The Influence of Gender and Self-Efficacy on Healthy Eating in a Low-Income Urban Population Affected by Structural Changes to the Food Environment

Although US obesity prevention efforts have begun to implement a variety of system and environmental change strategies to address the underlying socioecological barriers to healthy eating, factors which can impede or facilitate community acceptance of such interventions are often poorly understood. This is due, in part, to the paucity of subpopulation health data that are available to help guide local planning and decision-making. We contribute to this gap in practice by examining area-specific health data for a population targeted by federally funded nutrition interventions in Los Angeles County. Using data from a local health assessment that collected information on sociodemographics, self-reported health behaviors, and objectively measured height, weight, and blood pressure for a subset of low-income adults (n= 720), we compared health risks and predictors of healthy eating across at-risk groups using multivariable modeling analyses. Our main findings indicate being a woman and having high self-efficacy in reading Nutrition Facts labels were strong predictors of healthy eating (P<0.05). These findings suggest that intervening with women may help increase the reach of these nutrition interventions, and that improving self-efficacy in healthy eating through public education and/or by other means can help prime at-risk groups to accept and take advantage of these food environment changes.

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Self-Efficacy as a Mediator of the Relationship Between the Perceived Food Environment and Healthy Eating in a Low Income Population in Los Angeles County

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health ◽

10.1007/s10903-015-0186-0 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 345-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lauren N. Gase ◽

Beth Glenn ◽

Tony Kuo

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Food Environment ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Los Angeles County ◽

Low Income Population ◽

The Relationship

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Maternal Self-efficacy in the Home Food Environment: A Qualitative Study among Low-income Mothers of Nutritionally At-risk Children in an Urban Area of Jakarta, Indonesia

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.jneb.2009.10.010 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 180-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Risatianti Kolopaking ◽

Saptawati Bardosono ◽

Umi Fahmida

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Urban Area ◽

Low Income ◽

Food Environment ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Home Food Environment ◽

At Risk Children ◽

Home Food ◽

Low Income Mothers

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Correlates of Healthy Eating in Urban Food Desert Communities

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17176305 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (17) ◽

pp. 6305

Author(s):

Allison Karpyn ◽

Candace R. Young ◽

Zachary Collier ◽

Karen Glanz

Keyword(s):

Food Availability ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Food Environment ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Healthy Eating Index ◽

Food Desert ◽

Household Food ◽

Food Challenges

The food environment is well documented as an important emphasis for public health intervention. While theoretical models of the relationship between the food environment and dietary outcomes have been proposed, empirical testing of conceptual models has been limited. The purpose of this study was to explore which factors in nutrition environments are significantly associated with dietary outcomes in two urban, low-income, and minority food desert communities. This study analyzed cross-sectional data based on 796 participants from the Food in Our Neighborhood Study. Participants were recruited based on a random sample of addresses in neighborhood study areas, Philadelphia, PA (n = 393) and Trenton, NJ (n = 403). Main dietary outcomes were Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores and fruit and vegetable consumption subscores computed from ASA24® assessments. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted and yielded a model of four factors with 22 items. Among four factors that emerged, three factors (Perceptions of Neighborhood Food Availability; and Household Food Challenges) were significantly correlated with dietary outcomes. My Store’s Quality and Perceptions of Neighborhood Food Availability were positively correlated with vegetable consumption subscore. The Household Food Challenges factor was negatively correlated with both vegetable subscore and overall HEI score (i.e., more household challenges were associated with lower dietary scores). These findings confirmed the importance of perceived nutrition environments and household food challenges in predicting dietary outcomes among residents of two urban, low-income, and minority food desert communities.

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Putting Knowledge into Practice: Low-Income Women Talk about Food Choice Decisions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17145092 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (14) ◽

pp. 5092

Author(s):

Shelly M. Palmer ◽

Simon T. Knoblauch ◽

Donna M. Winham ◽

Molly B. Hiller ◽

Mack C. Shelley

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Food Choice ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Diet Change ◽

Model Framework

Insights into barriers and facilitators for healthy eating are needed to improve low-income women’s diets and to decrease disease risk. The study objectives were to explore women’s qualitative perceptions of influences on their food choices such as food security, their knowledge of nutrition-related health risk factors and self-efficacy for diet change, and their dietary intakes in practice. Thirty-six women, aged 19–50, who were eligible to receive income-based assistance were recruited in central Iowa. Focus group discussions on defining healthy foods, influences on food choice, and nutrition information sources were analyzed using a socioecological model framework. Demographics, nutrient intake estimates, food security status, health behaviors, and self-efficacy for nutrition behavior change were collected by survey. Most participants were White (61%), single (69%), food insecure (69%), and living with children (67%). Few women met dietary recommendations. Barriers to healthy eating include cost, convenience/preparation time, family taste preferences, and limitations of federal food assistance programs. Facilitators are high self-efficacy for nutrition change and health knowledge on average. These results challenge the strategy of using nutrition education to improve healthy eating and instead show that intervention messaging should focus on limited, achievable steps to improve dietary choices that fit within cost, convenience, and taste constraints.

