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Susan Nitzke

Publications and source records attributed to Susan Nitzke.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Acceptability of stage-tailored newsletters about fruits and vegetables by young adults.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acceptability of stage-tailored newsletters as a communication means for promoting fruit and vegetable intake by young adults. Qualitative interviews were conducted to gather young adults' likes and dislikes about stage-tailored newsletters on fruits and vegetables. A total of 246 interviews were completed by young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years for focus group and/or in-depth interviews. Prototype newsletters containing stage-matched messages were designed to increase motivational readiness to increase fruit and vegetable intake based on the Transtheoretical Model. Transcripts were grouped by stage of change and examined to identify major themes or topics. Results showed that young adults in each of the three stages responded positively to the tailored newsletters. Subjects provided feedback on newsletter likes/dislikes, benefits/barriers to eating fruits and vegetables, and strategies for promoting change. This study provides an example of the incorporation of key concepts from the Transtheoretical Model in development of stage-tailored newsletters for young adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Introducing a problem-based unit into a lifespan nutrition class using a randomized design produces equivocal outcomes.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a tutorial, student-centered, problem-driven educational strategy adopted by medical and allied health educators to positively influence self-directed learning, critical thinking, and learning behavior. PBL was examined in dietetics education through random assignment of 32 undergraduate dietetics students for two weeks to either a problem-based or a lecture-based case format for the infant and elderly units of a 16-week lifespan nutrition course. Random assignment followed stratification for gender and earlier course examination performance. Expert validation of PBL curricular components and noted differences in discussion structure and information resources verified curriculum distinctiveness. Main outcome measures were pre- and post-Cognitive Behavior Survey scores for memorization, reflection, and positive learning experience scales, unit and course evaluations and unit examination scores. Students in problem-based modules demonstrated greater gains in reflective thinking with stable memorization, suggesting improved critical thinking skills. Tenets that problem-based learning promotes knowledge retention and provides a more positive learning experience were not upheld. Knowledge acquisition was not hindered by a problem-based approach. We conclude that gains in reflective thinking and evidence of increased self-directed learning argue for inclusion of PBL in dietetics curricula and that a problem-based education will help dietitians successfully respond to professional development needs.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Position of the American Dietetic Association: total diet approach to communicating food and nutrition information.

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that all foods can fit into a healthful eating style. The ADA strives to communicate healthful eating messages to the public that emphasize the total diet, or overall pattern of food eaten, rather than any one food or meal. If consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity, all foods can fit into a healthful diet. Public policies that support the total diet approach include Reference Dietary Intakes, Food Guide Pyramid, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Nutrition Labeling and Healthy People 2010. The value of a food should be determined within the context of the total diet because classifying foods as "good" or "bad" may foster unhealthy eating behaviors. Eating practices are influenced by taste and food preferences, concerns about nutrition and weight control, physiology, lifestyle, environment, and food product safety. To increase the effectiveness of nutrition education in promoting sensible food choices, dietetics professionals plan communications and educational programs that utilize theories and models related to human behavior. Communication campaigns/programs should implement an active, behaviorally focused approach within the larger context of food choices. Nutrition confusion can be reduced by emphasizing moderation, appropriate portion size, balance and adequacy of the total diet over time, the importance of obtaining nutrients from foods, and physical activity.

Advertising↗
PubMed2002

Self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and weight satisfaction discriminate among stages of change for fruit and vegetable intakes for young men and women.

