Location: Office of The Area Director
2021 Annual Report
Objectives
1. Determine if the association between self-assessed and measured diet quality (based on the Healthy Eating Index) in adolescents is moderated by gender, body mass index, and food related behaviors using the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and associated Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey datasets.
2. Determine if health behavior relationships in families are moderated or mediated by psychosocial constructs related to diet and physical activity, parenting style, and community/neighborhood environments using the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health and Eating Study datasets.
3. Measure the different food environments to which children living in the Lower Mississippi Delta region are exposed.
Approach
1. Associations between self-assessed and measured diet quality will be determined for adolescents 16-19 years of age using the 2 most recent cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). NHANES is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. Self-assessed diet quality will be based upon the Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey item “In general, how healthy is your overall diet?”. Measured diet quality will be computed using dietary intake data collected in the dietary interview component of NHANES, and the Healthy Eating Index, a diet quality scoring system. Moderation analysis will be used to determine if the association between self-assessed and measured diet quality is differentially influenced by gender, body mass index, and food related behaviors.
2. Relationships between adolescent and parent/caregiver dietary and physical activity behavior will be determined using the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health and Eating Study (FLASHE) datasets. FLASHE is a cross-sectional, Internet based survey that was administered to dyads of parents and their adolescent child (aged 12-17 years) in 2014. It was designed to examine lifestyle behaviors, including diet and physical activity, that relate to cancer risk. Dietary behavior, related psychosocial constructs, and community/neighborhood food environment characteristics will be based upon data from the Teen Diet and Parent Diet Surveys which contained a 27-item dietary screener. Physical activity, measured as minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and related psychosocial constructs will be based upon data from the Teen Physical Activity and Parent Physical Activity Surveys. Measures of parenting style will be obtained from the Teen Demographic and Parent Demographic Surveys using the 6 items that pertain to the adolescent/parent(s) relationship. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model will be used to measure the influence that parents have on their adolescent's dietary and physical activity behaviors.
3. Food outlets will be measured using tools designed to assess community nutrition environments. Childcare facilities will be measured using tools designed to assess child nutrition environments specific to such facilities. Geographical analyses will be conducted to determine if patterns of food outlets are clustered, dispersed, or random in the geographic areas of interest. Census tract data will be mapped to explore spatial relationships among food outlets, child care facilities, and population demographic characteristics such as age, race/ethnicity, and poverty status.
Progress Report
Progress was made on Objectives 2 and 3, both of which fall under National Program 107, Prevention of Obesity and Obesity-Related Diseases. No milestones were set for Objective 1 this year. In support of Objective 2, analyses exploring relationships between parent and adolescent physical activity and sedentary behaviors were completed. Additionally, analyses exploring interdependence relationships between dietary intake and food liking in parent-adolescent dyads were completed. Interpretation of these analyses and subsequent reporting of the results were conducted in collaboration with the University of Central Arkansas. The Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health and Eating Study (FLASHE) is a cross-sectional, internet-based survey that was conducted by the National Cancer Institute and administered to dyads of parents and their adolescent children (12-17 years of age). Latent class analysis was used to identify patterns of parent- and child-reported parenting practices regarding physical activity and sedentary behavior. Additionally, actor-partner models were used to determine if interdependence relationships between food intake and food liking existed in parent-adolescent dyads and if relationships were moderated by adolescent age and dyad sex. These efforts have resulted in 3 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, 1 manuscript accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and 3 abstracts presented at national and international conferences. Abstracts were presented virtually due to COVID-19 constraints.
