Tesis (Ingeniero agrónomo administrador)--Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. / Bibliography: leaves 71-74.

Thesis--University of Wisconsin.

Farmers are limited in the amount of specialty crops they can plant, harvest and market without adequate cooling to preserve commodities before sale. A cooler available at a farm would allow the farmer to harvest his produce earlier and take it to market at a later time. Cooling available on the farm will help a farmer to harvest commodities during peak harvest times and store it for future sale at multiple farmers markets or over a period of a week or more at a farm market. A cooler will give a farmer more logistical options. An indirect-direct evaporative pad cooling can provide cooling with high humidity which is sufficient to prolong shelf life. A cool room with window air conditioning (AC) was modified by adding indirect-direct evaporative cooling. The cool room was used for comparative study of produce shelf life under AC (with CoolBot), indirect-direct evaporative cooling (EC), residential AC (RES), and farm building (FB) storage. Results showed that FB had a lower shelf life because of non-conditioned space. RES was a table in an office building with a temperature of about 22°C. For produce with medium temperature requirements such as tomato, cucumber, and green pepper the shelf life was prolonged more in the cooler room. Strawberry and blueberry had a much longer shelf life in a cooler. The shelf life of the blueberry stored at Cooler AC was longer about two and a half fold longer than Cooler EC and RES, and five and half fold longer than FB. The shelf life of the strawberry in Cooler AC was longer one-fold than Cooler EC, two and a half fold longer than RES, and five-fold longer than FB. The shelf life of green pepper stored in Cooler AC was longer fivefold than Cooler EC and nine and a half fold longer than RES and FB. The shelf life of cucumber stored at Cooler AC was longer two fold than Cooler EC and 3.3-fold longer than RES and four fold longer than FB. The shelf life of tomato stored at Cooler AC was longer 1.25-fold than Cooler EC, 1.75 fold longer than RES and two and a half fold longer than FB. Generally stored fruits and vegetables in Cooler AC was maintained quality with minimal weight loss that allows a farmer to store their produce while maintaining shelf life. Cooler EC can be used to store produce for a shorter time with higher weight loss. Finally, FB had a shorter shelf life due to the non-conditioned space.

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.

Child obesity has become a national concern. Obesity in children ages 6-17 has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Only 20% of children today consume the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This trend is even more pronounced in minority populations. Past studies have reported that a horticulture-based curriculum, including gardening, can improve children's attitudes toward eating fruits and vegetables. To investigate whether children of a minority population can benefit from gardening supplemented with a curriculum on nutrition, research was conducted with elementary schools in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Hidalgo County). Elementary school teachers participating in this research agreed to have school gardens and complete all activities in a curriculum on nutrition provided to them through the Texas Extension Service. One hundred forty one children in the participating schools completed a pre- and posttest evaluating their attitudes and snack preferences toward fruits and vegetables and their knowledge before and after gardening supplemented with information on nutrition. Statistically significant differences were detected between pre- and posttest scores for all three variables. After comparing pre-and posttest scores, it was concluded that gardening with supplemental instruction, had a positive effect on all three variables including students attitudes and snack preferences toward fruits and vegetables and their knowledge of nutrition.

