Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Members of the target audience included undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellows interested in prevention of childhood obesity, interdisciplinary researchers in nutritional sciences, human development, community health, social work, kinesiology, and public health interested in the prevention of childhood obesity, parents of young children interested in the prevention of childhood obesity, and Extension educators interested in healthy eating practices and the prevention of childhood obesity. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project has actively supported postdoctoral fellows throughout the project. These fellows received professional training in oral presentations, supervision of undergraduate and graduate students, and grantsmanship. Two of the fellows have received NIFA/AFRI postdoctoral awards. Two of the fellows are now Assistant Professors with research programs in healthy eating. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We are actively working with eXtension to develop modules on common mealtime challenges and how to handle them in the home and child care settings. One of the former postdocs is working on web-based materials for parents to make USDA materials on healthy eating more accessible. A current postdoctoral fellow is working with eXtension on materials for positive feeding practices in child care settings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Three multidisciplinary teams have been developed that address childhood obesity and promote healthy eating. The STRONG Kids team includes investigators from Human Development and Family Studies, Human Nutrition and Food Sciences, Kinesiology and Community Health, Extension, and Social Work. Expertise ranges from human genetics, microbiomes, attachment, family mealtimes and family processes, health literacy, and access to healthy foods. This team of investigators has published 11 manuscripts in peer review articles in three years and has been successful in obtaining grants from the Dairy Research Institute, Gerber Foundation, and USDA NIFA. The Food Insecurity team includes investigators from Agricultural and Consumer Economics, Economics, Human Development and Family Science and the Institute for Policy and Government Relations. This team is examining healthy eating practices in food insecure households. Five manuscripts are in preparation. The team has received funding from Feeding America, Walmart Foundation and USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Awards. The Illinois Childhood Activity team includes 12 investigators across Human Development and Family Studies, Human Nutrition and Food Sciences, Kinesiology and Community Health, Extension,Social Work, and Computer Engineering. This team has support from the National Cancer Institute and is preparing a white paper on reliable assessment of physical activity of preschool age children in their natural environments. As part of these collaborative efforts a series of public service announcements have been developed addressing common mealtime challenges. The Mealtime Minutes initiative has reached over 100 million households.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Jones, B.L., Fiese, B.H. and the STRONG Kids Research Team. Parent routines, child routines, and family demographics associated with obesity in parents and preschool-aged children. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1- 10. doi:10.33839.2014.00374.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bost, K., Wiley, A., Fiese, B., Hammons, A., McBride, B. and the STRONG Kids Team. Associations between adult attachment style, emotion regulation, and preschool children's food consumption. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 35, 50-61.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Musaad, S.M.A., Paige, K.N., Teran-Garcia, M., Donovan, S., Fiese, B.H. and the STRONG Kids Research Team. Childhood overweight/obesity and pediatric asthma: The role of parental perception and child weight status. Nutrients, 5, 3713-3729.
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Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Scientists in family social science, human development, human nutrition, and applied family work with a focus on child health and wellbeing. Graduate and undergraduate students in training with an interest in child health and wellbeign. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Postdoctoral associates and graduate students working on these projects have received training in video recording of family mealtimes in natural and laboratory settings, collecting ambulatory psychophysiological data from mutliple family members during a single session, collection of biometric data, and analysis of complex data sets both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? 1. Complete data analysis on psychophysiolgical reactivity to chaos during meals using an experimental paradigm. 2. Prepare manuscripts for publication. 3. Disseminate materials to public about health benefits of family meals.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1- We have establisehd a highly productive multidisciplinary team (human development, nutritional sciences, family science, agricultural economics, community health) that has been successful in obtaining external funds to conduct additiional research on the interaction between the biological functioning of the child and the family food environment. 