Building Capacity of the South Carolina SNAP-Ed Program to Implement Policy, Systems, and Environmental Strategies for Healthy Eating and Active Living in Conjunction with Delivery Direct Nutrition Education

Abstract Objectives To determine caregiver perceptions of neighborhood-level environmental barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and active living (HEAL) among children living in low-income, urban neighborhoods during the summer. Methods The current study was a part of a prospective observational study - Project SWEAT - which investigated determinants of unhealthy weight gain during the summer months in economically disadvantaged school-age children. Caregivers with students in grades preK–5th attending 2 Columbus, OH elementary schools were recruited. Participants completed a demographic survey. To explore neighborhood-level environmental barriers and facilitators to HEAL, participants engaged in a modified HEAL MAPPS (Healthy Eating Active Living Mapping Attributes using Participatory Photographic Surveys) protocol, which included 5 phases: 1) orientation; 2) photographing and geotagging facilitators and barriers to HEAL on daily routes using a Garmin Oregon 650 device; 3) in-depth interview (IDI) discussing images and routes taken; 4) focus group per school site; and 5) culminating local community stakeholder meeting. Results Ten families enrolled; 9 families completed photographing, geotagging and IDIs; 5 families participated in focus groups. A majority (77.8%, n = 7) of caregivers were African-American, female (88.9%, n = 8), and low-income (55.6%, n = 5). Preliminary analyses of photograph and IDI themes include: 1) walkway infrastructure crucial for healthy eating and active living; 2) scarce accessibility to healthy, affordable foods; 3) multiple abandoned properties; and 4) unsafe activity near common neighborhood routes. Conclusions Results from this pilot indicate caregivers perceive both environmental barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and active living during the summer. Additional research should be conducted to confirm findings from this study and compare findings to different settings (e.g., rural and suburban). Funding Sources USDA North Central Nutrition Education Center for Excellence.

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Supporting Healthy Eating: Synergistic Effects of Nutrition Education Paired with Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes

Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop Series - Nutrition Education: Strategies for Improving Nutrition and Healthy Eating in Individuals and Communities ◽

10.1159/000499549 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 69-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mary T. Story ◽

Emily Duffy

Keyword(s):

Nutrition Education ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Synergistic Effects ◽

Policy Systems

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The Boss’ Healthy Buddies Nutrition Resource Is Effective for Elementary School Students

Journal of Obesity ◽

10.1155/2018/4659874 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David W. Pittman ◽

Ida R. Bland ◽

Isai D. Cabrera ◽

Kassie E. Franck ◽

Emily L. Perkins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Elementary School ◽

South Carolina ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Elementary School Students ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

School Students ◽

School Based Intervention ◽

School Based ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity

Previously we have shown that our Healthy Eating Decisions school-based intervention can influence students’ selections of the healthiest foods available in their elementary school cafeterias through positive reinforcement techniques. Although effective, we recognized that students were missing fundamental nutrition knowledge necessary to understand why the Healthy Eating Decisions program identified particular beverages and foods as the healthiest in the cafeteria. Therefore, we developed the Boss’ Healthy Buddies nutrition education resource as a freely available curriculum matched with South Carolina education standards and designed for elementary school students from kindergarten through fourth grade. The current study implemented Boss’ Healthy Buddies and compared its efficacy to a commercially available nutrition program, CATCH. Elementary school students in Spartanburg, South Carolina, received weekly twenty-minute Boss’ Healthy Buddies lessons for eight weeks. Results from preassessment and postassessment surveys were compared with a positive control elementary school using the CATCH program and a negative control school receiving no nutrition education. Results show that Boss’ Healthy Buddies was equally effective as the CATCH program in improving the nutrition attitudes regarding healthiest beverages and food selections with the advantage of being freely available and minimizing the impact on classroom instruction time. In order to reduce most effectively the high prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, it is crucial that children are taught nutrition education to support healthy eating habits at an early age. Both the Healthy Eating Decisions school-based intervention and the Boss’ Healthy Buddies nutrition education program are available online for use as free resources to aid in reducing childhood overweight and obesity within elementary schools.

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Nutrition Interventions Addressing Structural Racism: A Scoping Review

Nutrition Research Reviews ◽

10.1017/s0954422422000014 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-53

Author(s):

Matthew Greene ◽

Bailey Houghtaling ◽

Claire Sadeghzadeh ◽

Molly De Marco ◽

De’Jerra Bryant ◽

...

Keyword(s):

African Americans ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Food Environment ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Structural Barriers ◽

Nutrition Interventions ◽

Structural Racism ◽

Policy Systems

Abstract African Americans experience high rates of obesity and food insecurity in part due to structural racism, or overlapping discriminatory systems and practices in housing, education, employment, health care, and other settings. Nutrition education and nutrition-focused policy, systems, and environmental changes may be able to address structural racism in the food environment. This scoping review aimed to summarize the available literature regarding nutrition interventions for African Americans that address structural racism in the food environment and compare them to the “Getting to Equity in Obesity Prevention” framework of suggested interventions. An electronic literature search was conducted with the assistance of a research librarian encompassing 6 databases—MEDLINE, PyscINFO, Agricola, ERIC, SocINDEX, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. A total of 30 sources were identified detailing interventions addressing structural barriers to healthy eating. The majority of nutrition interventions addressing structural racism consisted of policy, systems, and/or environmental changes in combination with nutrition education, strategies focused on proximal causes of racial health disparities. Only two articles each targeted the “reduce deterrents” and “improve social and economic resources” aspects of the framework, interventions which may be better suited to addressing structural racism in the food environment. Because African Americans experience high rates of obesity and food insecurity and encounter structural barriers to healthy eating in the food environment, researchers and public health professionals should address this gap in the literature.

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