Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-r7xzm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T15:10:48.777Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessing the dietary environment: examples from school-based nutrition interventions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2006

Leslie A Lytle*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Division of Epidemiology, 1300 South 2nd Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA
Jayne A Fulkerson
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Division of Epidemiology, 1300 South 2nd Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Email lytle@epi.umn.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

The objectives of this paper are to (1) introduce the concept of upstream and downstream public health approaches and discuss diet assessment issues in that context, and (2) provide examples of diet assessment methods and challenges in assessing environmental factors influencing eating patterns.

Design:

Dietary assessment of environmental factors is discussed as they relate to nutrition interventions for school-aged children, although the issues transcend population characteristics. Examples of assessment challenges in measuring ‘dietary environments’ are drawn from the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH), Teens Eating for Energy and Nutrition at School (TEENS) and Trying Alternative Cafeteria Options in Schools (TACOS) studies.

Results/conclusions:

The healthfulness of our ‘dietary environments’ (which may include food availability, social norms around food choice and the effect of pricing, policy and promotion on food choice) may be more important in determining what people consume than their individual decision-making about food choice. There is a dearth of published information to inform us on how to assess these ‘dietary environments’.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2002

References

1McKinlay, Jb, Marceau, LD. Public health matters. To boldly go …. Am. J. Public Health 2000; 90: 2533.Google Scholar
2McKinlay, JB. A case for refocusing upstream – the political economy of sickness. In: Enelow, A, Henderson, JB, eds. Applying Behavioral Science to Cardiovascular Risk. Houston, TX: American Heart Association, 1975.Google Scholar
3Schmid, TL, Pratt, M, Howze, E. Policy as intervention: environmental and policy approaches to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Am. J. Public Health. 1995; 85: 1207–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Lichtenstein, P, Holm, MV, Verkasalo, PK, Iliadou, A, Kaprio, J, Koskenvuo, M, et al. Environmental and heritable factors in the causation of cancer: analyses of cohorts of twins from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. N. Engl. J. Med. 2000; 343: 7885.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Patterson, RE, Kristal, AR, Shannon, J, Hunt, JR, White, E. Using a brief household food inventory as an environmental indicator of individual dietary practices. Am. J. Public Health 1997; 87: 272–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Crockett, SJ, Potter, JD, Wright, MS, Bacheller, A. Validation of a self-reported shelf inventory to measure food purchase behavior. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 1992; 92: 694–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Cheadle, A, Psaty, BM, Curry, S, Wagner, E, Diehr, P, Koepsell, T, et al. Community-level comparisons between the grocery store environment and individual dietary practices. Prev. Med. 1991; 20: 250–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Gittelsohn, J, Evans, M, Story, M, Davis, SM, Metcalfe, L, Helitzer, DL, et al. Multisite formative assessment for the Pathways study to prevent obesity in American Indian schoolchildren. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1999; 69(Suppl.): 767S–72S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Wechsler, H, Deveraux, RS, Davis, M, Collins, J. Using the school environment to promote physical activity and healthy eating. Prev. Med. 2000; 31: S121–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Luepker, RV, Perry, CL, McKinlay, SM, Nader, PR, Parcel, GS, Stone, EJ, et al. Outcomes of a field trial to improve children's dietary patterns and physical activity. The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health. CATCH collaborative group. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 1996; 275: 768–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Perry, CL, Bishop, DB, Taylor, G, Murray, DM, Mays, RW, Dudovitz, BS, et al. Changing fruit and vegetable consumption among children: the 5-a-Day Power Plus program in St. Paul, Minnesota. Am. J. Public Health 1998; 88: 603–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12Baranowski, T, Davis, M, Resnicow, K, Baranowski, J, Doyle, C, Lin, LS, et al. Gimme 5 fruit, juice and vegetables for fun and health: outcome evaluation. Health Educ. Behav. 2000; 27: 96111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Hearn, MD, Baranowski, T, Baranowski, J, Doyle, C, Smith, M, Lin, LS, et al. Environmental influences on dietary behavior among children: availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables enable consumption. J. Health Educ. 1998; 29: 2632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Jacobson, MF, Brownell, KD. Small taxes on soft drinks and snack foods to promote health. Am. J. Public Health 2000; 90: 854–7.Google ScholarPubMed
