Examining Food Security, Fruit and Vegetable Intake, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Outcomes of Produce Prescription (PPR) Programs: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Outcomes from produce prescription (PPR) programs, an exemplar of a Food is Medicine intervention, have not been synthesized. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to examine the impact of PPR programs on food security, fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, and/or cardiovascular risk factors (HbA1c, blood pressure, and blood lipids).

Design: Searches were conducted across three databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science).

Vendors' Perceptions and Experiences with WIC Online Shopping Implementation.

Background: Online shopping (OS) holds promise for improving the shopping experience for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). However, little is known about vendors' perspectives on implementing OS in the context of WIC.

Objectives: The present study aimed to understand vendors' experiences, needs, and barriers to WIC OS implementation.

Advancing Nutrition and Dietetics Research in Global Food and Nutrition Security: A Roundtable Meeting Report.

Food and nutrition security remains a relevant issue globally, impacting nutritional status and other health outcomes. This is further complicated by various environmental factors that impact stable access to, availability of, and utilization of nutritious foods. Nutrition and dietetics practitioners play an important role in the identification and treatment of food and nutrition security and are also well positioned to advance research that can support food and nutrition security solutions.

A Mixed-Methods Study of Perceived Implementation Challenges for WIC Online Ordering and Transactions.

Background: Federal food assistance programs are working towards online grocery shopping. Online ordering in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is emerging following successful implementation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Objective: To identify anticipated challenges, potential solutions, and expected costs of WIC online ordering.

Development of a Data Visualization Tool to Evaluate the Impact of a Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Program on MCH Populations.

Introduction: Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Programs aim to train graduate-level registered dietitian/nutritionists (RDNs) to improve the health of MCH populations. Metrics exist to evaluate the production and success of skilled graduates; however, metrics are needed regarding the reach of MCH professionals. This study aimed to develop, validate, and administer a survey to estimate the reach of a MCH Nutrition Training Program's alumni within the MCH population.

Using Explainable Artificial Intelligence to Discover Interactions in an Ecological Model for Obesity.

Ecological theories suggest that environmental, social, and individual factors interact to cause obesity. Yet, many analytic techniques, such as multilevel modeling, require manual specification of interacting factors, making them inept in their ability to search for interactions. This paper shows evidence that an explainable artificial intelligence approach, commonly employed in genomics research, can address this problem.

A cross sectional assessment of basic needs insecurity prevalence and associated factors among college students enrolled at a large, public university in the Southeastern U.S.

Background: There is increasing evidence of problematic rates of food insecurity among college students, yet few studies have gone beyond this to examine housing insecurity rates or rates of basic need insecurity (BNI), which is defined as having both food and housing insecurity, among the postsecondary population. BNI may have significant impacts on the mental and social health, and academic outcomes of college students, yet remains understudied. The researchers of this study are among the first to assess the prevalence of food insecurity, housing insecurity, and basic needs insecurity among college students enrolled at a large, public university in the Southeast and to identify factors associated with experiencing food, housing, and basic needs insecurity.

Online Pilot Grocery Intervention among Rural and Urban Residents Aimed to Improve Purchasing Habits.

Online grocery shopping has the potential to improve access to food, particularly among low-income households located in urban food deserts and rural communities. The primary aim of this pilot intervention was to test whether a three-armed online grocery trial improved fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchases. Rural and urban adults across seven counties in Kentucky, Maryland, and North Carolina were recruited to participate in an 8-week intervention in fall 2021.

Perceptions and Impact of a Youth-led Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention among Youth-leaders.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a youth-led nutrition intervention on youth-leaders themselves.

Design: Mixed methods, including: in-depth interviews and a quasi-experimental quantitative study comparing youth-leaders and nonparticipant comparison youth.

Analysis: Qualitative analysis using direct content analysis.

Food Shopping Frequency of Rural Tennessee Adults With Comparisons by Federal Nutrition Assistance Participation.

Objective: To describe food shopping frequency across 7 store types in a rural context and compare food shopping frequency between federal nutrition assistance recipients and nonrecipients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at county fairs in rural Tennessee.

Results: Reported overall mean food shopping frequency was 18.

WIC Participants' Perspectives of Facilitators and Barriers to Shopping With eWIC Compared With Paper Vouchers.

Objectives: (1) To describe facilitators and barriers to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food shopping via electronic benefits transfer (eWIC) compared with paper vouchers. (2) To explore suggestions that WIC participants had for modifying the program to enhance their overall WIC experience.

Design: Qualitative, semistructured, in-depth interviews.

A Model Depicting the Retail Food Environment and Customer Interactions: Components, Outcomes, and Future Directions.

The retail food environment (RFE) has important implications for dietary intake and health, and dramatic changes in RFEs have been observed over the past few decades and years. Prior conceptual models of the RFE and its relationships with health and behavior have played an important role in guiding research; yet, the convergence of RFE changes and scientific advances in the field suggest the time is ripe to revisit this conceptualization. In this paper, we propose the Retail Food Environment and Customer Interaction Model to convey the evolving variety of factors and relationships that convene to influence food choice at the point of purchase.

