scholarly journals Factors Associated with the Initiation of Added Sugar among Low-Income Young Children Participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in the US

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 3888
Author(s):  
Morium B. Bably ◽  
Rajib Paul ◽  
Sarah B. Laditka ◽  
Elizabeth F. Racine
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards Model ◽  
Infants And Children ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Program ◽  
Added Sugar ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Program ◽  
The Impact

Added sugar intake at a young age is associated with chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, asthma, elevated blood pressure, and overweight. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025 and the American Heart Association recommend delaying the introduction of added sugar until age 2. The aims of this study were to identify the timing of added sugar initiation; factors associated with added sugar initiation; and the top five added sugar foods and beverages consumed by infants and children at three age ranges (< 7 months, 8–13 months, and 14–24 months). Data were from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2, a longitudinal, national population of WIC participants enrolled in WIC eligible clinics (n = 3835). The Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the factors associated with introducing added sugar. About 25% of children were given added sugar at or before 7 months. Contributing factors were caregivers’ race/ethnicity, education, employment, weight status, parity, child sex, and premature birth (all p < 0.05). The top added sugar foods consumed between 1–24 months were cereal, crackers, apple sauce, dessert, yogurt, sweetened beverages, syrup and preserves, and cookies. Further research to examine the impact of early initiation of added sugar on health outcomes and taste preferences is warranted.

scholarly journals Stocking characteristics and perceived increases in sales among small food store managers/owners associated with the introduction of new food products approved by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1771-1779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guadalupe X Ayala ◽  
Melissa N Laska ◽  
Shannon N Zenk ◽  
June Tester ◽  
Donald Rose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Products ◽  
Infants And Children ◽  
Wheat Bread ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Program ◽  
Food Stores ◽  
Whole Wheat ◽  
Whole Wheat Bread ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Program ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjectiveThe present study assessed the impact of the 2009 food packages mandated by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on perceived sales, product selection and stocking habits of small, WIC-authorized food stores.DesignA cross-sectional study involving in-depth interviews with store managers/owners.SettingSmall, WIC-authorized food stores in eight major cities in the USA.SubjectsFifty-two store managers/owners who had at least 1 year of experience in the store prior to study participation.ResultsThe WIC-approved food products (fresh, canned and frozen fruits; fresh, canned and frozen vegetables; wholegrain/whole-wheat bread; white corn/whole-wheat tortillas; brown rice; lower-fat milk (<2 %)) were acquired in multiple ways, although acquisition generally occurred 1–2 times/week. Factors such as customer requests (87 %), refrigerator/freezer availability (65 %) and profitability (71 %) were rated as very important when making stocking decisions. Most managers/owners perceived increases in sales of new WIC-approved foods including those considered most profitable (wholegrain/whole-wheat bread (89 %), lower-fat milk (89 %), white corn/whole wheat tortillas (54 %)), but perceived no changes in sales of processed fruits and vegetables. Supply mechanisms and frequency of supply acquisition were only moderately associated with perceived sales increases.ConclusionsRegardless of type or frequency of supply acquisition, perceived increases in sales provided some evidence for the potential sustainability of these WIC policy efforts and translation of this policy-based strategy to other health promotion efforts aimed at improving healthy food access in underserved communities.

scholarly journals Association Between Usage of an App to Redeem Prescribed Food Benefits and Redemption Behaviors Among the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Participants: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Junzhou Zhang ◽  
Kayoung Park ◽  
Chuanyi Tang
Keyword(s):  
Infant Formula ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Infants And Children ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Program ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Program ◽  
The Difference

BACKGROUND The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is one of the most important food assistance programs in the United States, serving 6.4 million low-income, eligible women, infants, and children under 5 years of age in 2019. In the program, participants are prescribed a list of food benefits, which can be redeemed in WIC-authorized stores. However, there are multiple behavioral barriers in the program and the stores that prevent participants from redeeming the benefits fully. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the relationship between the use of a widely used mobile phone app, WICShopper, and the redemption of the prescribed food packages. METHODS WIC administrative data were obtained from West Virginia for the period January 2019 to January 2020 and included 30,440 WIC households that had received food benefits in that period. The redemption rates of 18 WIC food benefits were compared between app users and nonapp users, that is, those who never used the app in the study period. The use behaviors were defined for the app users, including the number of active use benefit cycles, active benefit cycle rates, number of active use days in the cycle, and proportion rates of daytime use. Panel linear regressions were applied to examine how the redemption rates were related to these behaviors over time. RESULTS App users consistently had higher average redemption rates than nonapp users; the difference ranged from 3.6% (4.8% relative) for infant formula to 14.3% (40.7% relative) for fish. After controlling for sociodemographics, the coefficients of app use were significantly positive for all benefit categories except for WIC-eligible nutritionals. More active cycles and active days in the cycle were significantly related to redemption rates for all categories, except for frozen juice (coefficient=−0.002, <i>P</i>=.09). Daytime app access was positively associated with redemption rates for most food benefits except only a few, such as infant formula (coefficient=−0.03, <i>P</i>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS Use of the WIC app was significantly related to higher redemption rates across food benefits, although the association varied across benefit categories. More active days were positively related to benefit redemptions across food categories, and the app’s daytime use was positively associated with the redemption of most benefit categories. These findings suggest that the WIC app can be an important tool for the promotion of benefit redemption among WIC participants.

scholarly journals Dietary Quality of Pregnant Women Participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8370
Author(s):  
Arezoo Rojhani ◽  
Ping Ouyang ◽  
Angel Gullon-Rivera ◽  
Taylor Marie Dale
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Healthy Eating Index ◽  
Infants And Children ◽  
Dietary Quality ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Program ◽  
Food Records ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Program

Few studies have examined the dietary intake of low-income pregnant women participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The aim of this study was to assess the dietary quality of WIC-enrolled pregnant women and examine associations with maternal characteristics, nutrition knowledge, and key health indicators. Fifty-one WIC-enrolled pregnant women completed two sets of 3-day food records. Food records were analyzed for nutrient content, and diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015. Since an HEI score of less than 60 is indicative of the need to improve dietary quality, participants’ HEI scores were divided into two categories: <60 and ≥60. The total mean HEI score of the cohort based on analysis of the first set of food records was 59.1 ± 12.5 (range 37.1–89.2), while the mean score for the second 3 days of food records was 56.8 ± 12.7 (range 30.0–89.0). The majority of participants did not consume the minimum recommended servings of whole vegetables. Those in the <60 HEI category consumed on average less than 50% of the recommended servings of whole fruits and whole grains. The diets of the majority of participants were high in saturated fat and sodium. More than one-third did not meet the recommendations for folate and iron intake, while less than half met the RDA for vitamin D. Choline intake was insufficient based on analysis of the first 3 days of food records. Our results indicate that the dietary quality of WIC-enrolled pregnant women requires improvement.

scholarly journals The Impact of Policy Changes on Milk and Beverage Consumption of Texas WIC Children

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-442
Author(s):  
Ariun Ishdorj ◽  
Oral Capps
Keyword(s):  
Infants And Children ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Program ◽  
Beverage Consumption ◽  
Food Packages ◽  
Whole Milk ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Program ◽  
The Impact

Major changes in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food packages that were implemented in 2009 included reductions in the amount of milk and 100% juices, as well as the removal of whole milk from food packages. In analyzing the effect of these changes on the beverage consumption of Texas WIC children ages two to four, we found a significant decrease in the amount of whole milk consumed, and this decrease was partially offset by the increase in the amount of lower-fat milks consumed. Intakes of both desirable and undesirable nutrients from milk were decreased.

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