TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22

Poster Session: Wellness and Public Health

Best Food for Families, Infants and Toddlers Child-Care Center Intervention toPrevent Childhood Obesity

Author(s): L. Biediger-Friedman, B. Friedman, S.H. Crixell; Family & ConsumerSciences, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX

Learning Outcome: Participant will be able to implement practices to preventobesity among children in child-care by conducting 1) environmentalassessments of child-care centers and 2) workshops to improve menus anddevelop/implement health-oriented policies.

San Marcos children are at exceptional risk for poor health outlook, withmore than 50% of middle school children being overweight or obese, andmore than 70% qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Child-care settings are aprime environment for early intervention to improve health behaviors amongthis population. The purpose of the project was to characterize the healthenvironment of centers in the surrounding area by: 1) conducting acomprehensive assessment of centers’ menus and other nutrition relatedpractices, physical activity practices and food and activity policies designed topromote a healthy environment); and 2) surveying the child-care staffregarding their knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding nutrition andphysical activity for young children. Assessment and survey results were usedto develop an interactive workshop to train staff on writing healthy, ageappropriate menus, and to develop/implement policies to improve theirhealth environments. Workshop participants met in groups to discuss facil-itators/barriers of healthy eating and health promotion at their centers. Anevaluation was conducted at the conclusion to assess the workshop strategy.Child-care staff were incentivized to participate through the offer ofcontinuing education and grocery gift cards per facility. Follow-up technicalsupport regarding menus and health-related policies were provided to cen-ters after the workshop. This project was designed to serve the community byempowering child-care staff to improve their centers’ food and physicalenvironments, and, given the innovative engagement of child-care staff inpolicy development and implementation, serve as a model for futureinterventions.

Funding Disclosure: Texas State University Research Enhancement Grant andGrande Communications Passion and Commitment Investment Club Award

Assessment of Dietary Behaviors of College Students Participating in the HealthPromotion Program BUCS: Live Well

Author(s): C.E. McKinney, M. Lee, E. Cress, E. Lowe; Allied Health Sciences, EastTennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

Learning Outcome: To provide an online health promotion program encour-aging healthy lifestyle behaviors among university students

BUCS: Live Well, based on the Social Cognitive Theory, was an online healthpromotion program implemented through a university to target collegestudents at risk for participating in poor dietary choices, contributors toweight gain. College-age students experience a transitional phase called‘emerging adulthood’ where they learn autonomy in areas influencing long-term health status, making this a unique opportunity for nutrition education.The purpose of BUCS: Live Well was to promote self-efficacy among collegestudents in ability to incorporate positive dietary changes, assess incidencesof positive dietary habits after completing the program, and determine ifweight status, residence, and health perceptions influence dietary behaviors.The online model was chosen because of the target population's tendencyto utilize the internet and to contribute to the growing body of evidencein support of online lifestyle intervention programs. The program lasted12 weeks and consisted of initial anthropometric data and questionnaireresponse collection, weekly educational videos on nutrition-related topics,and a final anthropometric data and questionnaire response collection. BUCS:Live Well was successful in facilitating positive dietary changes such asincreasing daily servings of fruits and vegetables, improving confidence aboutability to incorporate positive dietary changes, and improving attitudes aboutability to practice a healthy lifestyle although it did not promote weight loss.Participant satisfaction with the program was high indicating the program'ssuccess. Online health promotion programs for college students are effectivein initiating lifestyle modification and need to be available in hopes ofreducing the obesity rate in the college-age population.

Funding Disclosure: Funding provided by the Research Development Com-mittee (RDC) grant program at East Tennessee State University

September 2013 Suppl 3—Abstracts Volume 113 Number 9

Child Fruit and Vegetable Accordance with the DASH Eating Plan in the PacDASH Study

Author(s): M. Matsunaga, E. Hurwitz, R. Novotny; Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI

Learning Outcome: Participants will be able to understand how to assess vegetable and fruitconsumption and the importance to address regular fruit and vegetable consumption inchildhood.

Background: The DASH Eating Plan has been recommended for adults to help preventhypertension and to lower blood pressure. As a part of the DASH Eating Plan, regularconsumption of fruits and vegetables is encouraged.

Objective: To assess fruit and vegetable accordance with the Dietary Approach to StopHypertension (DASH) Eating Plan among the Pacific Kids DASH for Health (PacDASH) studyparticipants (n¼85).

Methods: The PacDASH study is a randomized study that promoted the DASH Eating Planand regular physical activity for children aged 5-8 years with BMI 50th - 99th percentilefor age. Fruits and Vegetable scores were calculated on an energy density basis frombaseline data of weighted average consumption (for weekday and weekend) from 2-dayfood records. The scores assessed fruit and vegetable accordance with the DASH EatingPlan (0-10 points).

Results: The mean �SD [median] vegetable and fruit scores were 4.71 � 2.81 [4.37] and5.56 � 3.33 [5.46], respectively. Seven percent of children met the vegetable recommen-dation, while 20% met the fruit recommendation. There were no significant differences inFruit and Vegetable scores by child weight status (normal, >¼overweight), parent weightstatus (not obese, obese), or ethnicity (White, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other PacificIslanders, and other ethnicity).

Conclusions: The vast majority of participants did not meet the fruit and vegetablerecommendations according to the DASH Eating Plan. Regular fruit and vegetable con-sumption should be encouraged for this age group, regardless of child and parent weightstatus.

Funding Disclosure: USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) #2008-55215-18821 Pacific Kids DASH for Health Study

A Mixed Methods Approach to Evaluate KidQuest, a Traditional Classroom Obesity PreventionIntervention, in an Afterschool Program: A Pilot Study

Author(s): A. Wehbe, J.A. Albrecht, M. Krehbiel, S. Takahashi, J. Fischer, M. Wallinga,W. Koszewski; Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Learning Outcome: Upon reading the abstract presentation, participants will be able toidentify and discuss the challenges posed with implanting a nutrition interventiondeveloped for the traditional school day in an afterschool setting.

Over 3.7 million middle school adolescents are left unsupervised during the afterschoolhours, 45% from low-income households. While most of the obesity prevention in-terventions focus on the traditional school day, the afterschool setting should not beoverlooked. A pilot study was conducted using KidQuest, a traditional classroom nutritionand physical activity intervention for youth ages 10 to 12 based on the social cognitivetheory, in an afterschool setting. The purpose of the pilot study was to evaluate theeffectiveness of using a nutrition intervention developed for the traditional school day inan afterschool setting. The desired outcome of this mixed-methods study with explanatorydesign was for participants to use nutrition related knowledge and skills learned to impactself-efficacy and behavior change. Outcomes of 16 adolescents were measured usingpre/post surveys and focus groups/interviews. While no statistical significance was iden-tified, behavior change was noted in the focus groups/interview. In the focus groups/interview, participants reported: 1) Increased knowledge in identifying healthy snacks/meals and food label reading and 2) The intervention promoted family involvement.Implementation of the intervention in an afterschool program posed challenges withparticipant attendance and compliance. Evaluation of the pilot study provided direction toalter future programming by continuing the structured physical activity time in theafterschool program while re-directing the nutrition intervention towards the traditionalschool day. Implications for future research include identifying strategies for implement-ing traditional school nutrition interventions in the afterschool setting along with avenuesto reach youth consistently in the afterschool hours.

Funding Disclosure: National Research Initiative Grant no. 2011-67002-30202 from theFood and Agriculture Division of Nutrition

JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS A-75