- Email: [email protected]
Our Invisible Pillars
From SNE Nutrition Educators—Providing Practical Support for Families This issue of the Journal is a gold mine of articles relevant to nutrition educators and researchers that focus on families. The articles Are Family Meal Patterns Associated with Overall Diet Quality during the Transition from Early to Middle Adolescence?1 and Low-income, African American Adolescent Mothers and Their Toddlers Exhibit Similar Dietary Variety Patterns2 show examples that indeed parents do influence what children eat during two sometimes challenging stages of growing up—toddlerhood and adolescence. While we often have ‘‘hunches’’ that this is likely true, the beauty of these research articles is that they add data to the picture of how influencing skills in families can, in turn, improve the nutritional health of children. Of course, articles like these further inform how we practice as nutrition educators. Now we have even more evidence to promote and help families build skills for sitting down together for family meals. We also have nuggets like the finding that when adolescent mothers do their own grocery shopping, their toddlers eat a more nutritious diet. Again, this gives evidence that teaching shopping skills to pregnant and parenting adolescents can have a longterm impact. Further, the article Assessment of Stage of Change, Decisional Balance, Self-efficacy, and Use of Processes of Change of Low-income Parents
for Increasing Servings of Fruits and Vegetables to Preschool-aged Children3 supports the use of a theoretical framework in creating and implementing nutrition education that will have the most impact with parents. We also have an article this month on Development of Core Competencies for Paraprofessional Nutrition Educators Who Deliver Food Stamp Nutrition Education.4 Paraprofessionals are a major force in working with families to improve practical skills related to healthful food choices, food preparation, shopping, food safety, and more. The work by these authors and many of our SNE members is providing an even stronger framework and support system for paraprofessionals and those that train and supervise them, which will further enhance their effectiveness in working with families. Finally, Comparison of FastFood and Non-Fast-Food Children’s Menu Items5 gives some surprising and practical information for nutrition educators that fast-food restaurants actually offer smaller portions and lower fat options than non–fastfood restaurants. As the mom of a 7-year-old and a 13-year-old, this issue of the Journal offered great information for me not only as a nutrition education professional, but also as a parent. And in the end, that may be the best sign that SNE and JNEB are more relevant than ever.
Martha Archuleta, PhD, RD 2008-2009 SNE President
REFERENCES 1. Burgess-Champoux TL, Larson NI, Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M. Are family meal patterns associated with overall diet quality during the transition from early to middle adolescence? J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41: 79-86. 2. Papas MA, Hurley KM, Quigg AM, Oberlander SE, Black MM. Low-income, African American adolescent mothers and their toddlers exhibit similar dietary variety patterns. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41:87-94. 3. Hildebrand D, Betts NM. Assessment of stage of change, decisional balance, selfefficacy, and use of processes of change of low-income parents for increasing servings of fruits and vegetables to preschool-aged children. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41:110-119. 4. Baker S, Pearson M, Chipman H. Development of core competencies for paraprofessional nutrition educators who deliver food stamp nutrition education. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41:138-143. 5. Serrano E, Jedda VB. Comparison of fast-food and non–fast-food children’s menu items. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41: 132-137.
From JNEB Our Invisible Pillars Nearly all projects depend on the essential contributions of people who don’t expect to be and rarely are publicly recognized for their work. JNEB is no exception. In 2008, the Journal received 280 new manuscripts, all of which re-
quired the insightful evaluation of at least 3 reviewers. In all, more than 500 people volunteered their time and expertise to identify the highest quality research for our readers. Their names appear together on a full page of this issue, as our way to say thank
you for the important work they’ve done. The success of the Journal relies in significant part on a body of active reviewers whose range of scientific and professional backgrounds exceeds that of the topics presented in the
78 manuscripts themselves. JNEB is fortunate to have among its reviewers researchers at universities and private institutions, Extension professionals, members of the medical community, and government employees. Increasingly, our reviewers also include members of the international scientific community. Within this diverse group,
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 41, Number 2, 2009 more than 70 research topics, sociodemographic groups, settings, diseases, and conditions have been identified as areas of personal expertise. If you have not served as a reviewer for JNEB in the past, or if you haven’t reviewed for a while, we hope you will consider sharing some of your own specialized knowledge in nutri-
tion education and behavior this year. (Please send an e-mail to [email protected] for details about how to begin.) And to JNEB’s active reviewers—we look forward to continuing to work with you. Lena Singer, MS Managing Editor and Reviews Editor
for Increasing Servings of Fruits and Vegetables to Preschool-aged Children3 supports the use of a theoretical framework in creating and implementing nutrition education that will have the most impact with parents. We also have an article this month on Development of Core Competencies for Paraprofessional Nutrition Educators Who Deliver Food Stamp Nutrition Education.4 Paraprofessionals are a major force in working with families to improve practical skills related to healthful food choices, food preparation, shopping, food safety, and more. The work by these authors and many of our SNE members is providing an even stronger framework and support system for paraprofessionals and those that train and supervise them, which will further enhance their effectiveness in working with families. Finally, Comparison of FastFood and Non-Fast-Food Children’s Menu Items5 gives some surprising and practical information for nutrition educators that fast-food restaurants actually offer smaller portions and lower fat options than non–fastfood restaurants. As the mom of a 7-year-old and a 13-year-old, this issue of the Journal offered great information for me not only as a nutrition education professional, but also as a parent. And in the end, that may be the best sign that SNE and JNEB are more relevant than ever.
Martha Archuleta, PhD, RD 2008-2009 SNE President
REFERENCES 1. Burgess-Champoux TL, Larson NI, Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M. Are family meal patterns associated with overall diet quality during the transition from early to middle adolescence? J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41: 79-86. 2. Papas MA, Hurley KM, Quigg AM, Oberlander SE, Black MM. Low-income, African American adolescent mothers and their toddlers exhibit similar dietary variety patterns. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41:87-94. 3. Hildebrand D, Betts NM. Assessment of stage of change, decisional balance, selfefficacy, and use of processes of change of low-income parents for increasing servings of fruits and vegetables to preschool-aged children. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41:110-119. 4. Baker S, Pearson M, Chipman H. Development of core competencies for paraprofessional nutrition educators who deliver food stamp nutrition education. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41:138-143. 5. Serrano E, Jedda VB. Comparison of fast-food and non–fast-food children’s menu items. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41: 132-137.
From JNEB Our Invisible Pillars Nearly all projects depend on the essential contributions of people who don’t expect to be and rarely are publicly recognized for their work. JNEB is no exception. In 2008, the Journal received 280 new manuscripts, all of which re-
quired the insightful evaluation of at least 3 reviewers. In all, more than 500 people volunteered their time and expertise to identify the highest quality research for our readers. Their names appear together on a full page of this issue, as our way to say thank
you for the important work they’ve done. The success of the Journal relies in significant part on a body of active reviewers whose range of scientific and professional backgrounds exceeds that of the topics presented in the
78 manuscripts themselves. JNEB is fortunate to have among its reviewers researchers at universities and private institutions, Extension professionals, members of the medical community, and government employees. Increasingly, our reviewers also include members of the international scientific community. Within this diverse group,
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 41, Number 2, 2009 more than 70 research topics, sociodemographic groups, settings, diseases, and conditions have been identified as areas of personal expertise. If you have not served as a reviewer for JNEB in the past, or if you haven’t reviewed for a while, we hope you will consider sharing some of your own specialized knowledge in nutri-
tion education and behavior this year. (Please send an e-mail to [email protected] for details about how to begin.) And to JNEB’s active reviewers—we look forward to continuing to work with you. Lena Singer, MS Managing Editor and Reviews Editor