In the United States today, there is a multibillion dollar industry in dietary supplements with at least a third sold as vitamin/mineral pills and drinks. Though everyone requires small amounts of these essential micronutrients, and supplements are of benefit to some within the population, the considerable majority of people can fulfill their needs with the intake of healthy diets of mixed food...

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to characterize pregnant women's gestational weight gain (GWG) knowledge and awareness of healthy eating behaviors known to impact GWG. METHODS Formative research was conducted including semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews. The participants were mostly Caucasian pregnant women (N = 30; Mage = 28 years old) residing in a s...

BACKGROUND Regular meal consumption is considered an important aspect of a healthy diet. While ample evidence shows social inequalities in breakfast skipping among adolescents, little is known about social inequalities in breakfast skipping and skipping of other meals among young school-aged children. Such information is crucial in targeting interventions aimed to promote a healthy diet in chil...

BACKGROUND: Young women are a group at high risk of weight gain. This study examined a range of perceived personal, social and environmental barriers to physical activity and healthy eating for weight maintenance among young women, and how these varied by socioeconomic status (SES), overweight status and domestic situation. METHODS: In October-December 2001, a total of 445 women aged 18-32 year...

BACKGROUND Food literacy and nutrition education from kindergarten to 12th grade is a recommended strategy to address obesity prevention. However, limited research has explored children's understanding and conceptualization of food and healthy eating to inform the development of curricula and messaging strategies. OBJECTIVE To explore and identify patterns and themes regarding how children di...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention involving the families and teachers that aimed to promote healthy eating habits in adolescents; the ultimate aim of the intervention was to reduce the increase in body mass index (BMI) of the students. DESIGN Paired cluster randomized school-based trial conducted with a sample of fifth graders. SETTING Twenty classes wer...

The objective of this study is to describe the process and results of a three-year project designed to create a nutrition education intervention model that promotes healthy dietary habits among teachers, students and their families. The methodology consisted in surveys, focus groups and Delphi method to assess teachers’, students’ and parents’ dietary habits, followed by an intervention for par...

In response to increasing evidence that advertising of foods and beverages affects children's food choices and food intake, several national governments and many of the world's larger food and beverage manufacturers have acted to restrict the marketing of their products to children or to advertise only 'better for you' products or 'healthier dietary choices' to children. Independent assessment ...

OBJECTIVE The present study evaluated the restaurant and dining venues on and near post-secondary campuses varying in institution size. DESIGN The Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R) was modified to evaluate restaurants as fast food, sit down and fast casual; and campus dining venues as dining halls, student unions and snack bar/cafe´s. ANOVA with post hoc Tukey’s B...

A systematic review was conducted to examine the barriers to, and facilitators of, healthy eating among young people (11-16 years). The review focused on the wider determinants of health, examining community- and society-level interventions. Seven outcome evaluations and eight studies of young people's views were included. The effectiveness of the interventions was mixed, with improvements in k...