Food Nutrition IA Nataliya Reid

FOOD NUTRITION AND HEALTH
CAPE UNIT 1
INTERNAL ASSESSEMENT
Candidate name: Nataliya Reid
Teacher: Mrs. P. Thompson Walker
Candidate number: 100066
Territory: Jamaica
Year: 2021-2022
Investigating the impact of home and neighbourhood food environment on the dietary choices
among teens in a rural community in St. James.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title Page number
Title page 3
Acknowledgement 4
Introduction 5-6
Problem Statement 7
Literature review 8-10
Methodology 11
Presentation and discussion of data/result 12-13
Discussion 14-16
Conclusion and Recommendation 17
References 18
Questionnaire 19-22
2
TITLE PAGE
By
Nataliya Reid
Teacher: Mrs. P Thompson Walker
3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank everyone who assisted me in completing this internal assessment. First,
I must acknowledge the good Lord for giving me the guidance and knowledge to complete
this internal assessment. Thanks to my parents who assisted me financially and gave useful
advice. Special thanks to my teacher Mrs. Thompson Walker who provide guidance
throughout the completion of this research project. Thank you for guiding, explaining and
giving me advice on how this internal assessment was to be completed. Also, I would like to
thank all the respondents who answered the questions on the questionnaires. Thank you, your
assistance is greatly appreciated.
4
INTRODUCTION
Eating a balanced and varied diet and establishing healthy eating habits promotes young
people’s health, growth, and intellectual development across the life course. Most notably, a
healthy diet and body weight reduces the risk of ill health and premature death from
noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). According to information gathered from World Health
Organisation (WHO) 2016 a healthy diet can have a significant effect on many of
adolescents’ main concerns by contributing to maintaining a healthy weight, improving
physical and intellectual performance, optimizing growth, and improving skin health. Teens
may experience other effects if they don’t have a balanced diet, they can have fatigue, poor
concentration, loss of muscle mass and bone density. The impact of home and neighbourhood
food environment on the dietary choices among teens in a rural community in St. James?
THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of the home and neighbourhood
environment on food choices. The neighbourhood food environment influences individual
food choice and food intake through the concept of food access, what is available. Poor diet
in childhood increases risk of obesity and other chronic conditions. The burden of obesity
contributes to increasing health inequality and placing healthcare systems under huge strain.
My community could easily be described as one supporting unhealthful eating patterns and
sedentary behaviour. Obesity prevention and treatment has focused on educational and
behavioural interventions, with limited overall success. A sustainable approach is to address
the environments that promote less healthy eating and high energy intake as well as sedentary
behaviour. Approaches which modify the environment have the potential to assist in the
prevention of this complex condition. The present paper focuses on the food environments
5
within the context of home and immediate community surroundings. Takeaway and fast-
food, popular in our diet, is usually nutrient poor and energy dense. Research shows that there
is access to food and intake are associated; however, there are methodological challenges in
associating the effect of the food environment on obesity. While there is an imperfect
evidence base relating to the role of food environment in terms of obesity crisis; policy,
practice, civic society, and industry must work together and act now, where current evidence
suggests a change. Shaping the environment to better support healthful eating decisions has
the potential to be key aspect of a successful obesity prevention intervention. The research
will highlight two main variables:
The extent to which the home environment impacts food choice and the extent to which the
environment, immediate local/geographical location impacts food choice.
6
PROBLEM STATEMENT
7
LITERATURE REVIEW
Neighbourhood environments may influence various health behaviours, including dietary
choice and intake. In reviewing the literature for this research, it was noted that numerous
studies reported that greater access to neighbourhood grocery stores was associated with
better dietary intake and lower obesity rates among adults. In contrast, greater access to
convenience stores and restaurants, including fast food, has been associated with less
favourable diet quality and increased obesity. The inequities in access to healthy foods is of
particular concern in the Caribbean because of the increase in incidence of non-
communicable diseases.
To date, many studies have focused on adults, with less attention on youth, hence my interest
in exploring the impact of home and neighbourhood food environment on the dietary choices
