Food insecurity and substance use among young adults in the United States.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between food insecurity and substance use among young adults aged 18-25 in the U.S.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was completed by a diverse sample of 1024 young adults (50.

Comparing the number of outdoor sugar-sweetened beverage and caffeinated beverage advertisements near schools by school type and school-level economic advantage.

Introduction: Sugar-sweetened beverage and caffeinated beverage consumption are associated with a variety of health issues among youth. Food and beverage marketing has been shown to affect youth's preferences, purchases, and consumption of marketed products. Previous research suggests that outdoor food and beverage marketing differs by community demographics, with more advertisements in lower-income communities and near schools.

Missed opportunities for prenatal family-centered care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe the impact of COVID-19 on fatherhood experiences during pregnancy.

Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was developed to collect qualitative data from fathers about their experiences in pregnancy and prenatal care, how they communicated with providers, strategies for information seeking, and social support they received during the pregnancy. One-time, virtual interviews were conducted via Zoom with fathers that were either expecting a baby or fathers who had a baby after March 2020 and were 18 years or older.

School-Level Socioeconomic Status and Nutrient Content of Outdoor Food/Beverage Advertisements.

We examined if areas around schools with more students of lower socioeconomic status (SES) have more total food/beverage advertisements and/or more advertisements with poorer nutritional content as compared to areas around schools with fewer students with lower SES. All outdoor food/beverage advertisements within a half-mile radius of 47 middle and high schools in the United States were objectively documented in 2012 and coded for nutritional content. The total number of advertisements and the macronutrient and micronutrient contents (total calories, fat (g), protein (g), carbohydrate (g), sugar (g), and sodium (mg)) of food and beverage items depicted in the advertisements were calculated.

Qualitative Research to Describe Food Bank-Health Care Partnerships: What Types of Models are Currently Being Used to Facilitate Food Bank-Health Care Partnerships in Texas?

Background: Food banks and health care are being increasingly called on to partner together to support individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, yet few published works highlight descriptions of current food bank-health care partnerships.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and describe food bank-health care partnerships, the impetus for development of partnerships, and challenges to sustainable partnerships within a single-state area.

Design: Qualitative data collection using semi-structured interviews was performed.

Factors Associated with Food Delivery App use Among Young Adults.

Food delivery apps are popular among young adults and often used to purchase calorie-dense foods. Limited research exists on the use of food delivery apps among young adults. The purpose of this study was to describe food delivery app use among young adults and examine the correlates of food delivery app use.

Implementing food bank and healthcare partnerships: a pilot study of perspectives from charitable food systems in Texas.

Background: Partnerships between charitable food systems and healthcare systems have been forming across the country to support individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, yet little research has focused on these partnerships, particularly from a food bank perspective. The objective of this exploratory pilot study was to identify implementation challenges and facilitators of charitable food system and healthcare partnerships from the food bank perspective.

Method: Texas food banks with existing food bank/healthcare partnerships were identify through website review and support from Feeding Texas.

Qualities of the Restaurant Food Environment: A Direct Observation Pilot Study of Restaurants Located Near High Schools.

This study aimed to identify and describe healthful and youth-oriented qualities of the restaurant food environment around high schools. Using direct observation data from 58 restaurants located within a half-mile (804.5 meters) of all high schools in a single district, two index measures of the restaurant food environment were created: healthfulness index and youth-oriented index.

Best Practices Among Food-Based Community Organizations: A Qualitative Analysis.

Food-based community organizations (FBCO) have positive impacts on community health, yet little is known about best practices that facilitate organization sustainability. To identify strategies among FBCOs used to facilitate member engagement/retention, reach future members/participants, and support organizational growth, key informants from four FBCOs in Texas participated in in-depth interviews. Semi-structured interviews were informed by grounded theory, voice recorded, and transcribed.

Describing Food and Beverage Restaurants: Creating A Reliable Coding Tool.

Objective: To develop an informed, reliable data collection tool to code restaurants found within the youth food environment.

Methods: Registered Dietitians were surveyed and academic literature review was reviewed to determine health centric food environment features. Features were incorporated into an electronic data collection tool.

Perceived Weight Discrimination and School Connectedness Among Youth: Does Teacher Support Play a Protective Role?

Background: Weight discrimination has been associated with poor academic performance and decreased school attendance. Little is known about weight discrimination and students' feelings of belonging to their school. This study examined the association between weight discrimination and school connectedness among adolescents.

The Outdoor MEDIA DOT: The development and inter-rater reliability of a tool designed to measure food and beverage outlets and outdoor advertising.

Few studies of the food environment have collected primary data, and even fewer have reported reliability of the tool used. This study focused on the development of an innovative electronic data collection tool used to document outdoor food and beverage (FB) advertising and establishments near 43 middle and high schools in the Outdoor MEDIA Study. Tool development used GIS based mapping, an electronic data collection form on handheld devices, and an easily adaptable interface to efficiently collect primary data within the food environment.

Energy drink consumption is associated with unhealthy dietary behaviours among college youth.

Aim: Energy drink consumption has been associated with a variety of health risk behaviours, yet little research has explored the relationship between energy drinks and dietary behaviours of emerging adults. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between energy drink consumption and dietary behaviours among energy drink users and non-users within a sample of college youth.

Methods: College freshmen (n = 585, m age = 18.

Is frequency of family meals associated with parental encouragement of healthy eating among ethnically diverse eighth graders?

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between family meals and parental encouragement of healthy eating overall and by ethnicity.

Design: Family meal frequency was measured with one item asking how many times in the past 7 d all or most of the family ate a meal together, which was then categorized to represent three levels of family meals (≤2 times, 3-6 times and ≥7 times). Parental encouragement of healthy eating assessed how often parents encouraged the student to eat fruits and vegetables, drink water, eat wholegrain bread, eat breakfast and drink low-fat milk (never to always).

Associations between energy drink consumption and alcohol use behaviors among college students.

Background: To explore associations between energy drink consumption and alcohol use among college students.

Methods: Participants included 585 students (m age=18.7; 47.