Interview: A survey of 1,110 parents, guardians and caregivers led by Monica D. Zuercher, PhD, MS, Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, found that more positive parental perceptions about school meals and their benefits to families were associated with greater student meal participation. Working to ensure parents are familiar with the healthfulness and quality of school meals and the efforts schools are making to provide high-quality, appealing meals may be critical for...

Interview: Suzanna M. Martinez, PhD, MS, University of California San Francisco, highlights a new study that illustrates how challenging SNAP rules are for college students and those involved in their implementation. The research supports simplifying the student SNAP process to increase participation for eligible students, especially for historically minoritized racial and ethnic groups and low-income students for whom equitable access to SNAP benefits is critical.

Interview: How can parents and kids work together to reduce household food waste? Amar Laila, PhD, University of Guelph, discusses the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a new pilot study of Weeknight Supper Savers, a whole-family food literacy intervention that teaches how to prepare, store, and eat leftovers. The tool successfully encouraged families to prepare meals together and reduced food waste.

Interview: Christine St. Pierre, MPH, RD, presents the results of a new study to determine the impact on dietary behaviors on current and former elementary school students who participated in FRESHFARM FoodPrints’ school-based gardening and food education classes over the past 15 years. Analysis revealed how this early learning positively influenced food decisions as children grew older, extending into adulthood.

Interview: Christine St. Pierre, MPH, RD, presents the results of a new study to determine the impact on dietary behaviors on current and former elementary school students who participated in FRESHFARM FoodPrints’ school-based gardening and food education classes over the past 15 years. Analysis revealed how this early learning positively influenced food decisions as children grew older, extending into adulthood.

Interview: Kathy Hu and Alyssa M. Button, PhD, discuss findings that showed adolescents with poor adherence to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and associated cardiometabolic risk factors continued these same patterns over the two years of the study, suggesting that the adverse effects of a poor-quality diet had already established the health risks these teenagers will face throughout life.

Interview: Ginnefer O. Cox, PhD, RD, University of Georgia, talks about the key role peer educators of nutrition education programs play when developing and testing new recipes to help individuals make nutrition-related decisions. This new research details an underexplored testing method that can effectively evaluate recipes in the community nutrition setting without formal testing at a central location.

Interview: Meg Bruening, PhD, MPH, RD, presents this position paper that sheds light on the critical issue of food insecurity among college students. It emphasizes the importance of a systemic approach and the active involvement of students in advocating for their right to food and contributing to healthier diets for both individuals and the planet. Food and nutrition education is undoubtedly one powerful tool to drive this transformation.

Interview: Andrea Begley, DrPH, School of Population Health, Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, details the results of a new study that found that Foodbank Western Australia’s Food Sensations for Adults (FSA) food literacy program is effective in producing positive changes across a range of food literacy and dietary behaviors in participants ages 18 and older. The results are pertinent to government policymakers in decision-making for evidence-based public health investment.

Interview: Dara Lyn LoBuono, PhD, RD, assistant professor in health and exercise science at Rowan University, talks about how to better deliver information on medical nutrition therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The findings of a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior show digital health serves as an additional health service resource, which increases the healthcare provider’s abilities to collect current visual and objective data, thereby decreasing...

Interview: Lead investigator Katherine W. Bauer, PhD, highlights a new study among SNAP and WIC recipients. While households participating in multiple programs have increased food-specific purchasing power, those with both programs tend to consume higher amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages (even young children) than those participating in just one or no program. Insights can promote food security and improve diet quality, while maintaining personal choice for participants.

Interview: Lead investigator Erin McCrossan, PhD, reports the results of a new study that finds building relationships between SNAP-Ed implementers and school staff is key to increasing motivation and capacity to implement nutrition education programming within the school. SNAP-Ed implementers can play an active role in cultivating readiness, potentially impacting the schools most in need.

Interview: Lead author Noora Kanerva, PhD, discusses an in-depth study that revealed how improvements in Kenya’s economic status are linked to increasingly unhealthy dietary patterns in Kenyan youth, particularly preadolescents in Nairobi City. Dietary habits are changing from traditional staple foods toward refined grains, especially in urban environments.

Interview: Corresponding author Catherine E. Sanders, PhD, discusses the results of CDC’s High Obesity Program implemented in five rural southern counties by the University of Georgia. Researchers identify the challenges of and solutions for addressing healthy eating and physical activity practices in communities where those practices counter cultural norms.

Interview: Lead researcher Sarah A. Stotz, PhD, MS, RDN, CDCES, from the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, discusses a new study that explores the many roles played by nutrition educators in providing participant-centered education supporting nutrition incentive and food security programs.

Interview: Lead researcher Sarah A. Stotz, PhD, MS, RDN, CDCES, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health, Colorado School of Public Health, shares the results of a successful culturally adapted, online diabetes nutrition education program for AI/AN adults based on the ADA’s What Can I Eat? Healthy Choices for American Indians and Alaska Natives with Type 2 Diabetes (WCIE).

Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics by Marion Nestle reviewed by Dr. Jennifer Wilkins, Cornell University.

Interview: Discrimination against people with higher weight is sometimes viewed as an acceptable form of negative bias. Susan Persky, PhD, talks about a new study that found that increasing education about the role of genetics in eating behavior may help alleviate weight stigma by reducing the extent to which individuals are blamed for their weight.

Quick recap of the review of The Vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health by Dr. Kritika Gupta, Center for Research Evaluation, the University of Mississippi, reviews.

Interview: Consumers are confused by whole grain food labeling. Katrina R. Kissock, PhD, APD, School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, talks about a new study that shows that whole-grain food consumption is impacted by consumer skepticism and lack of labeling standard.

Quick recap of the review of Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness with Dr. Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos

Interview: Lead investigator Andrea McGowan, MPH, discusses a new study that shows mothers' recall of early childhood feeding guidance from health care providers is inconsistent. For example, less than half of mothers surveyed remembered advice to limit kids’ use of electronic devices during meals.

Quick recap of the review of Evidence-Based Nutrition and Clinical Evidence of Bioactive Foods in Human Health and Disease with Nicole Turner-Ravana

Quick recap of the review of Medical Nutrition Therapy: A Case Based Approach with Dr. Kathy Kolasa.

Interview: Lead author Joanna Klosowska, MSc, Ghent University, discusses a new study focusing on adolescent vulnerability to emotional eating and how various feeding practices used by parents, such as restriction, food as reward, and child involvement, influence eating behavior.