This study determined whether psychosocial, weight satisfaction, and dietary pattern variables discriminate between the Stages of Change for fruit and vegetable intakes among young men and women. A random sample of 18 to 24 year-olds, from 10 states returned 1438 surveys. Discriminant analyses for fruit intake conveyed that between precontemplation and contemplation/preparation, pro-scores and self-efficacy predicted the men's but not women's stages. Between contemplation/preparation and action/maintenance, self-efficacy and breakfast consumption best predicted stage for women, whereas men were discriminated only by self-efficacy. Discriminant analyses for vegetable intake were similar by gender. Precontemplation and contemplation/preparation were discriminated by pro-score and staging into contemplation/preparation versus action/maintenance was best predicted by self-efficacy and weight satisfaction. Young men and women are at different places in the Stages of Change process and few are meeting the vegetable guidelines. Dietary interventions can be most effective if specifically tailored to food group, stage, and gender.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preschool children's acceptance of a novel vegetable following exposure to messages in a storybook.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether children's books affect attitudes and behaviors pertaining to an unfamiliar vegetable. DESIGN: Nine Head Start classes were randomly assigned to a positive, negative, or control group. Data were collected through individual interviews on a pretest day and two book-reading (posttest) days. PARTICIPANTS: 118 children, ages 3 to 5. INTERVENTIONS: Children's book with prominent positive or negative messages about kohlrabi. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Children's familiarity with kohlrabi, willingness to taste it, and attitudes toward kohlrabi and vegetables in general. ANALYSIS: Chi-square and logistic regression. RESULTS: There were significantly more kohlrabi tasters in the positive-message group than in the control group during the second posttest (P <.05). Primary factors in willingness to taste kohlrabi during the second posttest were being exposed to the positive-message treatment (P =.0398) and reporting in the previous interview that they would taste kohlrabi again (P =.0026). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Further study is needed to verify these findings and to determine whether the results generalize to other foods and/or other children.

Books, Illustrated↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development of an instrument to assess predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs associated with fat intake behaviors of low-income mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To establish reliability and construct and discriminant validity of selected factors adapted from the Health and Taste Attitudes Questionnaire developed in Finland and the Food Choice Questionnaire developed in England for use with low-income mothers in the United States. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Head Start and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children sites in south-central Wisconsin. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 211 nonpregnant non-Hispanic black and white women. VARIABLES MEASURED: Predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model. ANALYSIS: Factor analyses. RESULTS: After modification, the resulting measurement models of predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs demonstrated good reliability and construct and discriminant validity. These models showed excellent model fit (chi-square/df range 1.5-2.0, root mean square error of approximate range.05-.07, non-normed fit index range.97-1.0, comparative fit index range.98-1.0, incremental fit index range.98-1.0), with all factor loadings significant (P <.001). Items previously developed with European adults demonstrated different pattern structures in predisposing and enabling constructs but the same structures for reinforcing construct when applied to low-income mothers in the United States. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION: This modified instrument provides a tool for researchers and educators to further explore factors affecting fat intake behaviors in low-income mothers.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development and validation of a self-efficacy measure for fat intake behaviors of low-income women.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid self-efficacy measure for eating low-fat diets in low-income women. DESIGN: Cognitive interviews followed by self-administered questionnaires. PARTICIPANTS/SETTINGS: 206 (6 + 200) nonpregnant black and white women participating in Head Start and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Wisconsin. VARIABLES MEASURES: A 13-item self-efficacy measure for eating low-fat diets. ANALYSIS: Content analysis and factor analyses. RESULTS: After cognitive interviews, 3 items were removed from a draft instrument. Factor analyses were carried out using data from 200 questionnaires that were randomly selected from a pool of 487 respondents: 100 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and 100 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Based on EFA, the 10-item pool was further reduced to 8 items, and 3 domains emerged: negative affect, positive affect, and availability. The results of CFA showed excellent model fit to the data (chi 2/df = 1.2, non-normed fit index = 1.0, comparative fit index = 1.0, incremental fit index = 1.0, root mean square error of approximate =.046). This measure demonstrated excellent reliabilities (Cronbach alpha : .82-.92; composite reliability: .92-.99) and construct and convergent validities. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Information obtained from this revised instrument can be used among low-income women to measure self-efficacy for eating low-fat diets. This is an important step in developing more targeted and thus more effective education messages to help low-income women modify their fat intake behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Using a theory-driven approach to design a professional development workshop.