among teens in a rural community in St. James. Given that adolescence is marked by
increasing independence over decisions including what to eat, where to go and how to spend
money, this may be an important age during which food access affects dietary choices.
The community under study does have access to food outlets, corner shops and supermarkets.
It is important for me to consider neighbourhoods surrounding both homes and schools to
understand environmental influences more fully on youth. According to Sandrine Péneau,
2009, environmental conditions influence meal size in adults and children. In addition,
distinguishing between the dose of environmental exposure (i.e., the density of food stores or
the number of food stores contained within a given area around one's home or school) access
(i.e., proximity or distance to the nearest food store) remains poorly understood in many
populations.
8
The purpose of this present study is to examine the extent to which the impact of
home and neighbourhood food environment on the dietary choices among teens in a rural
community in St. James affects their nutritional status. The researcher sought to examine
food outlet proximity and density, particularly around adolescents' homes and schools.
According to ‘Tegan Cruwys’, A major determinant of human eating behaviour is social
modelling, whereby people use others' eating as a guide for what and how much to eat.
Home availability of both healthful and unhealthful foods may influence consumption
among rural adolescent populations. In conjunction, the availability of food in an individual’s
local food environment has the potential to significantly impact what is procured for the
home and eaten away from the home. The purpose of this study was to determine how in-
store food availability and parental purchases influences home availability and, ultimately,
dietary intake among adolescents. This study measured perceived home availability, using the
University of Minnesota Project EAT Survey, and dietary intake, using the NHANES Dietary
Screener Questionnaire, of (n=28) adolescent participants in two Kentucky counties during
2013. Availability of food in local stores was measured using the Nutrition Environment
Measures Survey in Stores (NEM-S). The results of multiple linear regression analysis
suggest that overall store availability does not significantly impact parental purchases.
However, in-store availability of specific unhealthy food categories, such as snacks, junk
food, candy, and pop, was associated with increased parental purchases of similar
unwholesome items and a greater predicted intake of sugar. Therefore, it may be beneficial to
develop interventions aimed at decreasing the availability of unhealthy food items in stores to
improve diet quality among rural adolescents.
9
The environment plays a significant role in shaping the food choices of individuals
and communities. Lack of supermarkets and other healthy food retailers in poor
communities’ limits access to fresh, high quality, affordable foods. To make matters worse,
the ubiquity of fast food and junk food- both high in calories, sugar, fat, and salt—in all
communities, low-income ones, has detrimental impacts on community health and well-
being. When communities lack healthy food and are overburdened by fast food, residents’
diets suffer. Strategies that improve access to wholesome, fresh food and limit highly
processed, convenience foods in the places that we live, work, learn and play central to
improving individuals’ food choices and reducing chronic disease.
10
METHADOLOGY
This research seeks to investigating the impact of home and neighbourhood food environment
on the dietary choices among teens in a rural community in St. James.
The researcher sought to get adolescents' perceptions about how their home and school
environment influencing their food choices and eating behaviours. Data were collected
electronically using questionnaires. The study population included 25 adolescents randomly
selected from the cohort living in the area under study. 7th, 8th 9th,10th and 11th graders from a
rural school located in the area under study. Data were analysed using qualitative research
methodology. This data was graphically represented and discussed. A conclusion arrived at,
and recommendations outlined.
11
Presentation of Data Result
Question 5. How often do you have home cooked meals?
Number of time(s) per week Responses
1-2 times per week 41.7%
3-4 times per week 50%
5-6 times per week 8.3%
7 days a week 0
Figure 1.1 In the figure above it shows the number of times per week the respondents have home
cooked meals. As shown, most of the respondents have home cooked meals 3-4 times per week. As a
teenager it is a good thing that home cooked meals are being consumed. By saying so it means that
when preparing the meals, you know the amount of each nutrient that you a placing in the meal.
Question 6. How many cook-shops do you have in your local neighbourhood?
Doughnut Chart Showing Data of the