15French, SA, Story, M, Jeffery, RW, Snyder, P, Eisenberg, M, Sidebottom, A, et al. Pricing strategy to promote fruit and vegetable purchase in high school cafeterias. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 1997; 97: 1008–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Diez-Roux, AV. Bringing context back into epidemiology: variables and fallacies in multilevel analysis. Am. J. Public Health 1998; 88: 216–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Osganian, SK, Ebzery, MK, Montgomery, DH, Nicklas, TA, Evans, MA, Mitchell, PD, et al. Changes in the nutrient content of school lunches: results from the CATCH Eat Smart food service intervention. Prev. Med. 1996; 25: 400–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Ebzery, ML, Montgomery, DH, Evans, MA, Hewes, LV, Zive, MM, Reed, DB, et al. School meal data collection and documentation methods in a multisite study. Sch. Foodserv. Res. Rev. 1996; 20: 6977.Google Scholar
19Zucker, DM, Lakatos, E, Webber, LS, Murray, DM, McKinlay, SM, Feldman, HA, et al. Statistical design of the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH): implications for cluster randomization. Control. Clin. Trials 1995; 16: 96118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Burghardt, J, Gordon, A, Chapman, N, Gleason, P, Fraker, T. The School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study: school food service, meals offered, and dietary intakes. Contract no. 53- 3198-0-16. Sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Analysis and Evaluation. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., 1993.Google Scholar
21Efron, B. The Jackknife, the Bootstrap and Other Resampling Plans. Monograph 38, Philadelphia, PA: The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 1982.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Lytle, LA, Nichaman, MZ, Obarzanek, E, Glovsky, E, Montgomery, D, Nicklas, T, et al. Validation of 24-hour recalls assisted by food records in third-grade children. The CATCH Collaborative Group. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 1993; 93: 1431–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Lytle, LA, Perry, CL. Applying research and theory in program planning: an example from a nutrition education intervention. Health Promot. Pract. 2001; 2: 6880.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24Murray, DM, Phillips, GA, Birnbaum, AS, Lytle, LA. Intraclass correlation for measures from a middle school nutrition intervention study: estimates, correlates and applications. Health Educ. Behav. 2001; 28: 666–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Lytle, LA, Story, M, Perry, CL, Murray, DM, Birnbaum, AS, Kubik, MY, et al. Can we effect change in adolescent fruit and vegetable intake? Paper presented at: American Public Health Association in Atlanta, GA, November 2001.Google Scholar
26Kubik, MY, Lytle, LA, Story, M. A practical, theory-based approach to establishing school nutrition advisory councils. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 2001; 101: 223–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27Richter, KP, Harris, KJ, Paine-Andrews, A, Fawcett, SB, Schmid, TL, Lankenau, BH, et al. Measuring the health environment for physical activity and nutrition among youth: a review of the literature and applications for community initiatives. Prev. Med. 2000; 31: s98–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28Glanz, K. Progress in dietary behavior change. Am. J. Health Promot. 1999; 14: 112–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29Forster, JL, Murray, DM, Wolfson, M, Blaine, TM, Wagenaar, AC, Hennrikus, DJ. The effects of community policies to reduce youth access to tobacco. Am. J. Public Health 1998; 88: 1193–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30Perry, CL, Williams, CL, Veblen-Mortenson, S, Toomey, TL, Komro, KA, Anstine, PS, et al. Project Northland: outcomes of a community-wide alcohol use prevention program during early adolescence. Am. J. Public Health 1996; 86: 956–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31Koepsell, TD, Wagner, EH, Cheadle, AC, Patrick, DL, Martin, DC, Diehr, PH, et al. Selected methodological issues in evaluating community-based health promotion and disease prevention programs. Annu. Rev. Public Health 1992; 13: 3157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed