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The primary aim of this research was to investigate cooking practices and cooking knowledge in a rural environment, as well as learn how the kitchen environment may reflect and/or shape an individual‘s process when creating a meal. Qualitative methods were implemented allowing for the data to be triangulated. The research methods used included a semi-structured interview, participant questionnaire, and videotaping dinner time meal preparations by the primary meal preparer on two separate occasions. Emergent themes about the role of the rural food environment began to develop surrounding how respondents procure food. The rural Vermonter relied on using home gardens, farmers‘ markets, and community supported agriculture to procure food. Another theme that emerged was the role of the primary meal preparer, or the ―nutritional gatekeeper.‖ The nutritional gatekeeper was a huge component in controlling family meals and portion sizes inside, and outside the home, and the ingredients used in homemade meals. All rural respondents had some degree of cooking skills that began at a young age. Their skills were honed over time by necessity and/or curiosity. Rural respondents had general nutrition knowledge that was evident by their definition of a healthy meal, and procuring the freshest ingredients. The kitchen space was less of an influential factor when creating a meal than initially anticipated, but was the processing center where procured food items were crafted into a meal. The theme surrounding the environment and local foods strengthens the 21st century‘s shift of what consumers are demanding from the Nation‘s food system. Understanding how nutritional gatekeepers choose to prepare meals, and the influence of their food environment on the meal thought process, may make the domestic home a platform to disseminate healthful cooking practices. This study concluded an ongoing ethnographic study investigating peoples cooking practices, and cooking knowledge in an urban (Boston metropolis), suburban (Burlington, VT), and rural (Franklin and Lamoille County, VT) environments as an implication towards health.

Master of Public Health / Department of Human Ecology / Tandalayo Kidd / The objectives of the study were to assess fruit and vegetable intake of 6th to 8th grade youth in low-income areas, assess their food environment, and determine factors that influenced fruit and vegetable consumption. Sixth to eighth grade youth from two low-income communities in each of the three states of South Dakota, Kansas and Ohio were involved in the study. Fruit and vegetable intake was measured using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) fruit and vegetable screener tool. The food environment was measured using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R) and the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS-S) tools. A generalized linear mixed model in PROC GLIMMIX was used to assess possible predictors of fruit and vegetable intake. Average daily fruit and vegetable consumption for males and females was 3.8 cups (95%CI= 2.4-6.0) and 3.1 cups (95%CI=2.0-4.9) respectively. Grade, gender, ethnicity, community, and state of residence did not influence fruit and vegetable consumption, while fruit and vegetable availability at home influenced intake. Youth had a favorable view of their food environment, contrary to the findings of objective measures.

Purpose: Vending machines are a component of the food environment that influences dietary choices. Previous vending machine studies have focused on schools and work sites. The purpose of this study was to utilize the Nutrition Environment Measurements Survey-Vending (NEMS-V) online tool to evaluate and rank the nutritional value of the vending environment of a large urban university. Methods: A sample size of 40 vending machines at Georgia State University (GSU) was chosen. A list of products in each machine was recorded and given either a red, yellow or green ranking based on their nutrient content. Finally, the NEMS-V online tool was used to generate a report card for each individual machine and for the entire university. Results: No vending machines were given either the Gold (greater than 50% items ranked green or yellow) or Silver (greater than 40% items ranked green or yellow) ranking. Five machines were given the Bronze level ranking, which meant the machines contained at least 30% yellow or green items. The remaining 35 machines contained less than 30% green or yellow items and were therefore not able to be awarded a ranking. Out of the 40 total machines sampled, less than 30% of them could be ranked and therefore the university could not be given an overall award. Conclusions: The poor nutritional quality of the vending environment at Georgia State University indicates a need for change. Improving the number of vending items from red to yellow or green will offer more variety and more nutritious choices for students.