number of cook-shops in the
respondents local neighbouhood.
17%
25% 58%
1 TO 2 3 TO 4 None
12
Figure 1.2. shows the percentage of the number of cook-shops in the respondents’ local
neighbourhood. It is shown that most of the of the respondents have 3- 4 cook-shops in their
neighbourhood.
Question 8. Is it a practice in your family to prepare the three main meals each day?
Yes or No Number of responds
Yes 3
No 9
Figure 1.3. In the figure above the data shows the number of respondents who has responded yes or
no to whether their family practice to prepare the three main meals each day. It is shown that most of
the respondents’ family does not practice preparing the three main meals, while only a few follow
these practices.
13
Discussion
The impact of home and neighbourhood food environment on the dietary choices
among teens in a rural community in St. James. Findings revels that the home and
neighbourhood food environment impact teen dietary choices. By knowing this some
research questions were given out in a questionnaire to help with the findings. Some of these
questions were:
• To what community do you belong?
• How often do you have home cooked meals?
• How many cook-shops do you have in your local neighbourhood?
• How often do you include the following fast foods in your daily meal? (Kentucky
Fried Chicken, Wendy's, Pop Eyes, Burger King, Pizza Hut)
Most of the respondents stated that they are living in a rural community. Which means
they live in the countryside and not in the town. Having home-cooked meals are also
important because they can help support the immune system and reduce the risk of illnesses
such as: heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. It is good that most of the
respondents stated that have home cooked meals 3-4 times per week, because having these
illnesses at form a young age can become greater when one become an adult.
Therefore, despise having cook-shops in their neighbourhood the respondents choose
to have home cooked meals. Fast-food restaurants are always the go to for teens but doing
this research most of them didn’t visits these fast-food places occasionally. These fast-food
restaurants use a lot of additives in their food products, which is not good for the body and
cause illnesses. Environmental conditions influence meal size in adults and children. Intake
of sweet drinks could contribute significantly to energy intake and potentially affect body
14
weight, particularly in young individuals. The objectives of the present study were to measure
the lunch intake of food and drinks under controlled laboratory settings in teenagers and to
compare the influence of different meal conditions. Normal-weight adolescents (fourteen
males and fifteen females) participated in four standardised lunches, scheduled 1 week apart.
The same popular items (meat dish, dessert, water, juice, soda) were served at all meals. Ad
libitum intake was measured under four conditions: subjects ate alone; in groups; alone while
viewing television; alone while listening to music. Visual analogue scales were used to assess
pre- and post-meal hunger and thirst and meal palatability. Energy, solid food and fluid intake
was different (significantly lower) only in the 'eating in group' condition, in spite of identical
intensity of pre-meal hunger. More soda was consumed when participants were watching
television, and more water was consumed while listening to music. Across all conditions,
more soda than water was consumed. Post-meal ratings of hunger, thirst and palatability did
not differ between conditions. We concluded that, in teenagers, a 'social inhibition' effect
appears rather than the 'social facilitation' previously reported in adults. Although teenagers
do not respond to the presence of television or another 'distractor' such as music by eating
more, they do ingest more soda when the television is on. The social significance of meals,
conditioned responses and habituation to 'distractors' may be different between adolescents
and adults.
Factors perceived as influencing food choices included hunger and food cravings, appeal of
food, time considerations of adolescents and parents, convenience of food, food availability,
parental influence on eating behaviours (including the culture or religion of the family),
benefits of foods (including health), situation-specific factors, mood, body image, habit, cost,
media, and vegetarian beliefs. Major barriers to eating more fruits, vegetables, and dairy
products and eating fewer high-fat foods included a lack of sense of urgency about personal
15
health in relation to other concerns, and taste preferences for other foods. Suggestions for
helping adolescents eat a more healthful diet include making healthful food taste and look
better, limiting the availability of unhealthful options, making healthful food more available
and convenient, teaching children good eating habits at an early age, and changing social
norms to make it "cool" to eat healthfully.
16
Conclusion and Recommendation
In concluding, the findings suggest that the home and neighbourhood environment have an impact on
food choice. This finding was independent of socio-demographic and health-related
characteristics and the socioeconomic status of the home and neighbourhood. With support
for future studies, these findings may help inform rural planning and policies concerning food
destination placement and zoning so that homes and neighbourhoods can better support
procurement and consumption of a high-quality diet.
Recommendations
• Ministry of Health should work along side with RADA to promote backyard gardening and
subsides farming’
• The local Health centre can promote home cooked meals by using competitions and creative
cooking techniques to generate interest among the population.
• Work with the community clubs and churches to promote healthy eating.
• The ministry of health could work with cook shops to promote variety in meal choices.
• Encourage local farmers to make the produce of fresh fruits and vegetables available to the
immediate community.
17
References
Saulnier, M. J. (2015). LINKING THE HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD ENVIRONMENTS REGARDING
DIETARY INTAKE AMONG RURAL ADOLESCENTS. Retrieved 4 15, 2022, from
http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=foodsci_etds
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25174571/
https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/303477/HBSCNo.7_factsheet_Diet.pdf%3Fua
%3D1
https://www.preventioninstitute.org/strategic-alliance/quickfacts-impact-food-environment-diet
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3631-7
18
QUESTIONNAIRE
Please read and respond to the outlined questions. Please do not write your name on the form.
The data collected will be kept strictly confidential.
1. What is your gender?
Male female
2. what age group do you belong?
10- 12 12-14 14-16 16-18
3. To what family form do you belong?
Single parent
nuclear
extended
others ________________________
4. To what community do you belong?
Rural Urban Sub-urban
5. how often do you have a home cooked meal?
1-2times a week
3-4times a week
19
5-6times a week
7 days a week
6. how many cook-shops do you have in your local neighbourhood?
1-2 3-4 None
7. How often do you include the following fast foods in your daily meal? (Kentucky
Fried Chicken, Wendy's, Pop Eyes, Burger King, Pizza Hut)
Once a week
Twice a week
Everyday
Monthly
8. Is it a practice in your family to prepare the three main meals each day?
Yes No
9. How often do you have breakfast at home? (Please indicate on the line provided.
________________________________________________________________________
______________
10. Have you ever been denied food as a means of punishment? Yes No
If yes, what were you denied?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
11. Are the six basic food groups used as a guide to plan meals in your family?
Yes No
20
12. Answer yes or no to each question as it relates to you.
13. Do you have a green grocery store in your neighbourhood?
14. Do you have ready access to fresh fruits and vegetables at home?
15. Does the menu at your school provides a variety of healthful
choices?
16. Do you eat lunch at your school daily?
17. Does your school cafeteria prepare meals influenced by the
Caribbean dietary guidelines?
18. do you take home cooked meals to school?
18. a) if yes, do you prepare your meals following the Caribbean dietary
guidelines?
19. Does your friends or classmates at school eat a balanced meal every day?
Yes No Don’t know
Place a tick beside the food habits that best describes you.
During mealtime I select home cooked meals instead of snack items.
I drink eight glasses of water daily.
I eat fresh fruits and vegetables daily.
I love potato chips and popcorn
Chocolate is my comfort food.
I drink soda daily
I have a balanced meal daily.
21
I love to have meals from the fast-foods restaurants.
22

