Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are important sources of nutrients for healthy growth and development of young children. Recent evidence suggests that sack lunches packed by parents for children to consume at childcare centers do not regularly meet the goal of one serving of fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Lunch is in the Bag is a childcare center-based nutrition education program targeted to parents of preschool-age children to increase the number of servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains in sack lunches sent from home that was pilot tested in fall of 2008. In a quasi-experimental design, six childcare centers were paired by size before being randomly assigned to intervention (n=3) and comparison (n=3) groups. The parents of caregivers with primary responsibility for preparing the sack lunches of the three to five year old children attending the centers were enrolled as parent-child dyads. The intervention included parent handouts, classroom activities, educational stations and teacher training. The contents of the lunch sacks for both the intervention group and comparison group were recorded for three non-consecutive days before and immediately after the intervention period to measure the number of servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A total of 132 parent-child dyads completed the study, 81 in the intervention group and 51 in the comparison group. Direct observation of children’s lunches from the intervention group showed an increase in predicted mean number of servings of vegetables, from 0.41 to 0.65 (P < 0.001) and whole grains, from 0.54 to 1.06 (P < 0.001). No significant difference was observed in the mean number of servings of fruit. Lunch is in the Bag which is designed to fit in the childcare environment and targets parents of three to five year old children is a feasible intervention for improving the nutritional quality of sack lunches.
Background: Thyroid disorders are worldwide common endocrine disorders. These disorders are frequently under-diagnosed. In general, lack of knowledge and understanding of thyroid disorder effects can lead patients to go undiagnosed. This study aims to figure out the level of the general knowledge about thyroid disease manifestations, risk factors, and preventive behaviors among the general population. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 882 participants in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia from July 2020 to October 2020, and were selected randomly. The representative sample included Saudi and non-Saudi males and females of different age groups (18-60 years). Result: The overall mean knowledge score was 8.67 (SD 3.69) with 44.7%, 41.2%, and 14.2% were classified into low, average, and high knowledge, respectively. In the comparison of mean knowledge score among the socio-demographic profiles and previous history of thyroid disease, the current study shows that being a female, living in Al Ahsa, being a student, those with a previous history of thyroid disease, family history of the disease, and those who underwent thyroid gland examination were significantly more associated with having better knowledge toward thyroid diseases. Conclusion: Nearly, half of the studied sample has low awareness scores regarding thyroid disease manifestations and its risk factors. The health authorities should hold more successful health education methods to improve the public and their caregivers' awareness of the various aspects of thyroid disorders and the value of their early detection and adequate control.
Background Packing fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in preschool children’s sack lunches is a powerful way for parents to teach their children eating habits and food preferences to support a lifetime of good health. A multilevel intervention pilot-tested in childcare settings increased servings of vegetables and whole grains, but the lunches still fell short of the intervention goals. Purpose Secondary analyses were conducted to identify specific behavior changes underlying achieved increases in servings of vegetables and whole grains. Methods Food records from direct observation of 769 parent-packed lunches were investigated to unbundle and measure multiple aspects of lunch packing behavior. Changes from baseline to six week follow-up for the intervention (N=81) and comparison (N=51) parent-child dyads were evaluated in multilevel modeling. Results The increase for whole grains was explained by more parents packing whole grain items whereas increase for vegetables was explained by parents packing vegetables on more days. Discussion Tailored options were identified for further strategies to increase vegetables and whole grains in parent-packed sack lunches. Translation to Health Education Practice Linking achieved outcomes to specific behaviors can be an aid in assessing needs and designing interventions to maximize the chances for success.
WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:Many preschool-aged children carry a sack lunch to child care centers that is packed by their parent. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:These results provide initial data on how frequently sack lunches sent by parents of preschool-aged children are kept at unsafe temperatures. abstract OBJECTIVE: To measure the temperatures of foods in sack lunches of preschool-aged children before consumption at child care centers. METHODS:All parents of 3-to 5-year-old children in full-time child care at 9 central Texas centers were invited to participate in the study. Foods packed by the parents for lunch were individually removed from the sack and immediately measured with noncontact temperature guns 1.5 hours before food was served to the children. Type of food and number of ice packs in the lunch sack were also recorded. Descriptive analyses were conducted by using SPSS 13.0 for Windows. RESULTS:Lunches, with at least 1 perishable item in each, were assessed from 235 parent-child dyads. Approximately 39% (n ϭ 276) of the 705 lunches analyzed had no ice packs, 45.1% (n ϭ 318) had 1 ice pack, and 88.2% (n ϭ 622) of lunches were at ambient temperatures. Only 1.6% (n ϭ 22) of perishable items (n ϭ 1361) were in the safe temperature zone. Even with multiple ice packs, the majority of lunch items (Ͼ90%) were at unsafe temperatures. CONCLUSIONS:These results provide initial data on how frequently sack lunches sent by parents of preschool-aged children are kept at unsafe temperatures. Education of parents and the public must be focused on methods of packing lunches that allow the food to remain in the safe temperature zone to prevent foodborne illness.
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