M. S.

A learning module entitled "nutrition and Aging" was developed for use by persons who work with the elderly. The module contained nine units: Energy and Nutrient Requirements of Everyone, Special Nutrient Requirements in Aging, Physical Characteristics Affecting Nutrition, Social Characteristics Affecting Nutrition, Evaluation of Nutritional Status, Special Diets in Aging, Nutrition Education for the Elderly, Food and Nutrition Programs for the Elderly, Professional Opportunities in Nutrition for the Elderly. The learning module was presented as a 10-week, three credit course to a group of 15 graduate and undergraduate students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Objective evaluation showed that the overall gain in knowledge was highly significant (p < .01) for the total group. Subjective evaluation showed the undergraduate students to be the most satisfied with the course and with the total amount learned. / M. S.

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a nutrition education program for men on healthy eating when dining out. The Health Belief Model provided the basic framework to identify factors that would potentially motivate men over 40 to change their dietary behavior to reduce heart disease risk. Roundtable discussions were held to identify nutrition needs. A 10 minute "Dine Right with MENu Insight" slide program on low-fat eating away from home was developed. Three educational messages were the key concepts of the program: 1) relationship between diet and health, 2) proportionality, variety and moderation as themes of the Food Guide Pyramid and 3) low-fat food choices at home and away. A four page handout was developed to supplement the slide show presentation. Four programs were presented to a total of 148 people (136 males, 12 females) at Rotary and Kiwanis groups in Corvallis and Albany, Oregon in January and February, 1994. Each program included a pretest, the "Dine Right with MENu Insight" slide presentation and a group discussion. Of the 136 males, forty-eight volunteered (aged 40-60 years) and completed the 10-15 minute follow-up phone post-test 3-4 weeks after attending the program. Pre-test responses showed limited knowledge of the Food Guide Pyramid, with 65% of the men incorrectly selecting the vegetable group as the base of the Pyramid. Knowledge of low-fat menu choices was high with an average score of 4.7+1.1 (out of a possible 5 points) and a range of 0-5 prior to the education program. An attitude score measuring awareness of healthy dietary practices underlying the Pyramid (eg, variety, proportionality and moderation) had a mean of 5.3+1.7 (out of a possible 15) with a range of 3-8. These pre-test data suggested that participants were aware of the relationship between diet and health. In the post-test, 98% of the men correctly selected the bread group as the Food Guide Pyramid food group that should be eaten in the largest amount. This was a significant increase (p<.001) from pre-test scores. Half of the men had heard of the Pyramid prior to the program. A reassessment of healthy dietary practices awareness showed a significant increase in positive attitudes (p [less than or equal to] .001) with a mean of 3.6+.93 (out of a possible 15 points) and a range of 5-7. Seventy-three percent of the men reported that their diet could be "somewhat healthier". In the past year, 69% reported increasing their consumption of foods (eg, vegetables, grains) to reduce heart disease; 79% reported decreased consumption (eg, red meat). Seventy-five percent reported that they "sometimes" try to select lower fat foods when eating out. Personal preference (65%), menu selection (80%) and the restaurant (27%) influenced lower fat food selection decisions. Many participants indicated awareness of the relationship between proper food selection and optimal health before the program. However, awareness did increase as a result of the program. There was a significant positive (p [less than or equal to] .005) change in attitudes toward the importance of watching fat in the diet in order to stay healthy between pre and posttests. In addition, a positive (r=.36, p [less than or equal to] .05) correlation was reported between knowing that the amount of dietary fat affects the chance of heart disease and watching fat in the diet in order to stay healthy. These data suggest that the Dine Right program conveyed a tie between diet and optimum health. Significant changes in participants' knowledge about the Food Guide Pyramid and underlying concepts also suggest that the program had an impact on participants. These data suggest that knowledge of nutritious food choices at home and away from home increased or was reinforced by the program. The majority (79%) of men learned "some new things" from the program. As a result of the program, 65% planned on making changes in their diets when eating out (eg, by increasing grains, fruits, vegetables). Thirty-five percent planned to make changes at home. Eighty-three percent reported showing the Dine Right handout to someone else and 85% talked about the program with their spouse, family member, coworker or friend. The results of this research indicate that men respond to nutrition education programs. Therefore nutrition and health campaigns to reach the American male are merited. Men's health and nutrition programs such as "Dine Right with MENu Insight" could be followed by additional education programs utilizing a theoretical framework. Future research should test each of the components of the Health Belief Model on men's dietary behavior. Also extensions to other samples of men (such as those with lower educational levels) is warranted in order to better understand how to target nutrition education programs to this important audience. / Graduation date: 1995

No description available.

One hundred forty-nine hospitality and culinary programs located in the U.S. and 49 hospitality and culinary programs located in other countries were examined to identify the differences of nutrition topics taught and teaching methods/resources used in undergraduate hospitality management and culinary programs.