Purpose: There is a growing body of evidence that income indicators and racial compositions of urban neighborhoods mediate access to food stores and healthy foods. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any differences in access (availability, quality and cost) to fruits and vegetables between two racially homogeneous regions, one considered low-income and the other middle-income, in the City of Atlanta, Georgia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, exploratory study. A convenience sample of 56 food stores (convenience, grocery and supermarket) was assessed over a three-week period. The stores were surveyed using an instrument developed to capture availabilities of fresh items, the quality of these and the ability of the food stores to meet the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) 2006 fruit and vegetable categories for a reference family of four. Each category had constraints (variety and weights), and lowest-cost items were identified to meet these. Store to 10,000 population ratios and percent median income required to fulfill the TFP fruits and vegetables were calculated. Fisher’s Exact Tests and Chi Square were used to analyze categorical data. ANOVA analyses were used to determine differences in costs between the regions for the complete TFP fruit and vegetable basket and for price differences for each fruit and vegetable category among stores within each region. Results: The food store to 10,000 ratios were 5.8 and 3.7, respectively, for the low-income region and middle-income region. The low-income region grocery store ratio was 2.7, compared to 0.9 for the middle-income. Access to fresh items, quality of these and numbers of stores meeting each category and the complete TFP basket were not significantly different between the regions. The low-income region had a significantly greater number of stores that met whole fruits (p=0.03) and the variety constraint for other vegetables, which was four types (p=0.05). The TFP category weights were difficult to achieve with most categories in deficits. The majority of the lowest-cost items identified were canned fruits and vegetables. There were no significant differences between the regions for the costs of each category. The low-income region had a significantly greater number of stores charging more than the mean ($52.91±14.85) for the complete TFP fruit and vegetable basket (p=0.04). Store types and not income was the significant factor contributing to the price differences between the regions for the complete TFP basket. Within region analyses indicated significant price differences for several categories among the store types. Typically, convenience stores and/or grocery stores charged significantly more for certain categories than did supermarkets. Conclusion: There were few differences in overall availability, quality and category comparisons. The low-income region potentially pays more for the TFP 2006 fruits and vegetables for a family of four. Cost has been cited as a barrier to complying with healthy diets. More research needs to be undertaken to aid in policy development in consideration of healthy food cost implications for low-income families. Further education efforts are required to guide low-income families on how the TFP can be met optimally on a budget.

Child obesity has become a national concern. Obesity in children ages 6-17 has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Only 20% of children today consume the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This trend is even more pronounced in minority populations. Past studies have reported that a horticulture-based curriculum, including gardening, can improve children's attitudes toward eating fruits and vegetables. To investigate whether children of a minority population can benefit from gardening supplemented with a curriculum on nutrition, research was conducted with elementary schools in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Hidalgo County). Elementary school teachers participating in this research agreed to have school gardens and complete all activities in a curriculum on nutrition provided to them through the Texas Extension Service. One hundred forty one children in the participating schools completed a pre- and posttest evaluating their attitudes and snack preferences toward fruits and vegetables and their knowledge before and after gardening supplemented with information on nutrition. Statistically significant differences were detected between pre- and posttest scores for all three variables. After comparing pre-and posttest scores, it was concluded that gardening with supplemental instruction, had a positive effect on all three variables including students attitudes and snack preferences toward fruits and vegetables and their knowledge of nutrition.

Background: The relationship between fruit and vegetable (FV) exposure, preference, and consumption among children has been a targeted topic of study due to the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine FV home exposure in elementary children and the selection of both fruits and vegetables and less familiar lunch entrées at school. Design: Cross-sectional data on 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students (N=59) from an elementary school in central Texas. Methods: Home and school FV exposure was collected via self-report using a six-item questionnaire. Students were placed into high and low groups for 1) the variety of FV offered at home, and 2) the variety of FV eaten at home. Absolute and relative ratings of eight lunch entrées were collected through taste-tests conducted at school. Results: Differences in the consumption of FV at school and the selection of lunch entrées between high and low groups were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U independent non-parametric tests. Results indicated that the distribution of consumption at school differed across high and low groups for parental offering of FV for: oranges (z=2.16, p<0.05), cucumber (z=2.44, p<0.05), pineapple (z=3.41, p=0.001), mandarin oranges (z=2.93, p<0.01), tomato (z=3.14, p<0.01), and broccoli (z=3.26, p=0.001). The distribution of consumption at school across high and low groups for the eating FV at home was significant for 10 out of the 11 FV items: oranges (z=2.24, p<0.05), cucumber (z=2.64, p<0.01), pineapple (z=4.19, p<.001), mandarin oranges (z=3.06, p<0.01), tomatoes (z=3.47, p=0.001), bell pepper (z=2.25, p<0.05), broccoli (z=4.00, p<0.001), melon (z=3.06, p<0.01), apples (z=2.79, p<0.01), and zucchini (z=2.27, p<0.05) Likewise, significant differences between high and low groups for parental offering of FV were found for the selection of the chef salad (z=2.546, p<0.05), the Greek salad (z=2.091, p<0.05), and the veggie humus plate (z=2.104, p<0.05). Absolute and relative ratings of eight lunch entrées are also reported. Conclusions: Children who are more frequently exposed to FV at home consume a wider variety FV at school and are more likely to select healthy, less familiar entrées at school lunch. / text

