The influence of frequent consumption of foods-away-from-home on the total diet quality and weight status among faculty and staff.

Objective: To assess the dietary quality and determine the influence of food-away-from-home (FAFH) on dietary quality and weight status among faculty and staff. Participants and methods: Faculty and staff (n = 152) from a public university completed an online Food Frequency Questionnaire. Number of FAFH consumed per week, dietary intakes, dietary quality as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015, and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Results: On average participants consumed FAFH four times per week. FAFH was associated with increased intake of trans-fats (p < 0.05) and reduced HEI scores (p < 0.01). Increased consumption of trans-fats was associated with a high BMI (p < 0.001). Conversely, an increase in the HEI-2015 score was associated with a reduction in BMI (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Results suggest that the consumption of FAFH increased the intake of trans-fats and decreased diet quality, while improvements in diet quality, as measured by the HEI-score, were associated with reduced BMI among faculty and staff.

The effect of time use and food cost on dietary quality.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a questionnaire to measure food nutrition, food expenditures and time spent in food-related activities; and to assess the association between diet quality, time spent in food-related activities and food expenditures using data from a pilot study. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyse participants' survey response behaviours and the relationship between food nutritional quality and time and money expenditures. SETTING: Online survey using Qualtrics software in a public university located in West Texas, USA. PARTICIPANTS: Faculty and staff aged 18 years and older from a public university located in West Texas, USA. RESULTS: Combining questions from three survey instruments that collect data on food nutrition, food expenditures and time spent in food-related activities resulted in a thirty-page survey instrument. The median completion time of the survey instrument was about 30 min. Preliminary results suggest that time and money expenditures are associated with food quality but that their role is small relative to sociodemographic characteristics such as race and gender. CONCLUSIONS: Time and money expenditures are associated with food quality but their role is small relative to sociodemographic characteristics such as race and gender.

Factors that contribute to effective online nutrition education interventions: a systematic review.

CONTEXT: The use of the internet and technology as a medium for delivering online nutrition education (ONE) has increased; however, evidence-based studies exploring factors that contribute to best practices in online interventions have not emerged. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this systematic review was to identify factors that contributed to successful ONE interventions in relation to research studies published between 2009 and 2018. DATA SOURCES: Following the PRISMA guidelines, relevant studies were identified through PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases. DATA EXTRACTION: Five authors screened and determined the quality of the studies using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system and extracted the data from the articles. DATA ANALYSIS: Twenty-seven studies were included: 21 studies were website-based, 3 were delivered through smartphone application, 2 were delivered as online courses, and 1 used text messages. Tailored messages/feedback, interaction between participants and investigators, identification of specific behaviors, use theory, adequate duration, and alignment between stated objectives and activities were factors that contributed to successful online interventions, while comparison bias and the lack of specific details on duration and dosage, tracking system, objective outcome measurements, and follow-up were factors that may have interfered with successful ONE interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the importance of developing ONE intervention designs that utilize factors unique to online platforms for effective interventions aimed at behavior change.