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NATIONAL-LEVEL DISPARITIES IN INTERNET ACCESS AMONG LOW-INCOME AND BLACK AND HISPANIC YOUTH: CHALLENGES IN REACHING AT RISK GROUPS (Preprint)

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/27723 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M. Margaret Dolcini ◽

Jesse A Canchola ◽

Joseph A Catania ◽

Marissa M Song Mayeda ◽

Erin L Dietz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Low Income ◽

National Level ◽

Internet Access ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Hispanic Youth

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An Examination of Factors Associated With Self-Efficacy for Food Choice and Healthy Eating among Low-Income Adolescents in Three U.S. States

Frontiers in Communication ◽

10.3389/fcomm.2016.00006 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Nancy W. Muturi ◽

Tandalayo Kidd ◽

Tazrin Khan ◽

Kendra Kattelmann ◽

Susan Zies ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Food Choice ◽

Factors Associated

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LET’S TALK FOOD: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL AND HOME FOOD ENVIRONMENT AND THE IMPACT OF THE HARVEST OF THE MONTH PROGRAM ON THEIR DIETARY ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

International Journal of Child Youth and Family Studies ◽

10.18357/ijcyfs83/4201718075 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (3/4) ◽

pp. 154 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amanda Margolin ◽

Keiko Goto ◽

Cindy Wolff ◽

Stephanie Bianco

Keyword(s):

Elementary School ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Elementary School Students ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Food Environment ◽

School Students ◽

Attitudes And Behaviors ◽

And Behaviors ◽

The Impact

This study aimed to further knowledge about elementary school students’ views on food environment, and the effects of the Harvest of the Month (HOTM) program on their dietary attitudes and behaviors. Three focus groups were conducted with a total of 24 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students from low-income schools in northern California who received the National School Lunch Program and HOTM during the school year. Focus groups were tape-recorded, transcribed, and coded for specific themes. Following the intervention, participants expressed a desire for more healthy food options in the school cafeteria and wanted to receive more school and family support for healthy eating. The HOTM program created a positive environment that appeared to influence their dietary attitudes and behaviors, peer and family perceptions of healthy eating, and participants’ attitudes toward their schools. Specifically, cooking demonstrations, tasting activities, and take-home recipes provided them with a means to share with their parents what they had learned about fruits and vegetables. School food policy interventions may become more effective if they are combined with interventions based on nutrition education. Future research should focus on exploring effective and synergistic ways of implementing both types of interventions among children.

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Abstract #405 Gender Differences in Perceived Barriers to Healthy Eating, Self-efficacy, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in a Low-Income Hispanic Population

Endocrine Practice ◽

10.1016/s1530-891x(20)46749-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 189-190

Author(s):

Tam Faulds ◽

Patricia Doan ◽

Airani Sathananthan ◽

Fanglong Dong

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Low Income ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Perceived Barriers ◽

Hispanic Population ◽

Fruit And Vegetable

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Depressive Symptoms and the Link with Academic Performance among Rural Taiwanese Children

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17082778 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (8) ◽

pp. 2778 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yujuan Gao ◽

Derek Hu ◽

Evan Peng ◽

Cody Abbey ◽

Yue Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Low Income ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Epidemiological Studies ◽

Depression Score ◽

School Students ◽

High Prevalence

Previous studies reflect a high prevalence of depressive symptoms among Taiwanese adolescents (ages 13–18), but there is an absence of literature related to the risk of depression of children in Taiwan (ages 6–12), particularly among potentially vulnerable subgroups. To provide insight into the distribution of depressive symptoms among children in rural Taiwan and measure the correlation between academic performance, we conducted a survey of 1655 randomly selected fourth and fifth-grade students at 92 sample schools in four relatively low-income counties or municipalities. Using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) we assessed the prevalence of depressive symptoms in this sample, in addition to collecting other data, such as performance on a standardized math test as well as information on a number of individual and household characteristics. We demonstrate that the share of children with clinically significant symptoms is high: 38% of the students were at risk of general depression (depression score ≥ 16) and 8% of the students were at risk of major depression (depression score > 28). The results of the multivariate regression and heterogeneous analysis suggest that poor academic performance is closely associated with a high prevalence of depressive symptoms. Among low-performing students, certain groups were disproportionately affected, including girls and students whose parents have migrated away for work. Results also suggest that, overall, students who had a parent who was an immigrant from another country were at greater risk of depression. These findings highlight the need for greater resource allocation toward mental health services for elementary school students in rural Taiwan, particularly for at-risk groups.

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