2- The applied research program is now funded by NIFA as a Higher Education Challenge grant which will distributed nationally in three years. There has been a significant uptick in peer reviewed journal articles from this team in the past year going from five manuscripts published or under review in one year to currently fifteeen manuscripts either in press, under review or in preparation. Invited national presentations aimed at dissemination of findings from the multidisciplinary team include: Fiese, B. H. (February, 2012). Key family predictors of child health outcomes. The Science of Research on Families. The Improvement of Family Measurement in Large Scale Studies. Institute of Medicine National Research Council. National Academies, Washington D.C. Fiese, B. H. (June, 2012). Promoting healthy eating and lifestyles for children and their families. Invited Plenary. Head Start’s 11th National Research Conference. Washington D.C. Fiese, B. H. (August, 2012). Genes, gossip and groceries: A contextual risk approach to childhood obesity. Presidential Panel: Addressing Obesity and Health Disparities in The Nation’s Children. American Psychological Association Annual Convention. Orlando, FL. Fiese, B. H. (October, 2012). Childhood obesity: From the family table to public policy. Plenary. National Council on Family Relations. Phoenix, AZ. Fiese, B. H. (February, 2013). Parenting in a changing world: Thinking about parents and childhood obesity prevention. Keynote Speaker. Institute of Medicine. Washington D.C. Fiese, B. H. (August, 2013). The Science and Politics of Family Mealtimes. The Society of Family Psychology Presidential Address. American Psychological Association. Honolulu, HI.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Fiese, B. H. and The STRONG Kids Team. Context matters in pediatric psychology: Commentary on innovative treatment and prevention programs for pediatric overweight and obesity, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 38, 1037-1043. Doi.10.10.93/jpepsy/jst069.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Dev, D., McBride, B., Fiese, B. H., Jones, B. L., Cho, H. and the STRONG Kids Team. Risk factors for overweight/obesity in preschool children in childcare: An ecological approach. Childhood Obesity, 9, 399-408. doi:10.1089/chi.2012.0150.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Fiese, B. H., Bost, K. K., McBride, B. A. and Donovan, S. M. Childhood obesity prevention from cell to society. Science & Society, Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 24, 375-377.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Fiese, B. H., Hammons, A. and Grigsby-Toussaint, D. Family mealtimes: A contextual approach to understanding childhood obesity. Economics and Human Biology, 10, 365-374.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Fiese, B. H. and Jones, B. L. Food and family: A socio-ecological perspective for child development. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 307-337.
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: 1. Completed observational study of 60 families during mealtimes and collected biobehavioral data on all members of each family. All the video records have been coded for social interaction. The biobehavioral data is now being reduced for analysis. 2. Conducted in-depth interviews with 76 parents who experienced food insecurity sometime within the past year. 3. Conducted longitudinal survey study of 200 families experiencing food insecurity over the period of one year. 4. Completed mealtime home observations of ethnically diverse families who participate in WIC. 5. Provided mentorship to two postdoctoral fellows. Events. 1. Invited Key Note Speaker at National Head Start Research Conference - Topic - Raising Healthy Children. 2. Invited Key Note Speaker National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference - Topic - Family Mealtimes and Childhood Obesity. 3. Invited Speaker - Feeding America National Conference - Topic - Evaluation of the BackPack Program. Products. Two curriculum developed for undergraduates in transdisciplinary approaches in childhood obesity and food security. Dissemination. 1. Tips for trying new foods were distributed to approximately 100 families of preschool age children at the Urbana Farmer's market. 2. The ABCDE's of healthy eating was distributed to approximately 250 participants at the National Council on Family Relations. 3. Mealtime Minute on Sibling Conflict was viewed in markets of over 14 million. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals. Barbara H. Fiese, Principal Investigator. LaTesha Washington, Graduate Research Assitant. Blake Jones, Postdoctoral Fellow. 2. Partner Organizations. Eastern Illinois Food Bank, Feeding America, Illinois Action for Children, Champaign Unit 4 Schools, Urbana District #116, 21 elementary schools in the Eastern Illinois region, CU Public Health, Champaign County Head Start, Market at the Square/Sprouts, CU-FIT Families (70 partner organizations). Commerical: Surface 51, The Pampered Chef, Ltd. 3. Collaborators, Craig Gundersen, Ph.D., Marianne Fitzgibbon, Ph.D. 4. Training or professonal development. Trained 22 undergraduate students in transdisciplinary courses in obesity prevention or food security. Trained them in research methods, field based research and biometric data collection, team work, and professional development. Participated in community childhood hunger symposium and national Feeding America workshop. Supervised two postdoctoral fellows on obesity prevention and transdisciplinary research skills. TARGET AUDIENCES: Early care providers, parents of preschool age and elementary age children, children between three and eight years of age, food bank supervisors and agencies serving low income families, and undergraduate students prepared to work in human development, nutritional sciences, and affiliated agriculutural sciences. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Change in Knowledge. 1. Evaluation of the weekend feeding program indicates: a) school personnel adquately select children most likely to go hungry over the weekend, b) weekend feeding programs may have a small but significant effect on school attendance on Fridays (day of food distribution), c)weekend feeding programs may have a small but significant food security at program initiation but most families remain food insecure throughout the year, d) most families who participate in weekend feeding programs also experience problems with transportation which would make a school based pantry program inaccessible for many families, e) many families who are food insecure experience poor health and poor quality of life. Family mealtime social interactions did not vary significantly by ethnicity for communcation patterns. However, African American families tended to spend more time in "activities" that took them away from the table such as talking on the cell phone and watching television.
