Kent State Interns

Being a gardening and cultural diversity advocate, I wanted to be assess the influence of gardening in the Navajo (Native American people from South-western United States) population. From prior research and working with this population in person, it is known that the rates of diabetes and obesity in these communities are higher than national rates due to this population incorporating process foods in their diets and not growing their own food as their bodies were accustomed to. A healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables would aid in prevention and reductions of such rates. Therefore, this project focused on promoting gardening to make vegetables and fruits more convenient and accessible at the comfort of their own home. As previous research in this area has shown, gardeners on average consume two more servings of fruits and vegetables than non-gardeners. Thirty participants were recruited by flyer distribution at chapter houses, senior centers, and community centers, from four...

Being involved with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), both as a participant and as an employee that help/ encouraged elegiable applicants, I support this program and find it important to stay up-to date with as it is a government assistance program set to help low income invdividuals/families receive access to food. SNAP is in fact the largest federal food assistance program in the United States designed to “provide supplemental support to alleviate food insecurity and improve dietary intake.” Currently 1 in 7 Americans (47.6 million people) receive governmental support to purchase any kind of food as long as it is not alcohol, nutritional supplements, heated food or food served to eat on location. In recent years, it has been an ongoing discussion amongst policymakers, public health nutritionists and anti-hunger advocates to be engaged in how to modify SNAP policies to maximize nutritional implications for SNAP recipients. On the other hand, SNAP participants and l...

Being Hispanic (most of my family comes/lives in Baja California, Mexico) and noticing anemia running in my family, I was quickly drawn to this article. This article examined the etiology and factors contributing to anemia in women and children as anemia is a public health problem among that population in rural Baja California, Mexico. This article is a cross-sectional study comprised of 118 women (15–49 years of age) and 25 children (24–59 months of age), conducted during the year of 2012. Participants completed a health and dietary survey and underwent anemia testing. A sample of venous blood was collected from anemic participants to determine the etiology. Six random community tiendas (small stores) were chosen to establish the types of foods available for purchase. The results showed a prevalence of anemia for women was 22% and 20% for children. Women from low socioeconomic status households and women enrolled in the government assistance program (Prospera) were significantly more ...

When looking up community and nutrition topics via google, I saw there was an eatrightPRO web link associated with the google search; this link took me to the AND earrightPRO Public Health and Community Nutrition resource page (http://www.eatrightpro.org/resources/practice/practice-resources/public-health-and-community). I am very glad I stumbled upon this webpage as it provides very useful and creditable public health and community nutrition websites/resources. The topic that drew my attention was the Self-Assessment Tool for Public Health/Community Nutritionists (http://www.epi.umn.edu/let/assessment/index.shtm). I was drawn to this topic because I have a passion for community nutrition/public health; therefore, I had to take the test to find out the results. The test comprised of four modules and was done through the University of Minnesota. Module 1: Self-Reflection; involved question that ask about current public health/community nutrition involvement and future plans. Module 2: S...

While American childhood obesity may have leveled off in recent years, the level is still too high. Of the English speaking world, the United States still has the largest population of obese children. Over 23% boys and 19% of girls in America are obese. However, America is no longer the world leader in obese children. We have been overtaken by Polynesia, over 25% of their girls and 22% of their boys are now obese.   The worldwide level of childhood obesity has increased rapidly. The WHO has recently conducted a study that found that the number of obese children has increased from 11 million to 120 million worldwide in just 4 decades. These numbers do not include the children who qualify as overweight. Should this trend continue, we are on course to have more obese children than underweight children. The WHO is citing lack of physical activity, poor nutritional educations, and an overabundance of energy dense foods as the cause of this rapid increase. The WHO is calling for leg...

