abstract: Objectives Through a cross-sectional observational study, this thesis evaluates the relationship between food insecurity and weight status, eating behaviors, the home food environment, meal planning and preparation, and perceived stress as it relates to predominantly Hispanic/Latino parents in Phoenix, Arizona. The purpose of this study was to address gaps in the literature by examining differences in "healthy" and "unhealthy" eating behaviors, foods available in the home, how time and low energy impact meal preparation, and the level of stress between food security groups. Methods Parents, 18 years or older, were recruited during two pre-scheduled health fairs, from English as a second language classes, or from the Women, Infants, and Children's clinic at a local community center, Golden Gate Community Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. An interview, electronic, or paper survey were offered in either Spanish or English to collect data on the variables described above. In addition to the survey, height and weight were collected for all participants to determine BMI and weight status. One hundred and sixty participants were recruited. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models, adjusting for weight status, education, race/ethnicity, income level, and years residing in the U.S., were used to assess the relationship between food security status and weight status, eating behaviors, the home food environment, meal planning and preparation, and perceived stress. Results Results concluded that food insecurity was more prevalent among parents reporting lower income levels compared to higher income levels (p=0.017). In adjusted models, higher perceived cost of fruits (p=0.004) and higher perceived level of stress (p=0.001) were associated with food insecurity. Given that the sample population was predominately women, a post-hoc analysis was completed on women only. In addition to the two significant results noted in the adjusted analyses, the women-only analysis revealed that food insecure mothers reported lower amounts of vegetables served with meals (p=0.019) and higher use of fast-food when tired or running late (p=0.043), compared to food secure mothers. Conclusion Additional studies are needed to further assess differences in stress levels between food insecure parents and food insecure parents, with special consideration for directionality and its relationship to weight status. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Nutrition 2014

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo traduzir, adaptar e validar o Eating Bahaviours and Body Image Test (EBBIT), para uso com crianças de uma cidade do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Foram sujeitos do estudo 261 escolares do sexo feminino, na faixa etária de 9 a 12 anos. Por meio da análise fatorial, com rotação varimax avaliou-se a consistência interna do instrumento. Esta análise, realizada pelo programa SPSS, versão 10.0, revelou dois fatores. Para o instrumento total a consistência interna foi adequada (∝ de Cronbach: 0,89) e para os dois fatores (1 e 2) os valores de ∝ também foram considerados satisfatórios (∝=0,90 e ∝=0,80 respectivamente), mostrando assim que o EBBIT é útil para uma avaliação precoce, rastreando comportamentos indicadores de possíveis distúrbios no comportamento alimentar. Foram mantidas as características psicométricas do instrumento original. / This study aimed to translate, adapt and validate the Eating Bahaviours and Body Image Test (EBBIT), to be used with children in a city in the interior of São Paulo. Study subjects were 261 female students between 9 and 12 years old. The internal consistency of the instrument was evaluated by means of factorial analysis with varimax rotation. This analysis was accomplished through SPSS, version 10.0, revealed two factors. The internal consistency was adequate for the total instrument (Cronbach’s ∝: 0.89) and ∝ values were also considered satisfactory for the two factors (1 and 2) (∝=0.90 and ∝=0.80 respectively), which demonstrated that the EBBIT is useful for an initial evaluation, tracing behavior that indicates possible eating behavior disorders. The psychometric characteristics of the original instrument were maintained.

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), the purpose of this thesis was to investigate the protective role of self-determined (i.e., autonomous motivation) relative to non self-determined motivation (i.e., controlled motivation) in response to various media portrayals of the female body. Findings from three laboratory experiments support these hypotheses. Women who felt less self-determined in their daily activities (Study 1 and Study 3) and in the regulation of their eating behaviors (Study 2), perceived more pressure from the media to be thin (Study 1), experienced more body dissatisfaction (Study 1 and Study 2), expressed greater concerns over the quantity of food in their diets (Study 1), and reported more negative affect (Study 2) following exposure to a video which exemplified the societal ―thin ideal‖ compared to a video which did not. They also generated more negative self-appraisals of their body‘s appearance and competence (Study 3), experienced more body shame (Study 3), and reported more introjected reasons for restricting their actual intake of chocolate (Study 3) following exposure to video which depicted the female body as an instrument of women‘s actions compared to one which depicted the female body as object (Study 3). Conversely, women who felt more self-determined in their daily activities (Study 1 and Study 3) expressed greater concerns over the quality of food in their diet (Study 1) and reported less vitality (Study 3) in response to media portrayals of women engaged in self-care (Study 1) and physical activities (Study 3). However, body dissatisfied women who felt more self-determined in the regulation of their eating behaviors (Study 2) formulated more intentions to monitor their food intake and eat fewer unhealthy foods (Study 2) after viewing a video of thin female models compared to no models. Together, these findings support a protective function for self-determined motivation and a potentiating function for non self-determined motivation.

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Surface heterogeneities cause differential heating that can generate mesoscale convective boundaries, sometimes leading to cloud development and enhanced localized precipitation. A preferred cloud pattern has been identified across Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula region from 1998-2006 through the detection of cumuliform clouds on days when synoptic-scale forcing is weak. Hourly visible Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery data are used to identify convective cloud masses. This allows quantitative description of the frequency and spatiotemporal extent of the clouds, helping forecasters gain insight into when and where they are likely to develop. Despite the inability to determine the underlying causes of the distinct cloud pattern, primarily due to the complex land cover, results indicate that the land receives significantly higher average total cloud cover than the Chesapeake Bay with Delaware receiving the highest average total cloud cover per state. Average total precipitation amounts follow this same trend on synoptically-weak days.

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