Since 2007, the number of street food vendors in Austin, Texas has more than doubled. Food trucks in the urban environment have three fundamental roles. They are entrepreneurial start-ups, interim and mobile land uses, and cultural expressions. In these roles, street food vending particularly impacts urban neighborhoods undergoing change. By occupying underutilized lots, activating streetscapes, promoting commercial activity and disseminating culture, mobile food vendors represent an innovative and low cost revitalization tool. In an effort to “catch-up” with the rapidly growing phenomenon, the City of Austin has had know choice but to implement policy and regulation reactively. By conducting in depth interviews and context analysis, this research attempts to answer the question: how might cities proactively leverage the beneficial impacts of mobile food vendors? The thesis culminates in a conceptual demonstration project for Birmingham, Alabama; a city on the cusp of a street food explosion. / text

The consumption of energy-dense fast foods has been implicated as a causal factor in the development of obesity. The development of strategies to modify food choice behaviour requires an understanding of both the behaviour and the influencing factors (in particular, beliefs, attitudes, and social influences). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1988) is one of the most widely used and accepted models of the intention-behaviour relationship within the health literature (Bagozzi, Wong, Abe, & Bergami, 2000; Conner & Armitage, 1998; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988; Sutton, 1998). This thesis spans three studies, applying and extending the TPB to examine factors influencing fast-food consumption in an Australian population. The first study is a qualitative analysis examining components of the belief stage of the TPB, including behavioural outcome, normative, and control beliefs in relation to frequent fast-food consumption. Aside from details of these beliefs, which were used to develop a quantitative measure for application in the second study, the key outcomes of this study were a definition of fast food which was applied throughout each of the studies, clarification of how fast food fits within Australian lifestyles, and generation of additional information regarding other possible influences on fast-food consumption beyond those addressed by the TPB. The additional variables included for examination were affective responses to fast food, individual differences in sensitivity to reward, and the extent to which both consideration of the future consequences of frequent fast-food consumption and fear of being negatively evaluated are influential on consumption rates. The second, quantitative study applied both the TPB-based instrument developed from findings of the first study as well as the four additional measures with the aim of improving the explanatory ability of the TPB in terms of fast-food consumption. Structural equation modelling was used and although the model performed well overall, explaining up to 50% of the variance in both intention and behaviour, there were some variables that did not perform strongly. In particular, the measure of affective responses captured with a semantic differential scale was not significantly predictive, and the third study was designed and conducted to test the performance of a more sophisticated measure in the hope that implicit, in addition to explicit, responses would provide greater explanatory value. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003) is said to provide some insight into more implicit attitudes by measuring the degree to which an individual associates conceptual categories through response latencies (or timed responses) whilst opportunities for introspection are minimised. Some have also suggested that the IAT may contribute well when it is combined with other measures, particularly in the prediction of behaviour, choice, or judgement (Brunel, Tietje, & Greenwald, 2004). Therefore, the third study combined measures based on the TPB with the IAT to investigate the nature of both implicit and explicit beliefs underlying attitudes towards fast foods. Overall, the associations captured by the IAT did not help to explain a great deal of variance in fast-food consumption, although there were differences in associations according to stimulus type with arousal-related stimuli generating stronger results than valence-related stimuli. Differences in associations with fast food were also found across groups divided according to Body Mass Index, with overweight people demonstrating more positive associations than either normal weight or obese people. A summary discusses the potential application of the findings in the development and implementation of future intervention and obesity prevention strategies as well as directions for future research. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1326647 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and School of Medicine, 2008

The consumption of energy-dense fast foods has been implicated as a causal factor in the development of obesity. The development of strategies to modify food choice behaviour requires an understanding of both the behaviour and the influencing factors (in particular, beliefs, attitudes, and social influences). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1988) is one of the most widely used and accepted models of the intention-behaviour relationship within the health literature (Bagozzi, Wong, Abe, & Bergami, 2000; Conner & Armitage, 1998; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988; Sutton, 1998). This thesis spans three studies, applying and extending the TPB to examine factors influencing fast-food consumption in an Australian population. The first study is a qualitative analysis examining components of the belief stage of the TPB, including behavioural outcome, normative, and control beliefs in relation to frequent fast-food consumption. Aside from details of these beliefs, which were used to develop a quantitative measure for application in the second study, the key outcomes of this study were a definition of fast food which was applied throughout each of the studies, clarification of how fast food fits within Australian lifestyles, and generation of additional information regarding other possible influences on fast-food consumption beyond those addressed by the TPB. The additional variables included for examination were affective responses to fast food, individual differences in sensitivity to reward, and the extent to which both consideration of the future consequences of frequent fast-food consumption and fear of being negatively evaluated are influential on consumption rates. The second, quantitative study applied both the TPB-based instrument developed from findings of the first study as well as the four additional measures with the aim of improving the explanatory ability of the TPB in terms of fast-food consumption. Structural equation modelling was used and although the model performed well overall, explaining up to 50% of the variance in both intention and behaviour, there were some variables that did not perform strongly. In particular, the measure of affective responses captured with a semantic differential scale was not significantly predictive, and the third study was designed and conducted to test the performance of a more sophisticated measure in the hope that implicit, in addition to explicit, responses would provide greater explanatory value. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003) is said to provide some insight into more implicit attitudes by measuring the degree to which an individual associates conceptual categories through response latencies (or timed responses) whilst opportunities for introspection are minimised. Some have also suggested that the IAT may contribute well when it is combined with other measures, particularly in the prediction of behaviour, choice, or judgement (Brunel, Tietje, & Greenwald, 2004). Therefore, the third study combined measures based on the TPB with the IAT to investigate the nature of both implicit and explicit beliefs underlying attitudes towards fast foods. Overall, the associations captured by the IAT did not help to explain a great deal of variance in fast-food consumption, although there were differences in associations according to stimulus type with arousal-related stimuli generating stronger results than valence-related stimuli. Differences in associations with fast food were also found across groups divided according to Body Mass Index, with overweight people demonstrating more positive associations than either normal weight or obese people. A summary discusses the potential application of the findings in the development and implementation of future intervention and obesity prevention strategies as well as directions for future research. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1326647 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and School of Medicine, 2008

The consumption of energy-dense fast foods has been implicated as a causal factor in the development of obesity. The development of strategies to modify food choice behaviour requires an understanding of both the behaviour and the influencing factors (in particular, beliefs, attitudes, and social influences). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1988) is one of the most widely used and accepted models of the intention-behaviour relationship within the health literature (Bagozzi, Wong, Abe, & Bergami, 2000; Conner & Armitage, 1998; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988; Sutton, 1998). This thesis spans three studies, applying and extending the TPB to examine factors influencing fast-food consumption in an Australian population. The first study is a qualitative analysis examining components of the belief stage of the TPB, including behavioural outcome, normative, and control beliefs in relation to frequent fast-food consumption. Aside from details of these beliefs, which were used to develop a quantitative measure for application in the second study, the key outcomes of this study were a definition of fast food which was applied throughout each of the studies, clarification of how fast food fits within Australian lifestyles, and generation of additional information regarding other possible influences on fast-food consumption beyond those addressed by the TPB. The additional variables included for examination were affective responses to fast food, individual differences in sensitivity to reward, and the extent to which both consideration of the future consequences of frequent fast-food consumption and fear of being negatively evaluated are influential on consumption rates. The second, quantitative study applied both the TPB-based instrument developed from findings of the first study as well as the four additional measures with the aim of improving the explanatory ability of the TPB in terms of fast-food consumption. Structural equation modelling was used and although the model performed well overall, explaining up to 50% of the variance in both intention and behaviour, there were some variables that did not perform strongly. In particular, the measure of affective responses captured with a semantic differential scale was not significantly predictive, and the third study was designed and conducted to test the performance of a more sophisticated measure in the hope that implicit, in addition to explicit, responses would provide greater explanatory value. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003) is said to provide some insight into more implicit attitudes by measuring the degree to which an individual associates conceptual categories through response latencies (or timed responses) whilst opportunities for introspection are minimised. Some have also suggested that the IAT may contribute well when it is combined with other measures, particularly in the prediction of behaviour, choice, or judgement (Brunel, Tietje, & Greenwald, 2004). Therefore, the third study combined measures based on the TPB with the IAT to investigate the nature of both implicit and explicit beliefs underlying attitudes towards fast foods. Overall, the associations captured by the IAT did not help to explain a great deal of variance in fast-food consumption, although there were differences in associations according to stimulus type with arousal-related stimuli generating stronger results than valence-related stimuli. Differences in associations with fast food were also found across groups divided according to Body Mass Index, with overweight people demonstrating more positive associations than either normal weight or obese people. A summary discusses the potential application of the findings in the development and implementation of future intervention and obesity prevention strategies as well as directions for future research. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1326647 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and School of Medicine, 2008

