Ana Florencia Moyeda-Carabaza

This cross-sectional study compared factors associated with childhood undernutrition in a pastoral community (PC) and an agro-pastoral community (APC) in Ethiopia. Results showed that APC had lower rates of child wasting and underweight, milder levels of food insecurity, and better environmental sanitation and handwashing practices than PC. In PC, stunting was associated with severe food insecurity (p = .049), while underweight was associated with unimproved sources of drinking water and inadequate practices of purifying drinking water (p < .001). Policies to improve environmental sanitation and food security seem to be protective against child undernutrition.

Objective: To assess the dietary quality and determine the influence of food-away-from-home (FAFH) on dietary quality and weight status among faculty and staff. Participants and methods: Faculty and staff (n = 152) from a public university completed an online Food Frequency Questionnaire. Number of FAFH consumed per week, dietary intakes, dietary quality as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015, and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Results: On average participants consumed FAFH four times per week. FAFH was associated with increased intake of trans-fats (p < 0.05) and reduced HEI scores (p < 0.01). Increased consumption of trans-fats was associated with a high BMI (p < 0.001). Conversely, an increase in the HEI-2015 score was associated with a reduction in BMI (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Results suggest that the consumption of FAFH increased the intake of trans-fats and decreased diet quality, while improvements in diet quality, as measured by the HEI-score, were associated with reduced BMI among faculty and staff.

Objective: To develop a questionnaire to measure food nutrition, food expenditures and time spent in food-related activities; and to assess the association between diet quality, time spent in food-related activities and food expenditures using data from a pilot study. Design: Cross-sectional study. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyse participants’ survey response behaviours and the relationship between food nutritional quality and time and money expenditures. Setting: Online survey using Qualtrics software in a public university located in West Texas, USA. Participants: Faculty and staff aged 18 years and older from a public university located in West Texas, USA Results: Combining questions from three survey instruments that collect data on food nutrition, food expenditures and time spent in food-related activities resulted in a thirty-page survey instrument. The median completion time of the survey instrument was about 30 min. Preliminary results suggest that time and money expenditures are associated with food quality but that their role is small relative to sociodemographic characteristics such as race and gender. Conclusions: Time and money expenditures are associated with food quality but their role is small relative to sociodemographic characteristics such as race and gender.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess diabetes-related factors, such as diabetes knowledge, positive attitudes towards the prevention of diabetes and its complications, self-efficacy for diabetes, dietary intake and level of food security, and to investigate the effects of a diabetes education intervention (DEI) on diabetes-related factors among Mexican-origin Hispanics with or without diabetes in Lubbock, Texas (USA), and Piedras Negras, Coahuila (Mexico). Methods: A one-sample pre–post design was used to evaluate the effect of a 4-week DEI designed using the Nutrition Education DESIGN Procedure, Mexican cultural features and Spanish language. Results: Participants from Piedras Negras, Coahuila had higher rates of food insecurity and a higher consumption of whole grains than those from Lubbock, Texas, while participants from Lubbock, Texas, had higher levels of diabetes knowledge and higher consumption of protein foods than those from Piedras Negras, Coahuila. Thirty-five participants from both locations started and completed the DEI. After the intervention, there was an increase in participants’ scores in diabetes knowledge, positive attitudes towards the prevention of diabetes and self-efficacy for diabetes, and a decrease in their intake of grains and fats. Participants in Piedras Negras, Coahuila had greater improvements in positive attitudes towards the diabetes score than those in Lubbock, Texas. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that a DEI that integrates the use of the Nutrition Education DESIGN Procedure, Mexican cultural features and Spanish language is effective in improving diabetes-related factors and dietary intakes among Mexican-origin Hispanics in both the USA and Mexico.

This qualitative study explored factors associated with causes of food insecurity including cultural factors and coping strategies among rural Hispanic population in west Texas. A sample of 20 participants from low-income households participated. Coding and analysis of the key themes were done by four independent coders. Four overarching themes emerged: (1) food insecurity is a well-kept secret and is a cultural aspect, (2) behavioral and environmental elements are major causes of food insecurity, (3) coping strategies and the price of staying food secure, and (4) strategies for plausible interventions to food insecurity. Positive coping strategies included buying in bulk, buying when items are on sale, and cooking and eating at home, while increasing the volume of food by making food soupy, buying starchy inexpensive food and only eating beans and rice might compromise the nutritional value of the diet. This study underscores the importance of studying the cultural aspect of food to inform interventions addressing food insecurity.

Maternal and child health (MCH) consists of an interdependent reproductive system that collectively determines the survival of the mother during childbirth, and determines the health and survival of the child. This interdependency underscores the importance of appropriate and timely interventions during pregnancy through the first 1000 d at the minimum. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) recommended the use of the continuum of care for the development of interventions by addressing all the stages of MCH. The purpose of the present paper is to review the factors that contributed to the attainment of the MDG 4 and MDG 5 by analysing the interventions conducted by the countries that achieved at least 50 and 55 %, respectively, and determine the level of their intervention based on the MCH conceptual framework. Out of the eighteen selected countries discussed, fifteen countries achieved their target for either MDG 4 or MDG 5 or both, while three countries did not achieve their target. The countries that were more likely to achieve their targets addressed the societal, underlying and direct causes, and implemented country wide policies. In contrast, the countries that did not succeed were more likely to address the direct causes with poor policy implementation. Understanding the motivation and limitations of the target population, including nutrition education and targeting behaviour change has the potential to result in sustainable MCH. This information has the potential to enlighten the policymakers as we progress to the sustainable development goals, specifically goals 2 and 3.