Laura H. McArthur

Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge of Low-Income Consumers Regarding Nutrition Labels

This exploratory study interviewed 130 participants in federal food assistance programs and 51 low-income nonparticipants to assess their behaviors and attitudes toward and awareness of the nutrition label. Regarding label use, 35.4 percent of participants and 45.1 percent of nonparticipants seldom/never read labels while grocery shopping, 31.5 percent of participants and 19.6 percent of nonparticipants sometimes read them, and 33.1 percent of participants and 35.3 percent of nonparticipants always/frequently read labels in the grocery store. In addition, 38.5 percent of participants and 41.2 percent of nonparticipants seldom/never read labels at home, 33.1 percent of participants and 27.5 percent of nonparticipants sometimes read them, and 28.5 percent of participants and 31.4 percent of nonparticipants always/frequently read labels at home. There were no significant differences between mean scores of participants and nonparticipants on how to use the nutrition label. Findings challenge nutritionists working with low-income individuals to develop more learning opportunities that teach how to use nutrition labels.

Learned preference for the limiting amino acid in rats fed a threonine-deficient diet

Preference for an odor associated with protein is only seen in protein-deprived rats. We hypothesized that rats depleted of the amino acid threonine (THR) would prefer a flavored solution paired with a THR replete diet. Rats were given a flavored drink paired with THR-deficient (DEV) diet followed by a second flavor paired with a corrected (COR) diet. In choice testing, the animals clearly selected the COR-paired flavor, while control rats preferred the other flavor. This did not, however, differentiate between aversion to the DEV-paired flavor and learned preference for the COR-paired flavor. In subsequent tests, an unpaired flavor was given rather than the DEV-paired flavor. The COR-paired flavor was included in the test as before. In the second and third trials, using either DEV or a less profoundly deficient diet, animals depleted of THR selected the COR-paired flavor to a greater extent than control rats. We conclude that animals deficient in the essential amino acid, THR, show a learned preference for the flavor paired with repletion.

Learned preference and aversion for complete and isoleucine-devoid diets in rats

Choice tests using flavored solutions were conducted to demonstrate a learned preference or aversion in rats fed replete (complete) or isoleucine (ILE)-devoid diets. In the first learning trial, rats demonstrated a preference for the flavored solutions paired with the replete diet at 6 and 24 h (p < 0.001), and an aversion for the solutions paired with the ILE-devoid diet at 6 h (p < 0.05). In the second trial, using a different concentration of tastant, rats ingested significantly more of the flavored solution paired with the replete diet at 24 h (11.4 +/- 3.0 g vs. 5.4 +/- 1.0 g, respectively; p < 0.05), and significantly more of a novel flavored solution than of the solution paired with the ILE-devoid diet at 24 h (12.4 +/- 2.4 g vs. 1.7 +/- 0.6 g, respectively; p < 0.001). These results suggest that learning contributes to the rats ability to self-select diets that promote growth, and that a learning paradigm pairing flavored solutions with complete and indispensible amino acid-devoid diets may be used to demonstrate learned preferences and aversions for such diets in rats.

Dietetics Majors' Weight-Reduction Beliefs, Behaviors, and Information Sources

Abstract One hundred twenty-eight female dietetics majors aspiring to be registered dietitians were surveyed to identify and assess their reasons for wanting to lose weight and the weight-loss techniques and information sources they used and would recommend to clients. Fishers exact tests were used to analyze behavioral data, and binomial tests to determine whether proportions of students achieving their desired weight-loss outcomes were significantly greater than 50%. Most dieters wanted to lose weight to improve their appearance and increase their self-esteem. Sound weight-loss techniques that were used and recommended include increased exercise, low-fat foods and snacks, and portion control. Accurate information sources used and recommended included food labels and college nutrition courses. Unsound weight-loss techniques and potentially inaccurate information sources were also used and would be recommended by a few students. Findings suggest a need for more learning opportunities focusing on enhancement of self-esteem and weight management.

Rural Latino parents offer preschool children few nutrient-dense snacks: a community-based study in Western Illinois.

