Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

Interview: Lead investigator Megan P. Mueller, PhD, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, discusses a new study examining how food choice values of parents impact their children's eating behaviors in restaurants. Focused on low-income families who are regular restaurant-goers, the study provides important insights into how family dining choices are shaped by parental food values, with convenience and taste often influencing decisions over nutrition. Implications for public health interventions are explored.

Interview: Albert Pan, BSPH, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses a new study that revealed significant gaps and disparities in school meal charge policies across the US that negatively impact children and families struggling to pay. Equity in nutrition access is needed. Providing no-cost school meals to all students has numerous benefits beyond preventing student meal debt, such as improved food security, diet quality, academic performance, and attendance.

Interview: Alexandra L. MacMillan Uribe, PhD, RDN, Texas A&M Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture, highlights a new study that found meals from a community café had significantly higher diet quality than meals eaten elsewhere, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index. Investigations like these are crucial for developing effective strategies to promote healthier eating habits in vulnerable populations through community-based food programs like community cafés.

Interview: Lead author Sheila Fleischhacker, PhD, JD, RDN, Georgetown University, discusses the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior position paper that proposes a multifaceted approach to enhance emergency-related food and nutrition education across all phases of disaster management. These recommendations collectively aim to bolster disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by embedding food and nutrition considerations within research, policy, and practice before, during, and after the event.

Interview: Noelene K. Jeffers, PhD, CNM, IBCLC, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, highlights the need for inclusive care to support and educate parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities with infant feeding through WIC. Dr. Jeffers discusses a new study that found that WIC can address disparities by offering inclusive and accessible support and counseling. Formally educating and training WIC staff to offer care that is respectful and responsive to the needs of disabled parents is crucial.

Interview: A survey of close to 500 US firefighters collected qualitative and quantitative data on their cancer history and perceptions of nutrition's role in cancer prevention. Led by Ashlea Braun, PhD, RD, TSET Health Promotion Research Center, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the study showed that firefighters want individualized support to address their specific risks and help implement changes with the most significant potential to lower that risk.

Interview: A survey of 1,110 parents, guardians and caregivers led by Monica D. Zuercher, PhD, MS, Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, found that more positive parental perceptions about school meals and their benefits to families were associated with greater student meal participation. Working to ensure parents are familiar with the healthfulness and quality of school meals and the efforts schools are making to provide high-quality, appealing meals may be critical for increasing school meal participation rates.

Interview: Suzanna M. Martinez, PhD, MS, University of California San Francisco, highlights a new study that illustrates how challenging SNAP rules are for college students and those involved in their implementation. The research supports simplifying the student SNAP process to increase participation for eligible students, especially for historically minoritized racial and ethnic groups and low-income students for whom equitable access to SNAP benefits is critical.

Interview: How can parents and kids work together to reduce household food waste? Amar Laila, PhD, University of Guelph, discusses the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a new pilot study of Weeknight Supper Savers, a whole-family food literacy intervention that teaches how to prepare, store, and eat leftovers. The tool successfully encouraged families to prepare meals together and reduced food waste.

Interview: Christine St. Pierre, MPH, RD, presents the results of a new study to determine the impact on dietary behaviors on current and former elementary school students who participated in FRESHFARM FoodPrints' school-based gardening and food education classes over the past 15 years. Analysis revealed how this early learning positively influenced food decisions as children grew older, extending into adulthood.

Interview: Christine St. Pierre, MPH, RD, presents the results of a new study to determine the impact on dietary behaviors on current and former elementary school students who participated in FRESHFARM FoodPrints' school-based gardening and food education classes over the past 15 years. Analysis revealed how this early learning positively influenced food decisions as children grew older, extending into adulthood.

Interview: Ginnefer O. Cox, PhD, RD, University of Georgia, talks about the key role peer educators of nutrition education programs play when developing and testing new recipes to help individuals make nutrition-related decisions. This new research details an underexplored testing method that can effectively evaluate recipes in the community nutrition setting without formal testing at a central location.