The ‘food desert’ has become a popular metaphor for describing fragmented pockets of America’s retail food environment characterized by limited access to affordable healthy foods and consequent heightened incidences of obesity and other diet-related health problems. Although researchers have addressed the locations and boundaries of food deserts, influential cross-sectional analyses are limited in that they cannot identify the direction of causality between the food environment and health outcomes. This study approaches the problem from an ecological perspective that examines the interplay between retailer and consumer in urban and rural settings of both food desert and non-food desert areas in the Texas South Plains centered on Lubbock. The principle methods of data collection entailed observations of purchases at full-service grocery stores and administration of a short survey as a means to determining what foods are being purchased and why. Additional semi-structured interviews with store representatives, along with several individuals located in underserved areas, and a general familiarization with the larger retail food environment, focusing on convenience and discount stores, provided important context to the research. The results challenge many existing assumptions, indicating problems associated with linking food deserts to poor health outcomes without accounting for additional variables, and further provides strong evidence that consumer choice is responsible for the larger retail food environment. / text

The prevention of chronic disease requires understanding and intervention related to both individual and environmental level determinants. However, traditional approaches to chronic disease prevention and management have primarily been focused at the individual level, with limited attention toward environmental level influences on health behaviour. This lack of comprehensiveness is partially due to a paucity of complex theoretical frameworks for clarifying the influences of personal cognitive, and broader environmental, variables on a range of health behaviours. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to expand and test a popular health behaviour theory, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), to include influences of the perceived food environment on healthy eating behaviour. This study involved two phases. Phase 1 expanded SCT to include a perceived food environment construct through review of the food environment literature. Phase 2 conducted a cross-sectional study of 201 adults (age 35 to 69 years) using an online survey to test the expanded SCT informed by phase 1. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) to compare the traditional and expanded SCT model. Results demonstrated no significant model fit, with no improvement in oveall fit with the inclusion of the perceived food environment. However, the expansion of SCT to include perceived food environment attributes altered the pathways of influence within the social cognitive model, suggesting that the presence of perceived environment measures is important for understanding how perceived environments might mediate the effect of personal cognitive influences on eating behaviour. These findings have implications for food environment research, the development of ecological theories, the field of health promotion and the prevention of chronic disease.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF LANIE HAERTLING, for the Master of Science degree in Food & Nutrition, presented on December 9, 2013, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: THE STUDY OF FOOD ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTHFULNESS OF DIET IN THE POPULATION ATTENDING THE GOOD FOOD: LOCAL PROGRAM IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Sara Long Roth Objective: Distinguish six attributes of the Good Food: Local program participants. Design: At the first class of each Good Food: Local course a survey was administered to all participants. Subjects and Setting: The study included participants age 18 or older who attended a Good Food: Local event during the months of June to September, 2013. Statistical Analysis: Statistical analyses used to analyze the data include: frequencies, Cross tabulations, Spearman Rank Test and Pearson's Correlation. Results: The population reported to consume more fruits and vegetables than the national average, live in close distance to a large grocery store, not be confined by cost when purchasing groceries and felt comfortable preparing meals from a recipe. The main barriers to purchasing local specialty crops are availability, convenience. and cost. Conclusions: Results of this study can be used in developing future curriculums for programs increasing familiarity with local specialty crops.

abstract: Objective: Migration to the United States (U.S.) has been associated with food insecurity and detrimental changes in diet quality. How these changes affect women in context of their neighborhood food environment has not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to assess if food security is associated with diet quality and to explore if perceived food availability moderates this purported association in a sample of Mexican immigrant women. Methods: Mexican-born women (n=57, 41±7 years) residing in the U.S. for more than 1 year self-reported food security status, monthly fast-food frequency, and their perception of fruit, vegetables, and low-fat product availability within their neighborhood via survey. Diet was assessed using the Southwest Food Frequency Questionnaire to estimate intake of fruit, vegetables, salty snacks, sugar, and healthy eating index (HEI)-2015 score. Bivariate correlations assessed the relationships between study variables. Independent samples t-tests compared dietary outcomes between women classified as food secure (n=41; high or marginal food security) and food insecure (n=16; low or very low food security). A moderation analysis assessed the effect of the perception of the neighborhood food environment on the relationship between food security and HEI-2015 score. Results: Fifty four percent of participants worked full time and 42% had a monthly household income <$2,000. Time residing in the U.S. was 20±9 years. Relative to women classified as food secure, participants experiencing food insecurity had lower HEI-2015 (61±8 vs. 66±6; p=0.03). Albeit not significantly different, women experiencing food insecurity reported lower intake of fruit (236±178 vs. 294±239 g), vegetables (303±188 vs. 331±199 g), and salty snacks (6±5 vs. 8±10 g), as well as higher intake of sugar (99±55 vs. 96±56 g) and fast food (2.5±2.5 vs. 1.8±1.7 times per month); p>0.05 for all. Among women experiencing food insecurity, there was a trend for a lower perception of neighborhood fruit, vegetable and low-fat product availability being associated with lower HEI-2015 scores (54±6) relative to those who perceived moderate (63±6) or high (65±8) neighborhood availability of those foods (p=0.07). Conclusions: HEI-2015 scores were associated with participants’ food security status. Findings suggest a need for better understanding of how neighborhood food availability may affect diet quality among Mexican immigrant women experiencing food insecurity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2020

