Objective: The present study evaluated the restaurant and dining venues on and near post-secondar... more Objective: The present study evaluated the restaurant and dining venues on and near post-secondary campuses varying in institution size. Design: The Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R) was modified to evaluate restaurants as fast food, sit down and fast casual; and campus dining venues as dining halls, student unions and snack bar/cafés. ANOVA with post hoc Tukey's B and T tests were used to distinguish differences between dining venues and associated institutions by size. Setting: The study was conducted at fifteen US post-secondary institutions, 2009-2011. Subjects: Data presented are from a sample of 175 restaurants and sixty-eight on-campus dining venues. Results: There were minimal differences in dining halls by institution size, although medium-sized institutions as compared with small-sized institutions offered significantly more healthful side dish/salad bar items. Dining halls scored significantly higher than student unions or snack bar/cafés on healthful entrées, side dish/salad bar and beverages offerings, but they also had the most barriers to healthful dietary habits (i.e. all-you-can-eat). No differences were found by restaurant type for NEMS-R scores for total restaurant dining environment or healthful entrées and barriers. Snack bars had more healthful side dishes (P 5 0?002) and fast-food restaurants had the highest level of facilitators (i.e. nutrition information; P 5 0?002). Conclusions: Based on this evaluation in fifteen institutions, the full campus dining environment provides limited support for healthy eating and obesity prevention. The quality of campus dining environments can be improved via healthful offerings, providing nutrition information and other supports to facilitate healthy eating and prevent unwanted weight gain.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2010
Learning Outcome: The learner will identify factors that may contribute to the development of zin... more Learning Outcome: The learner will identify factors that may contribute to the development of zinc deficiency.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2010
Learning Outcome: The learner will identify factors that may contribute to the development of zin... more Learning Outcome: The learner will identify factors that may contribute to the development of zinc deficiency.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2010
Learning Outcome: To understand the current nutritional contribution of avocadoes in the diet of ... more Learning Outcome: To understand the current nutritional contribution of avocadoes in the diet of U. S. adults.
This study assessed the nutritional quality of snacks and beverages sold in vending machines. The... more This study assessed the nutritional quality of snacks and beverages sold in vending machines. The contents of snack and beverage vending machines in 78 buildings on 11 US post-secondary education campuses were surveyed. Of the 2607 snack machine slots surveyed, the most common snacks vended were salty snacks (e.g., chips, pretzels) and sweets (i.e., candy and candy bars). The 1650 beverage machine slots assessed contained twice as many sugar-sweetened beverages as non-calorie-containing beverages. Only two institutions sold both milk and 100% juice in vending machines. The portion of snacks and beverages sold averaged more than 200 cal. Neither snacks nor beverages were nutrient dense. The majority of snacks were low in fiber and high in calories and fat and almost half were high in sugar. Most beverages were high in calories and sugar. This study's findings suggest that vending machines provide limited healthful choices. Findings from benchmark assessments of components of the food environment, like the vending options reported here, can provide valuable input to campus administrators, health services, food service, and students who want to establish campus policies to promote healthful eating.
... A 24-hour dietary recall was collected at the MEC by trained dietary interviewers using the U... more ... A 24-hour dietary recall was collected at the MEC by trained dietary interviewers using the USDA Automated Multiple Pass Method. ... For this study, physical activity level was categorized using a modification of the method used by the National Health Interview Survey. ...
ABSTRACT Purpose – Recruiting college students for research studies can be challenging. The purpo... more ABSTRACT Purpose – Recruiting college students for research studies can be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to describe the lessons learned in the various recruitment strategies used for enrolling college students in a theory-based, tailored, and web-delivered health intervention at 13 US universities. Design/methodology/approach – The community-based participatory research (CBPR) model was used to develop a staged-tailored, web-based, randomized control trial, focussing on eating behavior, physical activity, and stress management. Participant feedback during baseline assessments was used to evaluate recruitment strategies. Findings – Findings from this feedback suggest that traditional recruitment strategies, such as newspaper ads and flyers, may not be the best approach for recruiting college students; instead, web-based efforts proved to be a better recruitment strategy. Research limitations/implications – This project included results from 13 US universities and thus may not be generalizable: more research is needed to determine successful recruitment methods for 18-24 years old college students. Originality/value – This paper lessens the gap regarding successful recruitment strategies for 18-24 years old college students.
ABSTRACT To assess the effectiveness of the implementation of face-to-face curriculum sessions fo... more ABSTRACT To assess the effectiveness of the implementation of face-to-face curriculum sessions focused on culinary competence, family mealtime and physical activity for youth-adult dyads.
A web-based component was developed to support a cooking intervention implemented through Extensi... more A web-based component was developed to support a cooking intervention implemented through Extension programming in 5 states. The intervention was pilot-tested with dyads (n=61) of youth (9–10 years old) and adults. Six lessons included content on family mealtime and communication, physical activity, and goal setting. Youth received cameras and were asked to create videos on the lessons for the website which was also designed for interaction with other participants and goal setting. Based on process evaluation, 75% of youth reported making videos but only 48% reported posting videos. Barriers to posting videos included slow Internet speed at home, lack of time and forgetfulness. While 65% of youth reported intent to set goals to increase fruits, vegetables and physical activity, goal setting on the website was completed only 38 times. Youth need support built into program structure to follow through with intentions. Although Internet access has been identified as increasingly availab...
An online process evaluation tool was used to enhance quality control during a 5-state childhood ... more An online process evaluation tool was used to enhance quality control during a 5-state childhood obesity prevention pilot study. Family dyads (n=61; youth aged 9–10 and their primary adult food preparer) participated in 6-biweekly lessons to promote four priority areas (culinary skills; family meals; physical activity; food and activity goal setting). After each lesson, dyads completed online surveys, which were reviewed by researchers and lesson leaders for program improvement. Based on parent reporting on priority area goals, from earlier to later in the program, increased percentages were seen for number of biweekly family meals (82% to 88%), cooking with their children (35% to 57%) and decreased percentage for being active as a family (49% to 39%). Over the program, youth identified cooking (75%) and tasting (62%) as learning experiences compared to practicing communication at mealtime (29%). Online process evaluation facilitated researchers’ monitoring and responsiveness to mul...
The objective was to develop a curriculum to increase culinary competence, family mealtime and ph... more The objective was to develop a curriculum to increase culinary competence, family mealtime and physical activity of youth and adults using community-based participatory research, integrating research and Extension through 4-H programming. A 5-state team adapted two existing 4-H curricula, Fast Foods and Youth in Motion, used additional resources to address food safety, family mealtime, and MyPlate, and grounded the curriculum in the Social Cognitive Theory and experiential 4-H learning model. The result was, iCook 4-H, consisting of six, 2-hour lessons and was packaged into leader and participant binders, including guides, handouts, activities and recipes for each lesson. MyPlate placemats were developed for youth with activities on the back to reinforce lesson objectives. Curriculum training webinars were held with lesson leaders and state PIs, allowing for open forum discussions prior to lessons; phone conferences occurred between lessons for process evaluation. Content and activi...
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Papers by Sarah Colby