NP10 Obesity Risk, Parenting and Diet Quality Tools for Hispanic Families with Preschoolers: EFNEP, Head Start, Medical Clinic-Year 4

Parental engagement is central to Head Start’s two-generation mission. Drawing on research linking teacher-child racial/ethnic match to educational outcomes, the present study explores whether teacher-child match increases parental involvement in Head Start activities designed to support children and families. Using data from the 2006 and 2009 waves of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, we estimate the relationship between teacher-child racial/ethnic match and parental involvement both across and within Head Start centers. Findings suggest that match enhances parental engagement and decreases student absences, particularly among Hispanic families, suggesting that family engagement may be one potential mechanism by which racial/ethnic match improves educational outcomes. Findings also have implications for policies that reduce the diversity of the Head Start workforce.

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Long-Term Diet Quality Is Associated with Lower Obesity Risk in Young African American Women with Normal BMI at Baseline

Journal of Nutrition ◽

10.3945/jn.113.179002 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 143 (10) ◽

pp. 1636-1641 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Deborah A. Boggs ◽

Lynn Rosenberg ◽

Clara L. Rodríguez-Bernal ◽

Julie R. Palmer

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African American Women ◽

Diet Quality ◽

Obesity Risk ◽

American Women

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Diet quality – what is it and does it matter?

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s136898000900531x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 2473-2492 ◽

Cited By ~ 226

Author(s):

Annika Wirt ◽

Clare E Collins

Keyword(s):

Health Outcomes ◽

Diet Quality ◽

English Language ◽

Food Group ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dietary Quality ◽

Food Groups ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Relationship ◽

Quality Tools

AbstractObjectiveMeasures of diet quality have evolved with a number of scoring indices currently in use. They are increasingly being used to examine epidemiological associations between dietary intake and nutrition-related health outcomes. The present review aims to describe current diet quality tools and their applications, and to examine the relationship between diet quality and morbidity and mortality.DesignA search was conducted of MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAHL and ProQuest electronic databases. Inclusion criteria were: English language; published from 2004 on; conducted in adult populations; longitudinal/cohort/case–control or cross-sectional study; included a theoretically defined measure of diet quality.ResultsA total of twenty-five indices of overall diet quality and/or variety were found, with components ranging from nutrients only to adherence to recommended food group servings, to variety within healthful food groups. The majority of studies reviewed had methodological weaknesses but demonstrated that higher dietary quality was consistently inversely related to all-cause mortality, with a protective effect of moderate magnitude. The associations were stronger for men and for all-cause and CVD mortality.ConclusionsThe limitations of both the indices and the studies that use them need to be considered when interpreting and comparing results. However, diet quality indices do appear to be able to quantify risk of some health outcomes, including biomarkers of disease and risk of CVD, some cancers and mortality. Further research is needed to improve the validity of these tools and to adapt them for use in clinical dietetic practice.

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Food Insecurity, Food Environments, and Disparities in Diet Quality and Obesity

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1912 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 498-498

Author(s):

Yeon Jin Choi

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Diet Quality ◽

Food Environment ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Healthy Eating Index ◽

Healthy Food ◽

Food Environments ◽

Obesity Risk ◽

Poor Diet

Abstract Food insecurity is a public health concern that is associated with poor diet and obesity. Poor food environments with low access to healthy, affordable food may amplify the negative impact of food insecurity on diet and obesity. This study aims to investigate whether food insecurity and food environments are jointly associated with an increased risk of poor diet quality and obesity. We used data from a nationally representative sample of 6,395 older adults in the Health and Retirement Study Health Care and Nutrition Survey and the National Neighborhood Data Archive. Weighted regression models were estimated to examine the relationship between food insecurity and food environments with diet quality and obesity. Both food insecurity and poor food environment were associated with lower healthy eating index scores, indicating poorer quality diet. Food insecure older adults were more likely to be obese than food secure older adults and poor food environments exacerbate the negative impact of food insecurity on obesity risk. However, there was no statistical difference in obesity risk by food environment among food secure respondents. Findings from this study highlight the negative impact of limited access to healthy food due to financial difficulties and/or poor food environments on diet quality and obesity risk. Providing financial or nutritional supports along with efforts to promote healthy food environment may reduce disparities in diet quality and obesity. Special support should be provided to food insecure older adults with poor food environment, those at the greatest risk of poor diet quality and obesity.

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