Importance: Childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity have more than tripled over the past two decades. Bariatric surgery is becoming more common for adolescents. Currently, there are few studies that describe outcomes after bariatric surgery in adolescents and no studies that describe nutritional behaviors that predict sustained weight loss in this population post-surgery. Objective: To describe pre-surgery dietary intake in adolescents who underwent a sleeve gastrectomy between 2011 and 2013 at an outpatient pediatric weight loss clinic. This study specifically aims to determine whether there is a correlation between fruit and vegetable intake before surgery and weight loss post-surgery in adolescents. Design, Setting, and Participants: The participants in this study received the sleeve gastrectomy procedure. Patients were between the ages of 13-17 years old and had a BMI between 35 kg/m2 to 60 kg/m2. All patients had undergone extensive counseling and assessment by a team of medical professionals (pediatrician, psychologist, exercise physiologist, nurse, and dietitian) for at least six months before surgery. Weekly number of servings of fruits and vegetables, cups of sweetened beverages (separated as fruit juice or soda), servings of fried foods eaten, and meals eaten from or at restaurants as reported at the initial consultation were collected and analyzed. Results: The mean age of participants (n=11) was 17.1 ± 1.51 years. Mean servings of vegetables consumed at baseline was 7.32 ± 4.38 servings per week and mean weekly consumption of fruits was 6.0 ± 4.16 servings per week. There were no statistically significant correlations between baseline fruit (p = 0.50) and vegetable (p = 0.44) consumption with weight (kg) lost six months after surgery. Conclusion: While the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption with weight lost six months post-surgery failed to reach significance, there was a trend such that patients who consumed more servings of fruits and vegetables at baseline had lost more weight at 6 months. It is interesting to note that none of the patients in the study consumed the recommended daily servings of fruits or vegetables at baseline in accordance with the USDA guidelines. A longer study may reveal a more significant relationship between dietary patterns before surgery and changes in weight after surgery.

Master of Science / Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Candice A. Shoemaker / Low fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and low physical activity (PA) levels are linked to increased risk of chronic diseases such as overweight and obesity, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases. American Indians/Alaska Natives (NA) seem to be even more susceptible to these chronic diseases when compared to the general United States (U.S.) population, though little research has been conducted on smaller NA tribes. Gardening has been shown to increase vegetable consumption and be a means of PA. The purpose of this study was to see if gardeners of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe (PBPN) in Kansas were more likely to have positive health indicators than non-gardeners. The objective was to discover if PBPN gardeners were more likely than non-gardeners to eat the daily recommended amount of fruit (2 servings) (Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 2015a), eat the daily recommended amount of vegetables (3 servings) (Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 2015b), meet the weekly recommended amount of PA (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009), perceive their health to be good, and determine if PBPN gardeners meet the weekly recommended amount of PA through gardening activities. Surveys were utilized to gather gardening and health information for PBPN tribal members. Data was coded and descriptive and contingent statistical analyses were performed. Gardeners were more likely than non-gardeners to eat the daily recommended amount of vegetables, the daily amount of both FV, and meet all FV and PA recommendations. Most gardeners met PA recommendations through gardening activities. Gardeners were not more likely than non-gardeners to eat the daily recommended amount of fruit, meet the recommended amount of PA, or to perceive their health as good. Encouraging gardening seems promising as a means of encouraging healthy lifestyles.