No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Introduction: The preschool years have been identified as a critical time to intervene on energy balance behaviors to halt the progression of obesity. In children, strategies for achieving physical activity recommendations are well established. Less clear are strategies for implementing an optimal dietary approach—one that maintains a healthy body weight and improves diet quality. Energy density (ED), the amount of energy per unit weight of food (kcal/g), may be a promising dietary approach. Hypothesis: We tested the hypothesis that a lower ED dietary approach will lower ED and energy intake and demonstrate better maintenance of body mass index (BMI z-score) than standard dietary recommendations in young children at risk for obesity. Methods: Thirty-six preschool children (3.5±1.1 years; 52.8% female; 52.8% White; 16.7% Hispanic or Latino; BMI percentile 56.8±22.2) and their parent (35.4±6.2 years; 86.1% female; 55.6% White; 13.9% Hispanic or Latino; BMI 38.2±5.4 kg/m 2 ) participated in a 6-month, 14-session, family-based behavioral intervention. Participants were randomized to a low-ED dietary approach (consume ≥10 foods/day with an ED ≤1.0 kcal/g and ≤2 foods/day with an ED ≥ 3.0 kcal/g; LOW-ED), or standard dietary recommendations (meet recommended daily servings of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; STANDARD). Both interventions had physical activity goals of 60 minutes/day for children and 150 minutes/week for adults. Dietary and anthropometric assessments occurred at baseline and 6-months. Completer and intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses, with outliers removed, used repeated measures general linear mixed models to examine child change in ED (calculated as both all foods and beverages and food only), kcals, and BMI z-score from baseline to 6 months. Results: ITT analyses showed that the change in ED did not differ between the LOW-ED condition and STANDARD condition when calculated as for foods and beverages (LOW-ED: Δ-0.1 kcal/g vs. STANDARD: Δ+0.1 kcal/g, p = 0.12) or food only (LOW-ED: Δ-0.2 kcal/g vs. STANDARD: Δ+0.1 kcal/g, p = 0.06). There was a significant time by condition interaction with kcals/d decreasing in LOW-ED and increasing in STANDARD over time for completers (LOW-ED: Δ-98 kcals vs. STANDARD: Δ+212 kcals, p = 0.04), but not when using ITT (LOW-ED: Δ+5 kcals vs. STANDARD: Δ+211 kcals, p = 0.09). Under ITT BMI z-score had a main effect of time, with both LOW-ED and STANDARD conditions significantly increasing over time (p=0.03). Conclusion: In conclusion, these data suggest a LOW-ED dietary approach is an alternative way to lower ED and energy intake in young children at risk for obesity.

Objectives Dietary acculturation consists of adopting food culture after migration to a host country. The purpose of this study was to describe how Mexican-born women perceive factors which contributed to their changes in dietary habits after migrating to the United States (US). Methods Fifteen self-identified Mexican women (41 ± 7 years old) residing in a Southwestern US metropolitan area and who had lived in the US for >1 year participated in semi-structured interviews conducted in Spanish. Interview guides, developed from a constructivist perspective, asked about the US food culture, changes in dietary habits, loss or maintenance of native food culture, and the incorporation of elements of the new food culture. Interview audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed based on pre-established theoretical categories using MAXQDA 2018. Results Half of the participants worked full time (53%) and had a household income of less than $2000/month (53%). When comparing the US food culture to that of Mexico, the majority of participants perceived greater availability and access to fast food (n = 9). Some participants identified feeling pressure for purchasing larger amounts of food to save money (n = 2). Only one participant associated high intake of fresh and nutritious food with the US food culture. Some participants perceived having more competing demands for time, resulting in not having enough time to prepare household meals (n = 3). Women referred to having maintained the consumption of meat, multiple ingredients (e.g., tortillas, limes, chili peppers), and products of Mexican traditional cuisine (n = 15), but having lost flavors (n = 11), commensality (n = 8), ways of preparation (n = 7), food freshness (n = 3) and smells (n = 1). Even though vegetables and trendy-health products were reported as newly incorporated elements in the diet (n = 7), participants also reported the incorporation of frozen (n = 2) and pre-cooked products (n = 2), which they considered are characteristic from the US diet. Conclusions Findings suggest that dietary acculturation among Mexican immigrant women is a complex process. This points to the importance of considering the cultural aspects of diet when designing strategies to improve diet and health for this group. Funding Sources CONACYT, Mexico and Program for Transborder Communities.