Thesis (MNutr (Human Nutrition))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of and factors impacting on the intake of fast-foods by young adults from different socio-economic areas in Gauteng, South Africa. The population for the study (n = 341) included males (n = 180) and females (n = 161) with a mean age of 24.48 years (SD = 3.492). METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional, observational study was performed using an interviewer-administered, validated questionnaire to elicit characteristics of the studied population (gender, education level, income status and income level), reasons for – and frequency of – fast-food intake, specific food choices at certain categories of fast-food outlets, as well as consumers’ attitude towards health and healthier meal options. Purposive sampling of shopping malls was done to collect data on three weekend days at grocery stores in the shopping complexes. Statistical analysis included: Pearson Chisquare tests, likelihood ratios, linear by linear associations and Cramer’s V and Kendall tau b tests. RESULTS: The studied population consisted primarily of working young adults with at least secondary education. Almost half (n = 103) of the employed participants from all socio-economic groups earned less than R5 000 per month, but spent more than R200 each month on fast-food. The majority of participants consumed take-away meals from two to three times a month to two to three times per week (85.3% (n = 291)). Socio-economic grouping (SEG) and gender were significantly related to fast-food intake (p < 0.01) with a larger proportion of participants (n = 76) in the lower socio-economic grouping (LSEG) showing more frequent use and males consuming fast-food more frequently than females. The most popular fast-foods consumed by participants in descending order were burgers 69.5%, pizza 56.6% and fried chicken 38.4%. A significant difference in the consumption of fried chicken was observed between the different SEGs, with significantly more participants from the LSEG consuming fried chicken 47.0% (p < 0.05). Choice of fast-food outlet concurred with the most popular fast-food choices. Sweetened soft drinks comprised the most popular beverage for more than half of the studied population (n = 191). The main reasons for choosing fast-food were time limitations (58.9%), convenience (58.2%) and taste (52.5%). The majority of participants were concerned about health (93.3%), with almost half of the total sample being always concerned. The majority of participants indicated concern about overweight and obesity (44.3%). Seventy-eight percent of participants indicated that they would choose a healthier option, if available. Television provided the most effective media influence on food choices. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study show a clear discrepancy between fast-food intake and health consciousness, indicating a gap between knowledge and practice. In the light of the spread of the obesity epidemic in South Africa, further research on fast-food consumption in other areas in South Africa and in other age groups (especially children and adolescents) is strongly recommended.

by Kwan Kwok Yiu. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-155). / Acknowledgment --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / List of Tables --- p.vii / List of Figures --- p.x / List of Abbreviations --- p.xii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Literature review / Chapter 1.1 --- Historical background --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Chemistry of trans and cis fatty acids --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Dietary source of trans fatty acids --- p.6 / Chapter 1.4 --- Consumption of trans fatty acids among Western countries --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Current health concern for excessive intake of trans fatty acids --- p.10 / Chapter 1.6 --- Metabolism of trans fatty acids --- p.13 / Chapter 1.6.1 --- Absorption --- p.15 / Chapter 1.6.2 --- Oxidation --- p.15 / Chapter 1.6.3 --- Incorporation --- p.16 / Chapter 1.6.4 --- Selectivity --- p.17 / Chapter 1.7 --- Impact of trans fatty acids on essential fatty acid metabolism --- p.19 / Chapter 1.8 --- Desaturation and elongation of trans fatty acids --- p.21 / Chapter 1.9 --- Trans fatty acids and neonatal growth --- p.23 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Amount of trans fatty acids in Hong Kong fast foods / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.25 / Chapter 2.2 --- Objective --- p.25 / Chapter 2.3 --- Materials and methods --- p.26 / Chapter 2.4 --- Results --- p.27 / Chapter 2.5 --- Discussion --- p.31 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Cross-cultural study of trans fatty acids in human milk / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.35 / Chapter 3.2 --- Objective --- p.35 / Chapter 3.3 --- Materials and methods --- p.36 / Chapter 3.4 --- Results / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Dietary information --- p.38 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Fatty acid composition of Chinese and Canadian human milk --- p.40 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Difference between Chinese and Canadian human milk --- p.40 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Difference between Hong Kong and Chongqing Chinese human milk --- p.43 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- The change in milk fat and LCPUFA as lactation progresses --- p.43 / Chapter 3.5 --- Discussion / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Trans fatty acids in human