Description of the home food environment in Black, White, Hmong, Latino, Native American and Somali homes with 5-7-year-old children.

OBJECTIVE: To categorize the home food environment and dietary intake of young children (5-7 years old) from racially/ethnically diverse households using objectively collected data. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: In-home observations in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. SUBJECTS: Families with 5-7-year-old children who identified as Black, White, Hmong, Latino, Native American or Somali. RESULTS: There were many significant differences by race/ethnicity for child dietary intake and for the home food environment, with specific patterns emerging by race/ethnicity. For example, Somali children had high Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) scores, but low daily intakes of fruits and vegetables. Black children had low HEI-2010 scores and a pattern of low intake of healthful foods and high intake of unhealthful foods. White and Latino families had high levels of both healthful and unhealthful home food availability and children with high HEI-2010 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that the home food environment of young children varies across racial/ethnic group. Study findings also provide new information regarding the home food environment of young children in previously understudied racial/ethnic groups and indicate that interventions working to improve the home food environment and dietary intake of children may want to consider race/ethnicity.

The Impact of Trained Volunteer Mealtime Assistants on Dietary Intake and Satisfaction with Mealtime Care in Adult Hospital Inpatients: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is common in hospital inpatients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Insufficient assistance at mealtimes can contribute to this and therefore trained volunteer mealtime assistants may be of benefit. OBJECTIVES: To identify and review the current evidence for the impact of trained volunteer mealtime assistants on dietary intake and satisfaction with mealtime care in adult hospital inpatients. METHODS: A systematic search of Medline, Embase and CINAHL was conducted to identify relevant articles. Articles of any methodology were considered. Quality assessment and data extraction were carried out by two reviewers independently. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were inpatients in a hospital setting, including rehabilitation units. Participants in long term care facilities were excluded. INTERVENTION: Articles that examined the effect of trained volunteer mealtime assistants on nutritional outcomes or satisfaction with mealtime care were included. RESULTS: 5576 articles were identified, of which 14 were included in the review. Nine were small research studies and five were quality improvement initiatives. The quality of eight studies was moderate, with one study being of lower quality. Eight articles reported dietary intake and seven demonstrated an improvement, with protein intakes at volunteer mealtimes increasing by 4.3g-10.1g and energy intakes by 44-105kcal. Ten articles reported positive staff, patient and volunteer feedback. No adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION: There is evidence from small studies and improvement projects that trained volunteer mealtime assistants are safe and improve satisfaction with mealtime care in hospital inpatients, although evidence for an effect on dietary intake was less consistent. Larger studies with robust methodology are required to confirm this.

Avaliação de momentos de refeição em creches / Assessment of meal times in kindergarten

New criteria of quality control of kindergarten children's feeding have been proposed. The purpose of the present study was to assess feeding aspects in children in the kindergarten based on these criteria, such as length of meals, interval between meals and the amount and behavior of adults during these times. Meal times were observed for three non-consecutive days, in three kindergartens in São Paulo City. The results of adult behavior were compared to the guidelines of the American Dietetic Association. Regardless of the working hours, the interval between the afternoon snack and dinner was short, of approximately 2 hours, in the three kindergartens. Most of the times, during the meals there was an adequate number of adults, which was not sufficient to assure pleasant conversation between adults and children, the incentive of intake of new foods or the accomplishment of a nutrition educational work with the children. We suggest, therefore, the adoption of new criteria to assess the feeding quality in the kindergarten, which may contribute to the formation of healthy feeding habits

Nuevos criterios de calidad en relación a la alimentación de pre escolares en guarderías infantiles han sido recientemente formulados. Elobjetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la alimentación de niños en las guarderías con foco en estos criterios, observando los tiempos de duración delas comidas y el intervalo entre ellas, el número de adultos que acompaña las comidas así como su comportamiento durante esos momentos. Con este propósito fueron observadas las comidas ofrecidas durante 3 días no consecutivos, en 3guarderías infantiles ubicadas en el município de São Paulo ­ Brasil. Se registraron los horários y la duración de las comidas, el número de adultos presentes y su comportamiento en relación a la alimentación infantil. Los resultados fueron comparados con las recomendaciones de la American Dietetic Association para comportamiento de adultos durante comidas en guarderías infantiles. Se verificó intervalos pequeños, de cerca de 2 horas, entre la merenda de la tarde y la cena, en las 3 guarderías,independiente de su horario de atención. Durante las comidas, la mayoría de las veces, había un número adecuado de adultos, pero se observaba una interacción verbal agradable entre adultos y niños. No había en los adultos una actitud de incentivar en los niños el consumo de nuevos alimentos realizando un trabajo de educación nutricional que hoy en día se sabe, es fundamental para la formación de hábitos alimentares saludables. Se sugiere la adopción de nuevos criterios para evaluación de la calidad dela alimentación en guarderías infantiles estimulando la adopción de estos criterios que son importantes para la formación de hábitos alimentares saludables desde la infancia

Novos critérios de qualidade em relação à alimentação de crianças em creches têm sido recentemente propostos. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar aspectos relacionados à alimentação de crianças em creches, baseados nestes critérios, tais como a duração das refeições, intervalos entre as mesmas e o número e comportamento de adultos no acompanhamento destes momentos. Foram observadas refeições oferecidas durante 3 dias não consecutivos, em 3 creches localizadas no município de São Paulo. Foram registrados os horários e duração das mesmas, número de adultos presentes e seu comportamento em relação à alimentação infantil. Os resultados foram comparados às recomendações da American Dietetic Association que estabelece referência para o comportamento de adultos durante refeições em creches. Verificou-se intervalos pequenos, de cerca de 2 horas, entre o lanche da tarde e o jantar, nas 3 creches, independente do horário de funcionamento das mesmas. Nos momentos de refeição houve, na maioria das vezes, um número adequado de adultos, mas isto não se mostrou suficiente para assegurar uma convivência agradável entre adultos e crianças, incentivo ao consumo de alimentos novos ou a realização de um trabalho de educação nutricional com as crianças. Sugere-se a adoção de novos critérios para a avaliação da qualidade da alimentação em creches, de tal forma, que os modelos passam contribuir para a formação de hábitos alimentares saudáveis