The access dimensions to the local, urban food environment of adults in the eastern suburbs of the Tshwane metropolitan are explored and described. The study further determined how the food access dimensions contribute to the food choices and food consumption patterns of the study group. South Africa has the highest rate of urbanisation in the world. Moving to and living in urban areas usually result in major shifts in people’s food consumption patterns and lifestyles which are associated with non-communicable diseases. Intervention strategies aimed at changing consumers’ food behaviour often fail to recognise the complexities associated with the local urban food environment and the contribution of the food access dimensions. This study fills the gap on the limited information on the food access dimensions and food choices of white South African urban adults. A mixed methods approach was followed in this cross-sectional study that consisted of two phases. In the first quantitative phase, an electronic survey questionnaire was used to gather information on respondents’ usual food shopping and eating patterns, together with aspects related to the local urban food environment. The questionnaire was completed by a total of 230 white adults residing in regions 3, 4 and 6 of the Tshwane metropolis. The second qualitative data collection phase used Geographic Information System (GIS) measurement to identify, describe and map all the food retail outlets in the eastern suburbs of Tshwane. From the mapped food stores in regions 3, 4 and 6, stores were purposively selected and in-store observations were conducted to gain information and insight into the variety, quality and price of food products on offer in these food retail stores. A food basket was developed to obtain and compare the price of certain food products. Food prices between food stores were compared, as well as with the Consumer Price Index. Results indicated a minimal difference in price and it is concluded that most of the food products seemed to be affordably-priced to adults in Tshwane. Results confirm that urban consumers in Tshwane have easy, adequate access to food stores and purchase most of their food at supermarkets at least once or more times a week. The results also prevailed that a variety of good quality, affordable food products are available and accessible at food stores close to them and that they find the stores accommodating and food products acceptable. Although the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) of 6.20 reflected that the majority of the respondents daily consumed a variety of food, they do not follow all the guidelines of the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for South Africa, which might have an impact on their future health. This research contributes to a better understanding of how the access dimensions in the local urban food environment contribute to urban consumers’ food choices. By exploring the local urban food environment of urban consumers in Tshwane, this study contributed to fill the knowledge gap on this topic in South Africa. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Consumer Science / MConsumer Science / Unrestricted

Background: Youth consume high volumes of fast food, putting them at risk for poor diet, weight gain and several noncommunicable diseases. Fast food marketing can affect youth's food-related behaviours and has been identified as a determinant of excess weight and obesity. The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between exposure to fast food marketing and the fast food brand preferences and intake amongst youth aged 10-17 across six countries. Methods: The International Food Policy Study youth survey collects data on dietary patterns and behaviours amongst youth aged 10-17 living in six countries. Data on fast food marketing exposure, brand preferences and intake were compared using regression models adjusted for age, sex, income adequacy and ethnicity. Results: Exposure to fast food marketing was positively associated with both brand preferences and fast food intake across most countries. Brand preferences were consistently high across all countries when exposed to brand-specific marketing. Fast food intake was higher amongst ethnic minority respondents than ethnic majority respondents and amongst males compared to females. Conclusion: Fast food marketing is consistently associated with brand preferences and intake across all countries investigated, which points to the need for stringent government regulation to reduce unhealthy food marketing to youth in all 6 countries.