milk --- p.46 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Content of LCPUFA in human milk --- p.47 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Content of 18:2n-6 in human milk --- p.48 / Chapter 3.5.4 --- Fat content in Hong Kong and Chongqing Chinese human milk --- p.49 / Chapter 3.6 --- Conclusion --- p.50 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Trans fatty acids and maternal and neonatal essential fatty acid metabolism / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.51 / Chapter 4.2 --- Objectives --- p.53 / Chapter 4.3 --- Materials and methods --- p.53 / Chapter 4.4 --- Results / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Experiment1 / Chapter 4.4.1.1 --- Relationship between the trans fatty acids in maternal diet and those in milk --- p.64 / Chapter 4.4.1.2 --- Relationship between the trans fatty acids in maternal diet and those in neonatal liver --- p.64 / Chapter 4.4.1.3 --- Content of 20:4n-6 in milk and in neonatal liver relative to that in maternal diet --- p.72 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Experiment2 / Chapter 4.4.2.1 --- Amount of trans fatty acids in rat milk --- p.75 / Chapter 4.4.2.2 --- Trans fatty acids in rat liver phospholipids --- p.75 / Chapter 4.4.2.3 --- Linoleic acid (18:2n-6) content in rat and its relation to maternal diets --- p.86 / Chapter 4.4.2.4 --- Content of 20:4n-6 in rat milk --- p.86 / Chapter 4.4.2.5 --- Content of20:4n-6 in rat liver --- p.89 / Chapter 4.4.2.6 --- Suppression of the synthesis of 20:4t isomers in maternal and neonatal liver --- p.89 / Chapter 4.5 --- Discussion / Chapter 4.5.1 --- Relationship between fatty acid composition of diet and that of milk --- p.93 / Chapter 4.5.2 --- 20:4n-6 in rat milk --- p.95 / Chapter 4.5.3 --- Transfer of trans fatty acids from maternal diet to neonatal liver phospholipids --- p.98 / Chapter 4.5.4 --- The inhibitory effect of trans fatty acids on synthesis of 20:4n-6 in neonatal liver --- p.99 / Chapter 4.5.5 --- Effect of 18:2n-6 supplement on 20:4n-6 level of neonatal liver --- p.101 / Chapter 4.5.6 --- Suppression of 18:2n-6 supplement on synthesis of 20:4t isomers --- p.101 / Chapter 4.6 --- Conclusion --- p.104 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Accumulation and turnover of trans fatty acids / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.105 / Chapter 5.2 --- Objective --- p.105 / Chapter 5.3 --- Materials and methods --- p.106 / Chapter 5.4 --- Results / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Accumulation of trans fatty acids in liver and adipose tissue --- p.108 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Selectivity of individual 18:2 trans isomersin liver and adipose tissue --- p.112 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Turnover of trans fatty acids --- p.112 / Chapter 5.4.4 --- Accumulation and turnover of 18:lt in brain --- p.115 / Chapter 5.5 --- Discussion / Chapter 5.5.1 --- Accumulation of trans fatty acids in liver and adipose tissue --- p.120 / Chapter 5.5.2 --- Turnover of trans fatty acids --- p.122 / Chapter 5.5.3 --- Accumulation and turnover of trans fatty acidsin brain --- p.124 / Chapter 5.6 --- Conclusion --- p.125 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- In vivo Oxidation of trans fatty acids in rat / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.126 / Chapter 6.2 --- Objective --- p.127 / Chapter 6.3 --- Materials and methods --- p.127 / Chapter 6.4 --- Results --- p.129 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Apparent oxidation of saturated fatty acids --- p.136 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Apparent oxidation of 18:lt relative to 18:ln-9 --- p.136 / Chapter 6.4.3 --- Oxidation of 18:2t isomers relative to 18:2n-6 --- p.137 / Chapter 6.4.4 --- Effect of 18:2n-6 supplement in PHCO diet on oxidation per se --- p.137 / Chapter 6.5 --- Discussion --- p.138 / Chapter 6.5.1 --- Oxidation of 18:lt and 18:2t isomers --- p.139 / Chapter 6.5.2 --- Effect of 18:2n-6 supplement on oxidation per se --- p.140 / Chapter 6.6 --- Conclusion --- p.141 / General conclusion --- p.142 / References --- p.145

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The study was conducted to examine the communication between the customer and the cashier at the point of purchase in the process of determining the impact of the labeling laws. This study used an inductive qualitative design for data collection and data analysis. Data from this study suggest that calorie counts on menu labels are discussed frequently between the customer and the cashier at the point of sale at fast-casual restaurants. The data found gives us a framework and rationale as to why previous research on the effectiveness of the calorie labeling law in the Affordable Care Act have yet to make a significant impact in reducing consumer’s total daily caloric intake when eating food away from the home and found three specific reasons as to why the calorie labeling law may not be working the way the government intended it to. First, consumers at fast-casual restaurants rely on the cashiers as calorie guides because they are not aware or knowledgeable about the recommended daily caloric intake and often underestimate the total calories in their meals. Secondly, the study’s findings indicate that when restaurants offer lower calorie choices and downsizing options like a “small pita” at Pita Pit instead of a “regular pita”, many consumers buy the downsized item or smaller portion but food chains are not downsizing their signature items. Third, the study examined if the cashiers are trained in any way to discuss new regulations and calorie count/nutritional value and not one cashier was trained specifically about the calorie labeling law and why certain foods on the menu have more calories than others even though they are influencing decision making. Conversations at the point of sale have been routinely ignored in research about the calorie labeling law and this research helps to understand the choices consumers are making with the newly implemented calorie labeling regulation. The results from this study helps us further advance our understanding as to why consumers make the food choices they do while eating at restaurants.