The objective of this study was to show how a theory- driven approach to program planning was used to design and evaluate a professional development workshop. Our method was to demonstrate modeling of theory use as a teaching strategy. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to structure all components of a 6-hour workshop. This workshop significantly increased participants' intention to use theory in designing programs (P <.0001). Educators can apply the methods demonstrated here to systematically use theory in the development, implementation, and evaluation of their workshops, staff training, and curricular materials for professionals and consumers.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Are soft drinks getting a bum rap? We don't think so.

The viewpoint presented in this article is that soft drink consumption is a contributing factor in the rising incidence of overweight among school-aged children. Misinformation must be dispelled so that resources can be directed to real, evidence-based concerns. Child nutrition advocates have called for reducing access to soft drinks in schools as an important step in optimizing healthful environments for children. School nutrition policies are being revised at national, state, and local levels. Along with other stakeholders, soft drink manufacturers must acknowledge the problem of rising rates of overweight in children and work within their spheres of influence to limit access to soft drinks in schools.

Beverages↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The importance of decisional balance and self-efficacy in relation to stages of change for fruit and vegetable intakes by young adults.

PURPOSE: To examine the stages of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy constructs in relation to fruit and vegetable intakes by young adults 18-24 years old. DESIGN: A cross-sectional project was conducted by 10 states in January-July 2000 to examine decisional balance and self-efficacy in relation to stage of change for increasing fruit and vegetable intake among young adults. SUBJECTS: In all, 1545 usable surveys were returned (response rate = 55%). More non-respondents were men and precontemplators than respondents. Sixty-one percent of respondents were women, 90.3% were white, and 49.7% were current students. SETTING: Alabama, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. MEASURES: A telephone screening interview and a self-administered mail survey. ANALYSIS: Analysis of variance, principal components analysis, cluster analysis, and chi 2 test. RESULTS: From precontemplation to maintenance, a significant linear trend was found toward higher food intake and self-efficacy for fruits and vegetables. The patterns of shifts in the pros and cons across the stages resembled those of other health behaviors. The decisional balance items were further classified into five component factors that varied significantly in importance across the stages. Four subject clusters were derived (unconcerned, reluctant, exploring, and action-oriented); distribution of the clusters agreed with that of the five stages. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports applicability of the Transtheoretical Model for assessing fruit and vegetable consumption by young adults. Derivation of the four clusters implies the importance of including decisional balance and self-efficacy as outcome measures besides dietary behavior for evaluating the effectiveness of nutrition interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of fat intake behavior differ between normal-weight and obese WIC mothers.

PURPOSE: To determine whether predictors of fat intake behavior were the same for normal-weight and obese WIC mothers when applying the PRECEDE-PROCEED model and to identify predictors for each group. DESIGN: Proportional stratified convenience sampling. SUBJECTS: Five hundred eighty-one nonpregnant, black and white normal-weight (n = 180) or obese (n = 401) women. SETTINGS: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children in six counties in southern Wisconsin. MEASURES: The independent variables were predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors. Predisposing factors included beliefs in diet and health, beliefs in diet and body shape, health concerns in food choice, health concerns in nutrition, and eating habits. Enabling factors were cost of food, availability of time to prepare food, and accessibility to purchase food. Reinforcing factors were weight control intentions, sensory appeal, and mood. The dependent variable was fat intake behavior. Structural equation modeling was performed. RESULTS: When controlling for covariates, certain factors affectingfat intake behavior differed between the normal-weight and the obese groups. For the normal-weight group, only reinforcing factors were positively associated with fat intake behavior For the obese group, reinforcing and enabling, but not predisposing, factors were positively associated with fat intake behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to modify low-income women's fat intake behavior might benefit from targeting behavioral predictors that differ with body size. Messages that emphasize weight control intentions, sensory appeal, and mood are likely to affect both normalweight and obese women. Information about cost of food, availability of time to prepare food, and accessibility to purchase food is likely to be more effective with obese women.

Adult↗