Browsing by Subject "Food insecurity"
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Item Barriers to food access and food security among seniors and the association between hypertension and dietary intake patterns in post-menopausal, African American women(2015-08) Oemichen, MeganAlthough much research has been conducted on the health status of older individuals, few studies have addressed how health status is influenced by factors such as food security, food access, and food choice among the population of older adults. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to investigate food choice and the barriers to adequate food security and food access among seniors, and observe associations between dietary intake, supplement intake, and hypertension among post-menopausal, African American women. Focus groups and food frequency questionnaires were used for this project to better understand the factors that affect dietary behaviors in older adults. Results from this project delineate the influencers of food choice among seniors and explain the association between dietary intake and hypertension for younger and older women. Further, insight is provided for future research and nutrition interventions that may have a beneficial impact on these populations such as implementing an intervention to reduce prevalence of hypertension by increasing supplement intake or creating a survey that could be used at congregate dining sites to improve meal selection.Item The Effect of Household Members' Language Use and English Ability on SNAP Participation Decision(2018-05) Park, DojinThe participation rate of non-citizen households eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is much lower than the average participation rate of all eligible households. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this thesis explores the effect of household members' language use and English proficiency on their SNAP participation decision by estimating panel data econometric models. The main finding is that households whose members speak English at home are 5.1% more likely to participate in SNAP. The result implies that non-native households may have difficulties in applying for SNAP because of higher transaction costs of application. Therefore, policies targeted to reduce transaction costs facing non-native households would likely help increase their SNAP participation, which may lead to less food insecurity. However, the results also show that the effect of household members' English proficiency on their SNAP participation is not statistically significant. Since this result could be due to the limitations of the data, it would be worthwhile to conduct future research using more reliable measurement of English proficiency such as a well-designed test score.Item Essays in Food Security in Latin America and the United States(2018-11) Bohorquez-Penuela, CamiloThis dissertation comprises three essays related with the problem of food insecurity (i.e., lack of access to enough and varied food required by households for their daily activities) in middle and high-income countries. The first chapter, "Subsidized Health Care and Food Insecurity: Evidence from Colombia", suggests that participation in a public-funded health care insurance for the poor is associated with a reduction on the probability of being food insecure. This result principally holds for rural households. The second chapter, "The Effects of Rising Staple Prices on Food Insecurity: The Case of Tortilla in Mexico" provides evidence on how increases in the price of tortilla, the most important staple in the country, is related with higher household food insecurity rates in Mexican states. Moreover, these price surges are more relevant when they take place in grocery stores---that sell low-quality tortillas---rather than locally-owned, small-scale tortillerias, specialized in selling freshly-made tortillas. The third chapter, "Food Price Fluctuations and Household Food Insecurity in the United States, 2005-2010" studies the association between food prices and household food insecurity in this country, showing that the price of grain and dairy-based products has the greatest association with higher food insecurity rates among American households during the Great Recession.Item How Does Nutrition Education Affect the Level of Food Insecurity in Low-Income Families?(2010) Karlsrud, Shari; Hyman, Randy; Rauschenfels, DianeAccording to the USDA, the Food and Nutrition Service oversees the administration of 15 nutrition assistance programs that touch the lives of one in four Americans over the course of a year. The largest program, SNAP, puts healthy food on the table for more than 38 million people it serves each month, half of whom are children. It is important to discover the affects that nutrition education has on the food insecurity of low-income families and to reach more individuals with the information and training. Confidential one-on-one interviews coupled with a group discussion of ten low-income individuals were administered through a qualitative research process. Four main themes developed upon analysis of the data; Food Insecurity, Home Environment, Nutrition Education, Money and Resources. The results of the study were analyzed to determine if Nutrition Education does affect the food insecurity of low-income families and individuals.Item Utilizing family systems theory to understand adolescent disordered eating behaviors: exploring the implications of triadic family discord(2014-05) Wickel, KatharineDisordered eating behaviors--both unhealthy weight control behaviors and binge eating--are prevalent among adolescents within the United States. Previous literature has relied on single report methodologies to measure adolescents' perspectives of factors associated with disordered eating behaviors, overlooking perspectives of key family members who may add a more complete picture of factors contributing to adolescent disordered eating behaviors. The current study utilizes data from Projects EAT and F-EAT, enabling analysis of adolescent, mother, and father reporting about aspects of the home environment (i.e., family functioning, encouragement of dieting, food insecurity, and support for physical activity) in relation to adolescent disordered eating behaviors. The main objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of concordance and discordance among adolescents, mothers and fathers on home environment factors, and to examine the relationship between concordance/discordance on home environment factors and adolescent disordered eating behaviors. Results, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.