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ABSTRACT: Objective: To investigate the impact of eating frequency on dietary intake, physical activity (PA), metabolic, and adiposity measures in minority youth. Design and Methods: This analysis included 185 overweight (≥85(th) BMI percentile) Hispanic and African American youth (8-18 years) with the following cross-sectional measures: height, weight, BMI, dietary intake, body composition, metabolic parameters, PA, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Each eating occasion (EO) was defined as ≥50 calories and ≥15 minutes from any previous EO. Participants were dichotomized based on EOs per 24-h into meal skippers <3 EO (MS; n=27) or normal/frequent eaters ≥3 EO (NFE; n=158). ANCOVAs were used to assess dietary intakes, metabolic outcomes, adiposity, and PA between eating frequency groups. Results: MS compared to NFE consumed 24% fewer calories per 24-h (p≤0.01), 21% more calories per EO (p≤0.01), ate 40% less often (p≤0.01), had 18% higher triglycerides (p=0.03), and 26% more VAT (p=0.03), with no differences in PA. Conclusions: Although meal skipping was associated with decreased energy intake, it was linked to increased calories per EO and higher triglycerides and VAT, which are strong indicators of deleterious metabolic profiles. These findings elucidate that meal skipping may be associated with increased VAT and related metabolic diseases in high-risk minority youth.
Obesity 04/2013; · 4.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Garden-based approaches to nutrition education may be effective for improving nutrition habits in adolescents. A quasi-experimental, garden-based intervention for Latino youth (LA Sprouts) was piloted and assessed for its influence on behavior associated with dietary intake and psychosocial factors. Study participants were 104 predominately Latino fourth and fifth grade students in Los Angeles (mean age, 9.8±0.7 years; n=70 control subjects, n=34 LA Sprouts participants); more than half (n=61, 59.8%) were overweight or obese (body mass index ≥85th percentile). LA Sprouts participants received an intervention of weekly 90-minute culturally tailored, interactive classes for 12 consecutive weeks at a community garden during the spring of 2010; control participants received an abbreviated delayed intervention. Questionnaire data were obtained before and after the intervention. Compared with control subjects, LA Sprouts participants had an increased preference for vegetables overall, increased preferences for three target fruits and vegetables, as well as improved perceptions that "vegetables from the garden taste better than vegetables from the store." In the overweight/obese subgroup (n=61), LA Sprouts participants had a 16% greater increase in their preference for vegetables compared with control subjects (P=0.009). Results from this pilot study suggest that a cooking, nutrition, and gardening after-school program in a garden-based setting can improve attitudes and preferences for fruits and vegetables in Latino youth, which may lead to improved nutritional habits and dietary intake and reduced health disparities.
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 04/2012; 112(6):913-20.
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ABSTRACT: Evidence demonstrates that a gardening and nutrition intervention improves dietary intake in children, although no study has evaluated the effect of this type of intervention on obesity measures. The objective of this pilot study was to develop and test the effects of a 12-week, after-school gardening, nutrition, and cooking program (called LA Sprouts) on dietary intake and obesity risk in Latino fourth- and fifth-grade students in Los Angeles, CA. One hundred four primarily Latino children (mean age 9.8±0.7 years), 52% boys and 59% overweight, completed the program (n=70 controls, n=34 LA Sprouts participants). Weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat (via bioelectrical impendence), blood pressure, and dietary intake (via food frequency screener) were obtained at baseline and postintervention. LA Sprouts participants received weekly 90-minute, culturally tailored, interactive classes for 12 consecutive weeks during spring 2010 at a nearby community garden, whereas control participants received an abbreviated delayed intervention. Compared to subjects in the control group, LA Sprouts participants had increased dietary fiber intake (+22% vs -12%; P=0.04) and decreased diastolic blood pressure (-5% vs -3%; P=0.04). For the overweight subsample, LA Sprouts participants had a significant change in dietary fiber intake (0% vs -29%; P=0.01), reduction in body mass index (-1% vs +1%; P=0.04) and less weight gain (+1% vs +4%; P=0.03) compared to those in the control group. We conclude that a gardening, nutrition, and cooking intervention is a promising approach to improve dietary intake and attenuate weight gain in Latino children, particularly in those who are overweight.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association 08/2011; 111(8):1224-30. · 3.59 Impact Factor