In support of Objective 3, analyses of community food environment data were completed. Interpretation of these analyses and subsequent reporting of results were conducted in collaboration with the University of Central Arkansas. The Delta Produce Sources Study involved the measurement of farmers markets and grocery stores – availability, source (country, state, and town), and price of produce (fresh fruits and vegetables) – in 5 rural Lower Mississippi Delta towns. Data collection began in June 2019 but was halted in March 2020 due to COVID-19 constraints. The Farm to School (F2S) Procurement and Simulation Study was designed to determine amounts of produce purchased by 3 Lower Mississippi Delta school districts during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years and to conduct a simulation analysis to estimate the economic impact of purchasing local. One school district declined to provide data. These efforts have resulted in 1 database published as a data note in a peer-reviewed journal, 2 manuscripts submitted for publication to peer-reviewed journals, 1 abstract presented as a panel discussion at a regional conference, 3 abstracts presented at national conferences, and 1 abstract presented at AgriCulture (postdoc-focused seminar series). Abstracts were presented virtually due to COVID-19 constraints.
Accomplishments
1. Access to fresh fruits and vegetables in rural, Lower Mississippi Delta communities is limited. The southern United States ranks low for health outcomes with Mississippi often noted as the state with the greatest opportunities for change. Improving rural residents’ diets and possibly reducing chronic diseases, like obesity and diabetes, requires access to affordable, healthy food. ARS researchers in Stoneville, Mississippi, with University of Central Arkansas faculty in Conway, Arkansas, measured the availability, source (country, state, and town), and quality of fresh fruits and vegetables sold at farmers’ markets and grocery stores in 5 Lower Mississippi Delta towns. Compared to grocery stores, farmers’ markets had less variety of and generally higher prices for fresh fruits and vegetables, but also had more locally sourced fresh fruits and vegetables. Farmers’ market vendors and grocery store owners can profit from the growing demand for fresh, locally sourced produce by increasing the variety and amount of such produce sold in their rural markets and stores.
2. Parents’ and adolescents’ liking for sugary drinks affects each other’s sugary drink intake. Home settings can affect children’s liking for junk foods and sugary drinks. Home settings are important because U.S. adolescent children often exceed guidelines for added sugars intake, much of which comes from junk food and sugary drinks. ARS researchers in Stoneville, Mississippi, with University of Central Arkansas faculty in Conway, Arkansas, examined data from over 1,600 parent-adolescent pairs from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health and Eating Study and found that stronger liking for sugary drinks led to greater sugary drink intake in both parents and adolescents although the effect was stronger in parents. Further, stronger adolescent liking for sugary drinks led to greater parent intake and stronger parent liking for sugary drinks led to greater adolescent intake. Studies and policies designed to bring about positive dietary changes need to consider the importance of family members’ liking for sugary drinks on their family’s beverage choices.
3. Connecting school food managers with local farmers can lead to more healthful school lunches and boost the local economy. Agriculture is the number one industry in Mississippi, employing about 17% of the workforce on nearly 35,000 farms. Using the agricultural strengths of Mississippi to support farm to school programs may help lower childhood obesity rates in the state. ARS researchers in Stoneville, Mississippi, with University of Central Arkansas faculty in Conway, Arkansas, obtained food purchasing records from two rural school districts located in the Lower Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi and determined that some of the fruits and all the vegetables purchased can be grown in Mississippi. Feeding 500 school children at least one locally grown fruit or vegetable for an entire school year requires over 20,000 pounds of produce. Thus, connecting school food managers with farmers to serve locally grown foods in schools could lead to more healthful school meals and boost the local economy at the same time.
Review Publications
Thomson, J.L., Landry, A.S., Walls, T.I., Goodman, M.H. 2021. Moderation by neighborhood food outlets on relationships between meal sources and diet. American Journal of Health Behavior. 45(2):290-308.
Thomson, J.L., Hennessy, E., Landry, A.S., Goodman, M.H. 2020. Patterns of food parenting practices regarding junk food and sugary drinks among parent-child dyads. Nutrition Journal. 19:91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-020-00610-3.
Thomson, J.L., Landry, A.S., Walls, T.I. 2021. Patterns of physical activity parenting practices among parent-adolescent dyads who participated in a cross-sectional internet-based study. BioMed Central(BMC) Public Health. 21:1265.