The aims of this descriptive study were to identify the snacks offered to preschool children by Latino parents living in a rural community, assess the overall healthfulness of those snacks, and measure related psychosocial correlates. Data were collected using Spanish-language questionnaires and interviews completed by 96 parents. Thirty-two percent of snack offerings were nutrient dense. The energy-dense snacks offered most often by the greatest proportion of parents were regular yogurt (17%), whole milk (16%), and fruit drinks (16%); the nutrient-dense snacks offered most often were fresh fruit (43%), low-fat milk (37%), and fruit juice (34%). Two-thirds of parents felt confident about offering healthy snacks, and 67% self-classified in the action stages. The primary barrier to offering healthy snacks was childrens refusal to eat these products. These parents would benefit from interventions that teach how to overcome perceived barriers and how to purchase and prepare healthy snacks appealing to preschoolers.

Continuity and change in the food habits of the seventeenth-century English colonists in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay

This case study uses historical dietary data and archaeological evidence to assess the extent of continuity and change in the diet of the seventeenth‐century English colonists who settled in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay relative to the traditional English diet. Observations of prominent seventeenth‐century chroniclers suggest that the colonial diet in Massachusetts featured a combination of familiar and novel foods, both domestic and wild, varying over time and across different local environments. Evidence further suggests that the colonial diet underwent modification relative to the English diet due to environmental conditions, cost, palatability, and contact with Native Americans. Archaeological information from the region further supports these observations. It is concluded that the conceptual framework proposed by food habits researchers for the assessment of dietary continuity and change among migrant groups is useful in describing the diet of European peoples, specifically the seventeenth‐century ...

Effectiveness of a College Course Focused on Evaluation of Health Claims

This study measured the effectiveness of a college course designed to instruct students to make critical evaluations of therapeutic claims for foods, nutrient supplements, weight-reduction products and diets, and alternative healthcare systems. Experimental and comparison groups were pretested and posttested to determine changes in source reliance and cognitive learning. The experimental group received instruction in five cognitive areas: (1) health and nutrition quackery, (2) consumer protection, (3) basic concepts in health and nutrition, (4) nutritional supplements and health foods, and (5) conventional and unconventional treatment of chronic diseases. The experimental group scored significantly higher in all five conceptual areas on the posttest, and in each case scored significantly higher than the comparison group did. Both groups rated medical/scientific sources of health and nutrition information as highly accurate during the two survey periods. The experimental group showed a change in source reliance, moving from dependence on the popular print media and individuals without formal education in a health field to medical/scientific sources, whereas the comparison group continued to use the popular press and electronic media. Findings suggest that a source targeted to the needs and interests of a specific group can bring about significant increases in knowledge gain and desirable changes in source reliance.

Knowledge of healthy foods does not translate to healthy snack consumption among exercise science undergraduates

This cross-sectional survey study compared the on- and off-campus snack choices and related correlates of convenience samples of exercise science (ES) (n = 165, M = 45%, F = 55%) and non-exercise science (NES) (n =160, M = 43%, F = 57%) undergraduates. The hypothesis posed was that knowledge of healthy foods will not translate to healthier snack consumption by the ES students, and that the snack choices and related correlates of ES and NES students will be similar. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires completed in classrooms (ES sample) and at high-traffic locations on-campus (NES sample). Chi-square and t-test analyses compared ES and NES students on snack correlates. Snacks consumed most often by the ES and NES students on-campus were health bars/squares (n = 56 vs. n = 48) and savory snacks (n = 55 vs. n = 71), and off-campus were savory snacks (n = 60 vs. n = 71) and fruits (n = 41 vs. n = 34). Over half of both samples believed their snack choices were a mix of unhealthy and healthy. Fruits were considered healthier snacks and chips less healthy by both samples, and fruits were the most often recommended snack. About 20% believed these choices would impact their health unfavorably, and about two thirds self-classified in the action stages for healthy snacking. Since knowledge about healthy food choices did not translate to healthy snack selection, these students would benefit from interventions that teach selection and preparation of healthy snacks on a restricted budget.