Association between home availability and vegetable consumption in youth: a review.

Objective: To systematically review literature examining the association between vegetable home availability and vegetable intake in youth.

Design: Articles were identified through December 2012 using a search of PubMed, PsychINFO and OVID/Medline databases, using the following keywords in varying combinations: home, environment, availability, vegetable, intake, consumption, children. Quantitative studies examining home vegetable availability and vegetable intake in children and adolescents were included.

Vegetable consumption is linked to decreased visceral and liver fat and improved insulin resistance in overweight Latino youth.

There are limited data on the influence of vegetable consumption on adiposity and metabolic health, specifically nonstarchy vegetables and vegetables that are dark green and deep orange/yellow (also known as nutrient-rich vegetables). Our study examines the relationship between vegetable intake and adiposity, liver fat, and insulin dynamics in overweight Latino youth. This cross-sectional study of 175 overweight (body mass index ≥85th percentile) Latino youth (aged 8 to 18 years), with data collected during 2006-2011, included the following: dietary intake via multiple 24-hour recalls, total body fat via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, adipose tissue distribution and liver fat via magnetic resonance imaging, and insulin dynamics via frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test.

Meal skipping linked to increased visceral adipose tissue and triglycerides in overweight minority youth.

Objective: To investigate the impact of eating frequency on dietary intake, physical activity (PA), metabolic, and adiposity measures in minority youth.

Methods: This analysis included 185 overweight (≥85th BMI percentile) Hispanic and African-American youth (8-18 years) with the following cross-sectional measures: height, weight, BMI, dietary intake, body composition, metabolic parameters, PA, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Each eating occasion (EO) was defined as ≥50 calories and ≥15 minutes from any previous EO.

LA Sprouts: a garden-based nutrition intervention pilot program influences motivation and preferences for fruits and vegetables in Latino youth.

Garden-based approaches to nutrition education may be effective for improving nutrition habits in adolescents. A quasi-experimental, garden-based intervention for Latino youth (LA Sprouts) was piloted and assessed for its influence on behavior associated with dietary intake and psychosocial factors. Study participants were 104 predominately Latino fourth and fifth grade students in Los Angeles (mean age, 9.

LA Sprouts: a gardening, nutrition, and cooking intervention for Latino youth improves diet and reduces obesity.

Evidence demonstrates that a gardening and nutrition intervention improves dietary intake in children, although no study has evaluated the effect of this type of intervention on obesity measures. The objective of this pilot study was to develop and test the effects of a 12-week, after-school gardening, nutrition, and cooking program (called LA Sprouts) on dietary intake and obesity risk in Latino fourth- and fifth-grade students in Los Angeles, CA. One hundred four primarily Latino children (mean age 9.