Publications
- Fiese, B.H., Hammons, A. and Grigsby-Toussaint, D. 2012. Family mealtimes: A contextual approach to understanding childhood obesity. Economics and Human Biology, 10, 365-374.
- Fiese, B.H. and Jones, B.L. 2012. Food and family: A socio-ecological perspective for child development. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 307-337.
- Fiese, B.H. 2012. Family mealtime conversations in context. Journal Nutrition Education and Behavior, 44, e1.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities. 1. Conducting laboratory-based study using an experimental design to test the effects of environmental noise on food consumption, psychophysiological reactivity, social interaction, and stress in families with 5-12 year old children. 2. Conducted in-depth interviews of 20 school personnel who administer a weekend-feeding program aimed at reducing food insecurity in elementary school-age children. 3. Conducted longitudinal case-control study of over 200 children and their families enrolled in weekend feeding program to test program effects on school attendance, family climate, and reducing food insecurity. 4. Conducted home observations of 4-5 year old children and their families during mealtimes to examine relation with BMI, food consumption and parenting practices. 5. Provided mentorship to two postdoctoral fellows engaged in obesity prevention work. 6. Provided mentorship to graduate student in human development focused on food insecurity. Events 1. Organized symposia on food insecurity at Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development 2. Presented evaluation model to Feeding America BackPack Laboratory meeting. 3. Sponsored Transdisciplinary Approaches to Childhood Obesity Workshop at the Family Resiliency Center. Attended by 50 faculty, health professionals and community members. Workshop resulted in five key areas to focus on linking community and university to advance obesity prevention in the area. Follow up activities including planning for 2012 Let's Move Child Care event. Products 1. Developed undergraduate transdisciplinary curriculum on "Food and Family" addressing food insecurity, public policy and food concerns, and feeding practices in child care settings. Dissemination 1. ABC's of healthy eating and active living distributed to families with young children at farmer's market. Children participated in taste testing based on the "new plate". Distributed the ABCDE's of healthy eating prepared by Fiese and the American Psychological Association. 2. Policy Brief on Consequences of Childhood Hunger prepared in conjunction with the Society for Research in Child Development (see Outcomes). Brief was distributed to every member of the U.S. Congress and interested parties identified by the Office of Communication and Policy at the Society for Research in Child Development Washington, D.C. Office. 3. Presented invited Keynote address at Illinois Spring into Action annual event- Take Charge of Healthy Eating in Child Care. Over 200 child care providers and policy makers attended the event. PARTICIPANTS: 1. Individuals. Barbara Fiese, Principal Investigator. LaTesha Washington. Graduate Research Assistant. 2. Partner Organizations. Eastern Illinois Food Bank, Feeding America, National Food Service Management Institute, Illinois Action for Children, Voices for Illinois Children, Champaign Unit 4 Schools, Urbana District #116, Danville Community Schools, 18 elementary schools in the eastern Illinois region, CU Public Health Department, Champaign County Head Start, Market at the Square/Sprouts at the Market, CU-FIT Families (70 partner organizations). Commercial: Surface 51, Carle Foundation Hospital, The Pampered Chef, Ltd., Provena Covenant Foundation. 