Personal, proxy, and collective food agency among early adolescents.

Early adolescence is a critical time for health behavior development because agency increases during the transition from childhood to adolescence. This qualitative study sought to identify how early adolescent participants described food-related agency. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 30 early adolescents (10-13 years).

Training Needs of Nutrition Educators Engaged in Policy, Systems, and Environmental Approaches.

Objective: Assess training needs of nutrition educators incorporating policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) approaches into their obesity prevention efforts, to identify content for online training.

Methods: Conducted a national, online survey of state and local Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education professionals engaged in PSE efforts.

Results: Respondents (n = 601) rated the importance of 24 training topics related to planning, implementing, and evaluating PSE approaches.

Methods and design of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention: a two group quasi-experimental effectiveness trial.

Background: Given the ongoing childhood obesity public health crisis and potential protective effect of family meals, there is need for additional family meals research, specifically experimental studies with expanded health outcomes that focus on the at-risk populations in highest need of intervention. Future research, specifically intervention work, would also benefit from an expansion of the target age range to include younger children, who are laying the foundation of their eating patterns and capable of participating in family meal preparations. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by presenting the objectives and research methods of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention study aimed at eliciting positive changes in child diet and weight status.

Implementing Smarter Lunchrooms Makeovers in New York state middle schools: an initial process evaluation.

Background: This paper presents design and findings from the process evaluation of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the effectiveness of Smarter Lunchrooms Movement (SLM) interventions to encourage consumption of either fruit, vegetables, or unflavored milk in middle school cafeterias (grades 6-8, typically children ages 10-14 years). Using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework adapted for environmental interventions, the process evaluation monitored fidelity to SLM protocol, determined barriers and facilitators influencing fidelity, and identified the training and support needs of implementers.

Methods: Under research team guidance, community partners (interventionists) assisted school food service staff (providers) with a six week implementation of protocol items in 13 public middle school cafeterias (two milk treatment, three vegetable treatment, four fruit treatment, and four control) in New York State during the 2013-2014 academic year.

Practice-based evidence of effectiveness in an integrated nutrition and parenting education intervention for low-income parents.

Research identifying associations between parental behaviors and children's food and activity choices and weight suggests that the integration of parenting and nutrition education holds promise for promoting healthful eating and activity in families. However, translational research leading to sustainable interventions lags behind. Development and testing of interventions within actual program contexts is needed to facilitate translation to full-scale implementation.