The purpose of this study was to assess the usage of distance education in undergraduate dietetics programs. Additionally, the possibility of obtaining an undergraduate degree in dietetics via distance education was examined. The population receiving the survey research was all directors (279) of Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) approved/accredited undergraduate programs listed in the 2001-2002 Directory of Dietetics Programs. This included the Didactic Programs in Dietetics and Coordinated Programs. A database of the 54% survey respondents was compiled and a numerical summary was done. Frequencies of the responses were determined. Cross-tabulations using chi-square tests were done with Minitab Statistical Software (version 13.1) to determine demographic influence as it related to key responses, p <.05. The findings of the survey were compared with demographic information to look for relationships between the characteristics of the higher education institutions and their likelihood of offering distance education. The dietetics program directors indicated that 32% (n=150) of undergraduate dietetics programs offer distance education courses in some format. Land grant universities were significantly more likely to offer dietetics distance education courses, but less likely to offer non-dietetics distance education courses. Institutions that accept transfer dietetics distance education courses from accredited institutions were more likely to offer dietetics distance education courses. Institutions that offer non-dietetics courses by distance education were more likely to offer dietetics courses by distance education. The most common distance education format utilized in dietetics was 100% Internet courses (48%). The majority of dietetics programs that offer distance education offer a basic or introductory nutrition course (31%). Perceived barriers to distance education in dietetics most frequently included faculty time constraints (34%), lack of resources (17%) and lack of student and faculty demand or interest (11%). Suggestions for encouraging the development of dietetics distance education courses included give faculty more preparation or release time, or hire more staff (32%), acquire adequate resources (17%) and faculty training (12%). From the data of courses offered or permitted to be transferred, it would not be possible for a student to complete a four-year undergraduate degree in dietetics solely via distance education methodologies. / Graduation date: 2002

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This study examined Filipino mothers' problem solving on issues related to child feeding, using a dyadic, peer-help approach. The participants were mothers of children under 6 years of age from the town of Camaligan, in the southern Philippines, where malnutrition among children is prevalent. Two studies were conducted: one using a controlled experimental session and the second using a multi-session nutrition education format. In the first study, mothers were paired with a mutual or unilateral friend to discuss a feeding problem to which they initially gave similar solutions and one to which they gave different solutions. Their post-discussion solutions were better in quality and number than the pre-discussion solutions; also mothers paired with a mutual friend gave more and better finaL solutions to the initially-agreed problem than other mothers. Mothers' final solutions were more likely to come from their own than their partner's discussed solutions, suggesting that the partner's role was to facilitate the mother's own problem-solving process. In the second study, mothers paired with a mutual or unilateral friend were compared with an unpaired control group, after pacing themselves through four problem-based nutrition education sessions. For all three groups, mothers' nutrition knowledge and target child's weight-for-age and height-for-age improved from before to after the sessions. In conclusion, mothers show improvements in the number and quality of solutions they generate and the nutrition knowledge they acquire as a result of a problem-solving approach to nutrition education.

The purpose of this study was to determine if completion of the Purdue Extension Professor Popcorn nutrition curriculum impacts third grade students' long-term knowledge about, attitude toward, and self-reported consumption of fruits and vegetables. A secondary purpose was to measure any carry-over of concepts learned, or to identify any food behaviors acquired, by surveying the students' parents.A total of 74 third-grade students and 66 parents/guardians participated in this study. Data was analyzed using SPSS, version 11.0. Descriptive analysis, frequency counts, and Pearson Chi Square were used to test 15 research hypotheses. Significant differences were found in students' attitude toward vegetables, how often they ate fruit, and how often people should eat fruits and vegetables. No differences were found in parent/guardian surveys. Results of this study provide modest support for the impact of Professor Popcorn on students. No carryover of concepts to the students' parents, however, was observed. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a three week school-based nutrition education program on the nutrition knowledge and healthy food choices of elementary school children in the fifth grade. The nutrition education program consisted of nine, thirty minute lessons comprised of the following topics: the food pyramid guide, carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins (A and C), minerals (calcium, and iron), healthy snacks, and vegetarianism. Ninety-six subjects from four classes were obtained from two elementary public schools in the Muncie Community School District to participate in this study. A control group and an experimental group were assigned by the principal at each school according to the availability and interest of fifth grade teachers. Evaluation of nutrition knowledge was completed through a pre-test and post-test which consisted of twenty-five multiple choice questions. Questions on the test were developed by the researcher and the "Nutrition in a Changing World" (Contento, 1992) curriculum model. The test was found to be reliable on an Alpha Cronbach test for reliability (Alpha Coefficient = 0.71) and was validated by five registered dietitians.Results indicated that the nutrition education program significantly increased (p = .000) the nutrition knowledge of students. Mean scores for the experimental group increased significantly from 10.8 to 14.63 out of twenty-five questions, while mean scores for the control subjects increased only slightly from 10.11 to 10.74 out of twenty-five questions. Healthy food choices were defined as being in compliance with the guidelines for energy nutrients and in compliance with the guidelines for number of servings per food group. Evaluation of healthy food choices was conducted using a three-day dietary record analyzed by the Nutritionist IV computer software program prior to the nutrition education program and immediately following.Findings revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the mean change in compliance rate for the recommended number of servings for each food group from pre to post nutrition intervention (p = .000). The largest change that was observed in the experimental group from pre to post nutrition intervention was an 11.9% decrease in the mean number of servings for grains. There was no statistically significant difference in relation to the average change in compliance for the energy nutrients between the experimental and control groups nor was a statistical significance observed regarding compliance to the recommended number of servings per food group consumed daily. The primary investigator feels the educational program had a positive affect on the subjects and that a comprehensive nutrition education program needs to be developed to reinforce the concepts taught in order to make positive behavior changes. / Fisher Institute for Wellness