Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health

Master of Public Health


August 24, 2012

Comparing food desert and non-food desert residents by key socio-demographic variables, distance to supermarkets, supermarket type by price, diet quality and obesity in King Co, WA

The causes of obesity are multi-factorial; however, decreased access to healthy and affordable foods has emerged as an important factor. Areas where access to healthy and affordable foods is limited are known as food deserts. Although the definition of food deserts has evolved since the term was coined in the early 1990s, it is currently...

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What’s on the menu? An evaluation of the foods served in Federally-subsidized child care homes

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)provides federal funds for meals and snacks served to children and adults in licensed day care facilities. At the request of the USDA, the Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) reviewed the CACFP meal patterns and...

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June 15, 2012

Effects of differentially sweetened beverages on hepatic and adipose tissue de novo lipogenesis in healthy young adults

Added sugars from sweetened beverages contribute a substantial number of calories to the American diet with numerous associated negative health effects. There is a need to evaluate the different effects of fructose, glucose, and aspartame on healthy young adult metabolism to better understand the etiology of obesity and obesity-associated diseases. This study aims to evaluate...

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Fast-food consumption and the fast-food environment

Nearly one-third of Americans are obese, and two thirds are overweight. While sedentary lifestyles are part of the cause, a diet of processed foods, such as fast-food, also shares much of the blame. Fast-food restaurant exposure has been positively correlated with higher BMI and lower socioeconomic status. However, there is a lack of causal evidence...

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April 30, 2012

Washington State Dept. of Agriculture Farm-to-School Project

This project was completed in the course NUTR 531: Public Health Nutrition.

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March 23, 2012

Area-level measures of deprivation predict food patterns among 7th grade students in Washington State

Studies find that disparities exist between socioeconomic status and markers of diet quality among school-aged children. Only a few studies have examined food consumption at school and away from school for the specific purpose of uncovering the links between food patterns and the child’s socioeconomic environment. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine...

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The effects of high- and low-glycemic load diets on subjective mood and energy levels in normal weight and overweight/obese adults

Emerging evidence suggests a positive association of diet and obesity with depression. Researchers have examined several diet-mood hypotheses, including investigating the extent to which carbohydrates may impact mood. There is limited research, however, on how glycemic load, a characteristic of carbohydrates, impacts mood in healthy adults. The purpose of the present study was to measure...

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October 30, 2011

Teaching Traditional Diet and Environmental Justice to Urban Youth Participating in the Native Youth Enrichment Program’s Digital Storytelling Workshop

The mission at the University of Washington’s Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI) is to marshal community, tribal, academic, and governmental resources toward innovative, culture-centered interdisciplinary, collaborative social and behavioral research and education. Within IWRI, the Native Youth Enrichment Program (NYEP) is a culturally based program intended to promote Native youth in science, technology, engineering, and...

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Adding a Sodium-Reduction Component to the Energize Your Meetings Program

Energize Your Meetings (EYM) is a program created by the Washington State Department of Health to provide voluntary guidelines for caterers and meeting planning staff to provide healthy food options and to encourage physical activity at worksite meetings. The program provides guidelines based on a 5-star rating system, with 5-star choices being the most healthy....

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Hematological Testing Rates at Public Health Seattle

This project at Public Health Seattle-King County WIC Clinics included a review of current policies for screening children for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia (IDA). The hematological testing policies reviewed included those from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Association of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine, the Federal WIC program, the...

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