3. Collaborators. Craig Gundersen, Ph.D. 4. Training or professional development. Enrolled 36 undergraduate students in 2011 in research-based field study course focusing on food insecurity issues. Enrolled 46 undergraduate students in 2011 in research-based field study course focusing on childhood obesity. Students received research training in obesity prevention or food insecurity as well as professional development in active listening, teamwork, resume development, and policy non-profit basics. Participated in community Hunger Symposium to provide overview of food insecurity to local community. Conducted day-long workshop on childhood obesity to campus researchers and community collaborators. Presented keynote address to early care and education providers on obesity prevention in early care and education settings. Supervised graduate student in master's thesis focusing on food insecurity and evaluation of weekend feeding program. Supervised two postdoctoral fellows on childhood obesity prevention work. TARGET AUDIENCES: Elementary school staff and administrators in schools participating in the BackPack Program. Early child care providers and educators. Parents and families with young children. Food banks, pantries, and agencies working with food insecure clients. Food banks that operate a BackPack program. Policy makers working on issues of food insecurity and childhood obesity. Undergraduate students enrolled in HDFS 494. Members of CU-FIT Families (over 70 organizations working to prevent childhood obesity) Researchers on the UIUC campus and other campuses across the United States and internationally working on food insecurity and childhood obesity. General public interested in food insecurity and childhood obesity issues. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Change in Knowledge 1. In depth interviews with school personnel administering a weekend feeding program revealed several predominant themes: a) need for additional food resources due to the recent recession; b) overall disruptions in the family home that can lead to food insecurity (e.g., domestic violence, relationship instability); c) difficulties managing household finances as a symptom of food insecurity; d) emotional, physical and academic consequences to children who experience hunger as directly observed by school personnel; e) flexibility of weekend feeding programs to serve a variety of children beyond income based programs; f) the creation of an "ethos of care" in schools that participate in weekend feeding programs; g)social responsibility to feed all children. Contrary to previous reports, children who participate in the feeding program and who were identified as likely to be hungry over the weekend were not considered as stigmatized by participating in the program. Indeed, participation in the program was perceived as a special treat. 2. Child fruit and vegetable consumption was demonstrated to be positively associated with family mealtime routines. Child sweetened beverage consumption and french fry consumption was demonstrated to be negatively related to family mealtime routines. Families participating in WIC and SNAP had children at greater risk for energy dense food consumption. However, if families practices regular mealtime routines (e.g., planning ahead, assigning roles, eating regularly together), children in WIC and SNAP households were less likely to eat energy dense foods (French Fries, sweetened beverages) and more likely to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
Publications
- Fiese, B.H., Gundersen, C., Koester, B. and Washington, L. 2011. Household food insecurity: Serious concerns for child development. Society for Research in Child Development Social Policy Report. Volume 25, No. 3.
- Hammons, A. and Fiese, B.H. 2011. Is frequency of shared family meals related to the nutritional health of children and adolescents? A meta-analysis. Pediatrics, E1565-E1574, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-1440.
- Fiese, B.H. 2011. Family mealtime conversations in context. Journal Nutrition Education and Behavior (In Press).