Interview: Kathy Hu and Alyssa M. Button, PhD, discuss findings that showed adolescents with poor adherence to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and associated cardiometabolic risk factors continued these same patterns over the two years of the study, suggesting that the adverse effects of a poor-quality diet had already established the health risks these teenagers will face throughout life.

Interview: Meg Bruening, PhD, MPH, RD, presents this position paper that sheds light on the critical issue of food insecurity among college students. It emphasizes the importance of a systemic approach and the active involvement of students in advocating for their right to food and contributing to healthier diets for both individuals and the planet. Food and nutrition education is undoubtedly one powerful tool to drive this transformation.

Interview: Andrea Begley, DrPH, School of Population Health, Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, details the results of a new study that found that Foodbank Western Australia's Food Sensations for Adults (FSA) food literacy program is effective in producing positive changes across a range of food literacy and dietary behaviors in participants ages 18 and older. The results are pertinent to government policymakers in decision-making for evidence-based public health investment.

Interview: Dara Lyn LoBuono, PhD, RD, assistant professor in health and exercise science at Rowan University, talks about how to better deliver information on medical nutrition therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The findings of a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior show digital health serves as an additional health service resource, which increases the healthcare provider's abilities to collect current visual and objective data, thereby decreasing patient and caregiver burden and medical expenses.

Interview: Lead investigator Katherine W. Bauer, PhD, highlights a new study among SNAP and WIC recipients. While households participating in multiple programs have increased food-specific purchasing power, those with both programs tend to consume higher amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages (even young children) than those participating in just one or no program. Insights can promote food security and improve diet quality, while maintaining personal choice for participants.

Interview: Lead investigator Erin McCrossan, PhD, reports the results of a new study that finds building relationships between SNAP-Ed implementers and school staff is key to increasing motivation and capacity to implement nutrition education programming within the school. SNAP-Ed implementers can play an active role in cultivating readiness, potentially impacting the schools most in need.

Interview: Lead author Noora Kanerva, PhD, discusses an in-depth study that revealed how improvements in Kenya's economic status are linked to increasingly unhealthy dietary patterns in Kenyan youth, particularly preadolescents in Nairobi City. Dietary habits are changing from traditional staple foods toward refined grains, especially in urban environments.

Interview: Corresponding author Catherine E. Sanders, PhD, discusses the results of CDC's High Obesity Program implemented in five rural southern counties by the University of Georgia. Researchers identify the challenges of and solutions for addressing healthy eating and physical activity practices in communities where those practices counter cultural norms.

Interview: Lead researcher Sarah A. Stotz, PhD, MS, RDN, CDCES, from the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, discusses a new study that explores the many roles played by nutrition educators in providing participant-centered education supporting nutrition incentive and food security programs.

Interview: Lead researcher Sarah A. Stotz, PhD, MS, RDN, CDCES, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health, Colorado School of Public Health, shares the results of a successful culturally adapted, online diabetes nutrition education program for AI/AN adults based on the ADA's What Can I Eat? Healthy Choices for American Indians and Alaska Natives with Type 2 Diabetes (WCIE).

Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics by Marion Nestle reviewed by Dr. Jennifer Wilkins, Cornell University.

Interview: Discrimination against people with higher weight is sometimes viewed as an acceptable form of negative bias. Susan Persky, PhD, talks about a new study that found that increasing education about the role of genetics in eating behavior may help alleviate weight stigma by reducing the extent to which individuals are blamed for their weight.

Quick recap of the review of The Vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health by Dr. Kritika Gupta, Center for Research Evaluation, the University of Mississippi, reviews.

Interview: Consumers are confused by whole grain food labeling. Katrina R. Kissock, PhD, APD, School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, talks about a new study that shows that whole-grain food consumption is impacted by consumer skepticism and lack of labeling standard.

Interview: Lead investigator Andrea McGowan, MPH, discusses a new study that shows mothers' recall of early childhood feeding guidance from health care providers is inconsistent. For example, less than half of mothers surveyed remembered advice to limit kids' use of electronic devices during meals.