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FOOD NUTRITION AND HEALTH

Candidate name: Nataliya Reid

Teacher: Mrs. P. Thompson Walker

Candidate number: 100066

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

Title Page number

Literature review 8-10

Presentation and discussion of data/result 12-13

Conclusion and Recommendation 17

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

Teacher: Mrs. P Thompson Walker

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

assistance is greatly appreciated.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). According to information gathered from World Health

adolescents’ main concerns by contributing to maintaining a healthy weight, improving

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

environment on food choices. The neighbourhood food environment influences individual

behavioural interventions, with limited overall success. A sustainable approach is to address

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

will highlight two main variables:

environment, immediate local/geographical location impacts food choice.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

Neighbourhood environments may influence various health behaviours, including dietary

particular concern in the Caribbean because of the increase in incidence of non-

It is important for me to consider neighbourhoods surrounding both homes and schools to

understand environmental influences more fully on youth. According to Sandrine Péneau,

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

According to ‘Tegan Cruwys’, A major determinant of human eating behaviour is social

among rural adolescent populations. In conjunction, the availability of food in an individual’s

Screener Questionnaire, of (n=28) adolescent participants in two Kentucky counties during

improve diet quality among rural adolescents.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

improving individuals’ food choices and reducing chronic disease.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

on the dietary choices among teens in a rural community in St. James.

electronically using questionnaires. The study population included 25 adolescents randomly

and recommendations outlined.

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

Presentation of Data Result

Question 5. How often do you have home cooked meals?

Number of time(s) per week Responses

1-2 times per week 41.7%

3-4 times per week 50%

5-6 times per week 8.3%

Question 6. How many cook-shops do you have in your local neighbourhood?

Doughnut Chart Showing Data of the

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

Yes or No Number of responds

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

• To what community do you belong?

• How often do you have home cooked meals?

• How many cook-shops do you have in your local neighbourhood?

Fried Chicken, Wendy's, Pop Eyes, Burger King, Pizza Hut)

Therefore, despise having cook-shops in their neighbourhood the respondents choose

among teens in a rural community in St. James.

compare the influence of different meal conditions. Normal-weight adolescents (fourteen

conditioned responses and habituation to 'distractors' may be different between adolescents

among teens in a rural community in St. James.