Background: Media literacy skills are needed to navigate high levels of food marketing promoting the consumption of unhealthy foods. Health-promoting media literacy education encourages children to use analytical skills to critically examine media messages in order to make informed health choices. Objective: To evaluate the influence of media…

Introduction: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a cluster of emotional, and physical symptoms PMDD is a more serious and severe premenstrual condition that affects about 5% of women during their reproductive years. Although PMDD, like PMS, may include physical symptoms, it always involves a worsening of mood that interferes significantly…

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation's first nutrition education program and remains at the forefront of educational efforts to reduce nutrition insecurity of low-income families and youth today. Funded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), EFNEP supports program participants' efforts…

This dissertation aimed at examining the predictors of HPV vaccination intentions of college students in a Kenyan university and those in a Midwest university in the United States of America (USA). Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the dissertation investigated the most salient factors that predict the vaccination intentions of college…

Background: We have demonstrated previously that patterns of behavioral adherence in the first 6 months of behavioral lifestyle interventions were associated with significant weight loss at 18 months. In this article, we extend this work to examine patterns of behavioral adherence over 18 months and to explore baseline demographic and psychosocial…

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of teacher encouragement on elementary school student vegetable snack consumption. Methods: Twelve Wisconsin elementary school teachers were randomly assigned different levels of encouragement procedures during vegetable snack time. The consumption levels of 218 students…

An in-depth understanding of the citizen's perception and behavior is needed for the development of targeted public policies and interventions that can successfully encourage people to shift their dietary patterns and contribute to the prevention of non-communicable diseases. The present work aimed to identify barriers and facilitators for the…

Men are underrepresented in weight loss programs and little is currently known about the weight loss strategies men prefer. This study describes the weight loss strategies used by men during a men-only weight loss program. At baseline, 3 months, and 6 months, participants reported how frequently they used 45 weight loss strategies including…

Studies indicate that female dance students are more preoccupied with weight, eating habits, and body image than girls in the general population and are in greater danger of developing eating disorders. In this study, questionnaires were distributed to 90 females aged 15-30; 47 dancers or former dancers and 43 non-dancers. Consistent with prior…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs serve youth from diverse demographic backgrounds. OST programs, whose informal settings provide opportunities for experiential learning, can address this problem by implementing nutrition and food-preparation programming to improve participants' dietary knowledge and behaviors. In this article, the authors…

Canadian post-secondary students are vulnerable to food insecurity, yet lack of examination of this issue has prevented identification of policy and program solutions. This mixed-methods study aimed to characterize the experience of food insecurity among undergraduate students by eliciting barriers to food security, strategies used to manage food…

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Americans. Rural African American (AA) adults are disproportionately affected by CVD--a disease whose risk can be mitigated by a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Living in Victory Everyday…

Diet and physical activity are behavioral risk factors for many chronic diseases, which are among the most common health conditions in the United States. Yet most Americans fall short of meeting established dietary and physical activity guidelines. Faith-based organizations as settings for health promotion interventions can affect members at…

Background: College students are at risk of the "freshman 15," consisting of weight gain during their university studies. Stress has been linked with unhealthy dietary intake and weight in adults in the general literature. Little is known about the key patterns of dietary intake, eating behaviors, and physical activity in relation to…

Nicaragua has a high rate of food insecurity determined by factors such as, poverty, employment, education, social capital and climate change. Home gardening and nutrition education can decrease food insecurity and improve community health. There is a need to evaluate garden-based nutrition education to determine its effectiveness in improving…