Open Educational Resource Textbook Impact on Students in an Introductory Nutrition Course.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if student outcomes, usage, perceptions, and engagement differ between introductory nutrition courses that used an open educational resource (OER) textbook compared with a traditional textbook. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: College introductory nutrition course. PARTICIPANTS: Students enrolled in introductory nutrition courses that used a traditional textbook or an OER textbook. INTERVENTION: Implementation of an OER textbook in all introductory nutrition courses during 1 semester. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Usage, perceptions, and engagement with the textbook were evaluated by an online survey. Student outcome data (eg, grades) were collected from the learning management system at the end of the semester. ANALYSIS: Differences in student outcomes, usage, perceptions, and engagement were determined by t tests. Open-ended responses on textbook likes and dislikes were evaluated by thematic analysis. RESULTS: The number of students who completed the introductory nutrition course with a traditional textbook (n = 346) was higher than those who completed the course with an OER textbook (n = 311). There was no difference in student outcomes between textbooks. P values for student usage ranged from <.001 to .001, <.001 for engagement, and <.001 to .001 for perception with the OER textbook, with significantly better P values for outcomes than those with the traditional textbook. The $0 cost and place-based nature were noted as positive attributes of the OER textbook, whereas students appreciated the format and visual appeal of the traditional textbook. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Academic performance in introductory nutrition was not affected by an OER textbook. An OER textbook for introductory nutrition may be an appropriate solution for institutions seeking to reduce student costs.

The impact of an elementary after-school nutrition and physical activity program on children's fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and body mass index: Fun 5.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the impact of the Fun 5 program on fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) percentile of overweight and obese children in Hawai'i's A+ After-School Program. METHODS: Children in 4th - 6th grades (n=119, 55% female) from six randomly selected schools participated in this longitudinal study. Time 1 (T1) measures were taken October 2007 and time 2 (T2) measures April 2008. Height and weight along with a self-report survey were used to measure fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and BMI. RESULTS: The "at risk" population, defined as fruit and vegetable intake <5 servings per day (n=30), physical activity <300 minutes per week (n=78), or Body Mass Index >85th percentile (n=48) at T1, showed a significant increase in fruit and vegetable intake, from 2.97 (± 1.16) servings per day at T1 to 5.60 (± 3.93) servings per day at T2 (P=<0.01) and physical activity, from 125.26 (± 76.03) minutes per week of physical activity at T1 to 222.18 (± 180.90) minutes per week at T2 (P=<0.01) and no change in Body Mass Index. CONCLUSION: The Fun 5 program had an impact on improving fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity on the at risk population.

Suppression of exercise-induced neutrophilia and lymphopenia in athletes by cystine/theanine intake: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Intense exercise induces increased blood neutrophil counts and decreased lymphocyte counts, and leads to inflammation and immunosuppression. It was previously reported that cystine and theanine (CT) supplementation by long-distance runners before a training camp suppressed the changes of these blood parameters observed in un-supplemented control subjects after the camp. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of CT supplementation on the inflammatory response and immune state before and after intense endurance exercise in long-distance runners at a training camp. METHODS: Sixteen long-distance runners were allocated to one of two groups given CT supplements (700 mg cystine + 280 mg theanine daily) or placebo (8 in each group) for 7 days prior to and during a 9-day training camp. Daily run training averaged 19.9 km/day prior to the camp and 28.6 km/day during the camp. On the initial and final days of the camp, blood samples were collected before and after 15 km morning interval running workouts (1000 m x 15 times) and analyzed for neutrophil and lymphocyte counts and myoglobin. RESULTS: The relative change in exercise-induced blood neutrophil count (% of pre-exercise values) was significantly lower in the CT group than in the placebo group (163.3 +/- 43.2% vs. 200.4 +/- 19.6%, p = 0.044) on the initial day of camp, but not on the last day. The decline in lymphocyte count (% of pre-exercise values) was significantly less in the CT group than in the placebo group (60.2 +/- 19.2% vs. 36.2 +/- 12.0%, p = 0.010) on the initial day of camp, but not on the last day. In blood myoglobin, there was a trend toward lower % of pre-exercise values in the CT group (p < 0.09) on both measurement days. CONCLUSION: CT supplementation significantly attenuated the increase in neutrophil count and the reduction in lymphocyte count induced by intense endurance exercise. These results suggest that CT supplementation may suppress the exercise-induced fluctuation of the blood immunocompetent cells and may help to reduce the alteration of the immune state.

Calcium intake of Asian and Caucasian adolescents in Hawaii.

The purpose of this study was to assess calcium intake of Asian and Caucasian adolescents in Hawaii, food and beverage sources of calcium, and key factors influencing calcium intake. Data were gathered in a cross-sectional survey of 51 adolescents and included two 24-hour recalls per person. Mean calcium intakes were below the U.S. Dietary Reference Intake's Adequate Intake level for calcium; still, they were higher than nationally reported calcium intakes of this age group. Although ethnic differences in dietary calcium intake were not seen between the Asian and Caucasian/Other group, the sample size may not be large enough to demonstrate a difference. Asians in Hawaii consumed more calcium than in previous studies. Caucasian/Other group consumed more non-fat milk than the Asian adolescent group. The Caucasian/Other group and the higher socio-economic group consumed more calcium from dietary supplements than Asians and the lower-socioeconomic group. A higher calcium intake was found on the weekday in comparison with the weekend (Sunday), which was largely due to calcium intake from school meals.