female athlete triad includes decreased energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and decreased bone mineral density. The triad is a common problem among female athletes and negatively affects performance and health. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an online educational resource aimed at educating coaches about the triad. METHODS: The online resource included a website, blog, and Facebook page, under that title The Triad Trial, which targeted coaches of female athletes 13 to 18 years of age. Resources were evaluated by panels of experts, coaches, and athletes, and were made available to the public (www.thetriadtrial.com). Coaches were contacted by email or social media and encouraged to visit the site and to complete a survey. Traffic to the website was monitored for the 8 weeks that the survey was open. RESULTS: During the 8-week period, there were 732 unique visits to the website, while 90 participants completed the survey. Of the people who took the survey, 82% had never heard of the triad, 11% believe that missing menstrual cycles posed no risk to their female athletes, and 29% were neutral, indicating that 40% of the surveyed coaches were unaware of the dangers associated with missing menstrual cycles. However, urban coaches were more aware of the dangers than rural coaches (p= 0.025). The online education provided a means to reach higher-risk rural coaches. After exposure, 75% said the website helped change their opinion about the seriousness of the triad. The majority (92.2 %) of participants felt that the website gave them the tools necessary to educate their athletes on the triad, and 80% used or planned to use at least one of the tools provided. Overall, participants’ self-reported positive changes in knowledge, attitude, and behaviors related to prevention of the triad. CONCLUSION: The results from this study indicate that the majority of Utah high school coaches are unaware of the female athlete triad, however they are eager to learn and improve their practices. This study suggests that online education may be an effective way to reach and educate coaches about preventing the triad. More research on outcomes among athletes is needed

Weight and body composition change over a six-week holiday period

Change in weight and body composition was assessed over a six-week holiday period. Baseline testing occurred the Monday or Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving Day (November 24 or 25, 2008), and the post-holiday assessment was the Monday or Tuesday after New Year\u27s Day (January 5 or 6, 2009). Thirteen men and 21 women ranging in age from 23-61 years completed the study. The majority of participants (24 of 34) perceived that they had gained weight, and four did gain ≥2 kg. However, despite some changes to dietary and exercise habits, on average there was no difference between pre-holiday weight (74.0±17.8 kg) and post-holiday weight (73.9±18.1 kg), nor between pre-holiday body fat percentage (25.4±9.0%) and post-holiday body fat percentage (25.4±8.9%). Despite a perception of substantial weight gain, body weight and body fat remained unchanged over a six-week holiday period

Blueberry Supplementation Mitigates Altered Brain Plasticity and Behavior after Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats

SCOPE:Traumatic brain injury (TBI) compromises neuronal function required for hippocampal synaptic plasticity and cognitive function. Despite the high consumption of blueberries, information about its effects on brain plasticity and function under conditions of brain trauma is limited. The efficacy of dietary blueberry (BB) supplementation to mitigate the effects of TBI on plasticity markers and associated behavioral function in a rodent model of concussive injury are assessed. METHODS AND RESULTS:Rats were maintained on a diet supplemented with blueberry (BB, 5% w/w) for 2 weeks after TBI. It is found that BB supplementation mitigated a loss of spatial learning and memory performance after TBI, and reduced the effects of TBI on anxiety-like behavior. BB supplementation prevents a reduction of molecules associated with the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) system action on learning and memory such as cyclic-AMP response element binding factor (CREB), calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). In addition, BB supplementation reverses an increase of the lipid peroxidation byproduct 4-hydroxy-nonenal (4-HNE) after TBI. Importantly, synaptic and neuronal signaling regulators change in proportion with the memory performance, suggesting an association between plasticity markers and behavior. CONCLUSION:Data herein indicate that BB supplementation has a beneficial effect in mitigating the acute aspects of the TBI pathology

Eat right! Eating in college and beyond

This handy, full color booklet provides students with practical guidelines, tips, shopper\u27s guides and recipes so they can start putting healthy eating guidelines into action. Written specifically for students, topics include: healthy eating in the cafeteria, dorm room, and fast food restaurants; eating on a budget; weight management tips; vegetarian alternatives; and guidelines on alcohol & health

Lifestyle behavior predicts incident dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

Objectives To identify distinct behavioral patterns of diet, exercise, social interaction, church attendance, alcohol consumption, and smoking and to examine their association with subsequent dementia risk. Design Longitudinal, population-based dementia study. Setting Rural county in northern Utah, at-home evaluations. Participants Two thousand four hundred ninety-one participants without dementia (51% male, average age 73.0 ± 5,7; average education 13.7 ± 4.1 years) initially reported no problems in activities of daily living and no stroke or head injury within the past 5 years. Measurements Six dichotomized lifestyle behaviors were examined (diet: high ≥ median on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension scale; exercise: ≥5 h/wk of light activity and at least occasional moderate to vigorous activity; church attendance: attending church services at least weekly; social Interaction: spending time with family and friends at least twice weekly; alcohol: currently drinking alcoholic beverages ≥ 2 times/wk; nonsmoker: no current use or fewer than 100 cigarettes ever). Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify patterns among these behaviors. Proportional hazards regression modeled time to dementia onset as a function of behavioral class, age, sex, education, and apolipoprotein E status. Follow-up averaged 6.3 ± 5.3 years, during which 278 cases of incident dementia (200 Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD)) were diagnosed. Results LCA identified four distinct lifestyle classes. Unhealthy–religious (UH-R; 11.5%), unhealthy–nonreligious (UH-NR; 10.5%), healthy–moderately religious (H-MR; 38.5%), and healthy–very religious (H-VR; 39.5%). UH-NR (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.54, P = .028), H-MR (HR = 0.56, P = .003), and H-VR (HR = 0.58, P = .005) had significantly lower dementia risk than UH-R. Results were comparable for AD, except that UH-NR was less definitive. Conclusion Functionally independent older adults appear to cluster into subpopulations with distinct patterns of lifestyle behaviors with different levels of risk for subsequent dementia and AD