Breakfast Consumption Frequency and Its Relationships to Overall Diet Quality, Using Healthy Eating Index 2010, and Body Mass Index among Adolescents in a Low-Income Urban Setting.

The aim of this study was to describe the relationship of breakfast frequency to diet quality and BMI among low-income, predominantly African American adolescents aged 9-15 (n = 239). Mean frequency of breakfast consumption was 5.0 ± 0.

Food in My Neighborhood: Exploring the Food Environment through Photovoice with Urban, African American Youth.

This study adapted Photovoice methodology for younger participants to better understand the perceptions of urban African American youth on their food environments and diets. Youth ( = 17, ages 10-13 years) photographed and described, using novel narrative-based activities, the myriad places they regularly acquired "junk food" from environments saturated with such but differed in their assessments of the availability and desirability of more nutritious alternative foods. Youth often discussed specific foods as well as peers and adults in their lives as either entirely "healthy" or "unhealthy.

Inconsistency between Self-Reported Energy Intake and Body Mass Index among Urban, African-American Children.

Background: To prevent obesity, it is important to assess dietary habits through self-reported energy intake (EI) in children. We investigated how EI is associated with body mass index and which elements of dietary habits and status are associated with EI among African-American (AA) children.

Methods: We assessed and included data from 218 10-14-year-old AA children in Baltimore, MD, USA.

A youth mentor-led nutritional intervention in urban recreation centers: a promising strategy for childhood obesity prevention in low-income neighborhoods.

B'More Healthy Community for Kids (BHCK) is an ongoing multi-level intervention to prevent childhood obesity in African-American low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore city, MD. Although previous nutrition interventions involving peer mentoring of youth have been successful, there is a lack of studies evaluating the influence of cross-age peers within interventions targeting youth. This article evaluates the implementation of the BHCK intervention in recreation centers, and describes lessons learned.

Food insecurity, overweight and obesity among low-income African-American families in Baltimore City: associations with food-related perceptions.

Objective: To examine associations between food insecurity, excess body weight, psychosocial factors and food behaviours among low-income African-American families.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of participants in the baseline evaluation of the B'More Healthy Communities for Kids (BHCK) obesity prevention trial. We collected data on socio-economic factors, food source destinations, acquiring food, preparation methods, psychosocial factors, beliefs and attitudes, participation in food assistance programmes, anthropometry and food security.

Monitoring capabilities of the Omron HJ-720ITC pedometer.

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to examine the monitoring capabilities of the Omron HJ-720ITC pedometer and determine the feasibility of using it in physical activity interventions.

Methods: Using data from an 8-week lifestyle-intervention study, we tested the capabilities of the pedometer for recording physical activity data. Data from a total of 28 subjects were used in our analysis.

Combining Ground-Truthing and Technology to Improve Accuracy in Establishing Children's Food Purchasing Behaviors.

Developing nutrition-focused environmental interventions for youth requires accurate assessment of where they purchase food. We have developed an innovative, technology-based method to improve the accuracy of food source recall among children using a tablet PC and ground-truthing methodologies. As part of the B'more Healthy Communties for Kids study, we mapped and digitally photographed every food source within a half-mile radius of 14 Baltimore City recreation centers.

Daily self-weighing within a lifestyle intervention: impact on disordered eating symptoms.

Objective: To determine whether daily self-weighing (DSW) is associated with disordered eating (DE) symptoms within an adult lifestyle intervention (LI), and to examine changes in DE symptoms during the 18-month trial.

Method: One-hundred and seventy-eight adults (53% female, 90% White, 52.0 ± 8.

Reducing TV watching during adult obesity treatment: two pilot randomized controlled trials.

The more time adults spend being sedentary, the greater the risk of obesity. The effect of reducing television (TV) watching, a prominent sedentary behavior, on weight loss has not been tested in an adult standard behavioral obesity intervention, and the mechanisms by which reducing TV watching influences energy balance behaviors are not well understood. Two, 8-week, pilot, randomized controlled trials were conducted examining the effect of a reduced TV watching prescription on energy balance behaviors and weight loss within an adult standard behavioral obesity intervention.

The effects of an energy density prescription on diet quality and weight loss: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Dietary goals specific for lowering energy density (ED) may promote a nutrient-dense diet and weight loss. This pilot study examined the effects of ED-based diet prescriptions on diet quality and weight loss during a 3-month behavior-based obesity intervention conducted in a research setting. Forty-four adults with overweight/obesity (age 52.

Limiting variety in non-nutrient-dense, energy-dense foods during a lifestyle intervention: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Dietary variety is a factor that influences consumption but has received little attention in obesity treatment.

Objective: This study examined the effect of limiting the variety of different non-nutrient-dense, energy-dense foods (NND-EDFs) (i.e.