Quick recap of the review of Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness with Dr. Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos

Quick recap of the review of Evidence-Based Nutrition and Clinical Evidence of Bioactive Foods in Human Health and Disease with Nicole Turner-Ravana

Interview: Lead author Joanna Klosowska, MSc, Ghent University, discusses a new study focusing on adolescent vulnerability to emotional eating and how various feeding practices used by parents, such as restriction, food as reward, and child involvement, influence eating behavior.

Quick recap of the review of Medical Nutrition Therapy: A Case Based Approach with Dr. Kathy Kolasa.

Quick recap of the review of Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism with Dr. Maya Maroto.

Interview: Lead investigator Christine H. Naya, MPH, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, reports on the results of a new study that looked at how children's unhealthy food choices, especially over weekends, are related to emotion.

Quick recap of the review of "Simply Plant Based; fabulous food for a healthy life" with Geb Bastian, PhD Candidate, RDN, Rutgers University.

Interview: Lead author Suzanna M. Martinez, MS, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, discusses the impact of the availability of campus food pantries on students at 10 University of California campuses. Results show how their use of a campus food pantry can positively affect their physical health, mental health and lead to improvements in sleep

Quick recap of the review of How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America with Dr. Chris Cooper, Pace University.

Interview: Co-author Sara B. Police, PhD, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, talks about obesity in the US military and how it impacts national security by limiting the number of available recruits, decreasing re-enlistment candidacy, and potentially reducing mission readiness.

A quick summary of the New Resource Sustainable Food Processing and Engineering Challenges. For the full review see this issue.

Interview: Amy Saxe-Custack, PhD, MPH, RD, Michigan State University-Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, reports on the benefits of a virtual cooking/nutrition program on cooking self-efficacy and nutrition knowledge. The program, Flint Families Cook, was developed by a team of local dietitians, chefs, and researchers. This article is the latest addition to the GEM (Great Educational Material) collection.

Sara Elnakib, PhD, MPH, RDN, Department of Family and Community Health Sciences at Rutgers University does a quick recap of her review of Food Waste Recovery: Processing Technologies, Industrial Techniques, and Applications. For the full review see this issue.

Chelsea Allison, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Exercise Science, Springfield College does a quick recap of her review of Nutrition for Sport and Exercise. For the full review see this issue.

Nicole Turner-Ravana, MS, founder of Strategic Nutrition Communications, does a quick recap of her review of Probiotic Beverages. For the full review see this issue.

Interview: Emily Altman, MPH, discusses a new study that points to an association between how a diverse group of fourth to eighth grade students feels about themselves and their discomfort with the process of being weighed in school independent of the number on the scale.

Shirley quickly summarizes the New Resource, Community Nutrition in Action. For the full written review see the New Resources collection.

Shirley quickly summarizes the New Resource, Foodborne Infections and Intoxications. For the full written review see the New Resources collection.

Interview: Urban dwelling American Indian and Alaska Native older adults face multiple layers of challenges related to social determinants of health that present barriers to healthy eating. Lead author Sarah A. Stotz, PhD, MS, RDN, CDE, discusses a new study that illustrates how the social and cultural value placed on sharing and supporting one another within these communities can help improve healthy food access for these older adults.

Shirley quickly summarizes the New Resource, Social Determinants of Health: A Comparative Approach. For the full written review see the New Resources collection.

Shirley quickly summarizes the New Resource, Health Disparities in the United States: Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, and the Social Determinants of Health. For the full written review see the New Resources collection.

Interview: Lead author Pamela Rothpletz-Puglia, EdD, RD, discusses the new Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior position paper on the detrimental effects of diets favoring “kids' food” on children's preferences and tastes, and how nutrition educators play key roles in shifting consumer demand and social norms about food choices.

Interview: Lead investigator Brenda Manzanarez, MS, RD, discusses a pilot program that demonstrated how children with autism can benefit from group-based weight management. Children aged 7−12 years with autism and their parents participated in the Kids N Fitness© program developed at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Shirley quickly summarizes the New Resource, Probiotics and Prebiotics in Foods: Challenges, Innovations, and Advances. For the full written review see the New Resources collection.