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: 1) We have created an interdisciplinary team to examine the biological pathways that link social interaction during family mealtimes and child health outcomes. The team members include experts in the field of psychophysiology, child development, family health, and computer engineering. An experimental design has been developed to test the effects of environmental chaos on psycho-physiological reactivity and health outcomes for the entire family. 2) We have created an external advisory board for the Family Resiliency Center composed of experts familiar with large and complex projects, the use of mixed methods, and in the evaluation of and procurement of federal and foundational grants. 3) We have established productive relationships with the Urbana Farmer's Market where materials about healthy eating during early childhood have been disseminated. We have established a relationship with Illinois Action for Children, a statewide organization dedicated to the health and wellbeing of young children and early care providers. We have conducted workshops at the local and state level focusing on healthy eating practices for young children and their early care providers. 4) We have established a productive relationship with the Eastern Illinois Food Bank and area public school systems to conduct an evaluation of the BackPack Program. This evaluation will include dissemination to the public about effects of weekend feeding programs on reducing hunger and promoting shared family mealtimes. We participated in the annual Hunger Symposium sponsored by the Eastern Illinois Food Bank that focused on childhood hunger. We also participated in a local television interview dedicated to childhood and household hunger. 5) We have conducted home observations of families with preschool age children during family mealtimes. This is a satellite project tied to a large longitudinal panel survey of 425 families. The home observations provide direct evidence of family interactions tied to healthy eating habits and healthy weight trajectories during early childhood. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: PI: Barbara H. Fiese, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Family Resiliency Center and Amber Hammons, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow, Family Resiliency Center LaTesha Washington, Graduate Research Assistant, Human and Community Development. Partner Organizations: Eastern Illinois Food Bank, Champaign Public Schools, Urbana Public Schools, Urbana Farmers Market, Action for Illinois Children, and the Child Care Resource and Referral Service. Collaborators and Contacts: Craig Gundersen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Consumer and Agricultural Economics; Brian Quick, Ph.D., Communications; Kelly Bost, Ph.D., Human and Community Development; Glenn Roismann, Ph.D., Department of Psychology; Karrie Karahalios, Ph.D., Computer Engineering; and Brenda Koester, M.S., Family Resiliency Center. Training and Professional Development: Postdoctoral training provided to Dr. Amber Hammons. Graduate student mentoring provided to LaTesha Washington who is completing her Master's thesis associated with the BackPack evaluation project. A team of 13 undergraduate students participate in the Food and Family course. This interdisciplinary offering focuses on connecting food and family in positive ways with attention to research, practice, and policy. Students are engaged in projects addressing food insecurity, nutrition education for early care providers, improving access to CACFP, coding mealtime video recordings, and developing social media materials for parents on healthy mealtime practices. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target Audiences: Early care providers, parents of preschool age children, families experiencing food insecurity, school personnel administering weekend feeding programs, low income families, ethnic minority families, racial minority families, and families living in small urban and rural environments. Efforts: Formal classroom instruction to undergraduate students, field activities in early care sites, field experience in CACFP programs, home visits in low income neighborhoods, development of social media materials, dissemination in local farmer's markets, and public engagement in forums supported by food banks. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Based on the recent surge in food insecurity in households with young children, we have added food insecurity as a central topic to our interdisciplinary efforts. This allows us to address a food and family issue of national concern, develop a new interdisciplinary team, and establish partnerships with non-profit organizations and school systems. This has developed into a highly productive project and we expect to report several publications in the next progress report. We have reduced our efforts towards cooking classes at this time given the added time demands of pursuing evaluation of the weekend feeding program and attention to issues surrounding food insecurity.
Impacts
Change in knowledge 1) Drawing from archival datasets, essential behaviors during family mealtimes have been identified that are linked to children's health and wellbeing. The prominent behaviors include: regular and predictable mealtimes, open and direct communication, assignment of roles during meals, and the ability to complete the meal in an orderly and calm manner. These core elements have been replicated in observational studies as well as two meta-analyses of the literature. 2) Citizens have become more aware about the incidence and prevalence of childhood food insecurity. Citizens have become more aware of the differences between food insecurity and hunger. Citizens have become more aware of the complex causes and consequences of childhood food insecurity. Change in actions 1) Dissemination of "Eat a Rainbow" materials at the Urbana Farmer's market resulted in preschool age children trying new fruits and vegetables. By following a map of different tasting stations throughout the market, young children were able to taste tomatoes, red bell pepper, apples, and broccoli. At the end of the tasting circuit they received a small vegetable "beanie baby" and were asked about their favorite vegetable. Many of the parents remarked that their children tried something new and it made their trip to the market more enjoyable. Change in conditions: 1) The principal investigator was an invited member of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Science of Research on Families. The final report from this committee will make a significant contribution to the field of family science in providing direction for interdisciplinary research methods and training.
Publications
- Fiese, B.H., Winter, M.A. and Botti, J.C. 2011. The ABC's of family mealtimes: Observational lessons for promoting health outcomes for children with persistent asthma. Child Development (In Press).
- Hammons, A. and Fiese, B.H. 2010. Family mealtimes and children with cystic fibrosis: A meta-analysis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis (In Press).
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