With the rise of childhood obesity finding ways to properly nourish our children is imperative. According to the latest NHANES data, children in this country under consume whole fruits and vegetables. Adolescents consume the least amount of vegetables as compared to recommendations than any other age group. While fruit consumption may be adequate, 1/3 of the fruits consumed by children are coming from fruit juices rather than whole fruits. Finding ways to improve the dietary quality of America’s children is imperative. One obvious avenue for exacting change is within the schools. The Healthiest Schools Initiative is a movement that aims to inspire a healthy food environment within schools. One school district in rural Georgia is making great strives to improving the health of their children. They serve 89% of their children lunch and 76% are participating in breakfast. They also serve dinner in several of their schools. They have had huge success with their farm to school programs...

Characteristics of Smartphone Applications for Nutrition Improvement in Community Settings: A scoping Review Smartphone apps can be a useful way to support nutrition improvement. Nutrition improvement can be defined as any attempt to guide an individual’s diet towards more association with healthy eating guidelines. Poor dietary intake can be related to social, physical, and macrolevel environmental factors. Although public health nutrition improvement programs are often set in place in community settings, they must overcome a number of unique challenges. These challenges include the conflict of reaching a large population that is dispersed and hard to reach. With these challenges in mind, the use of smartphone applications to support nutrition improvement in community settings is becoming more popular. Keeping smartphone users engaged in health apps has been a challenge. It has been recommended as a benchmark for health apps success to provide an engaging user experience so tha...

A Community-Based Nutrition and Physical Activity Intervention for Children Who Are Overweight or Obese and Their Caregivers Obesity is a major health concern for children in the United States. Almost 18% of children ages 6-11 years old have obesity which is defined for them as a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to the 95 th percentile for children of the same age. Childhood obesity is associated with many health risks including insulin resistance, hypertension, weight-related psychological stress, and more. Also, medical costs are 30% higher for children who have obesity compared to those who stay at a healthy weight. Childhood weight management is a complex issue because obesity is a condition that is due to environmental, social, and behavioral factors.   There are four-stage pediatric obesity programs that begin with prevention efforts and structural weight management (stages 1 & 2). If these stages are not successful, stage 3 is a “comprehensive multi...

A Glance at a Community Exercise and Nutrition Program for Older Adults It is important to understand the factors that influence community adoption of evidence-based programs that can improve health outcomes among older adults. Physical activity and good dietary practices are important factors that must be considered when assessing health problems and health outcomes of older adults in the community. By incorporating physical activity and good dietary practices, this can prevent or delay the onset of health conditions such as stroke, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Community-based physical activity interventions have been shown to help improve physical functions, improve cognitive function, reduce risk of falling, and improve quality of life in older adults. Increasing physical activity in older adults can also reduce economic costs related to direct costs from medical care use and indirect costs from productivity loss and workers’ compensation....

Blog Post #4             The use of stevia has become a growing trend among nonnutritive sweeteners like saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-K and neotame. Stevia is a generic term that refers to the different forms of the sweetener like the plant and extract. Stevia is 200 to 350 times sweeter than table sugar. The popularity of stevia has raised a question to its safety. Over 200 studies have been reviewed by the European Food Safety Authority and the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on the safety of consuming stevia. Research has found that stevia is safe for adults, children, and pregnant and nursing women. The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is 12 mg per kg body weight per day. This would be equivalent to a 150-pound individual consuming 40 packets of stevia per day. Studies have been done looking at the metabolism of stevia and the effect on weight management, cardiovascular di...

Type 2 diabetes used to be known as an obese adult disease. Today, the number of children who are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has sky-rocketed, and will increase four-fold by 2050. Studies have found that children who are obese have 40% lower insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism compared to non-obese children.   Children with type 2 diabetes typically are diagnosed over the age of 10. They are most likely obese or extremely obese and have glucose in their urine without ketones. Puberty can play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes due to the secretion of growth hormone. The American Diabetes Association is recommending screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in children 10 years and older who are overweight and obese and have 2 of the following risk factors. 1       Family history of type 2 diabetes 2       Minority race or ethnicity 3       Signs of insulin resistance or con...