Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Brief Summary of Minutes of the Annual Meeting

The 2020-2021 W4003 annual meeting was held from 10/27/2021 to 10/29/2021 virtually via Zoom online conferencing. Originally, the annual meeting was to be held on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia, but we had to switch to virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on university campuses.

Attendees included:

Anderson, Alex (fianko@uga.edu), University of Georgia

Ballejos, Miriam (Miriam.s.ballejos.civ@mail.mil), University of Washington

Banna, Jinan (jcbanna@hawaii.edu), University of Hawaii @ Manoa

Gunther, Carolyn (Gunther.22@osu.edu), Ohio State University

Jones, Blake (blake.jones@byu.edu), Brigham Young University

Lora, Karina (Klora@email.gwu.edu), George Washington University

Monroe-Lord, Lillie (lmonroelord@udc.edu), University of the District of Columbia

Reicks, Marla (mreicks@umn.edu), University of Minnesota

Richards, Rickelle (Rickelle_richards@byu.edu), Brigham Young University

Topham, Glade (gtopham@ksu.edu), Kansas State University

Wong Siew Sun (Siewsun.wong@oregonstate.edu), Oregon State University

2021-2022 Chair-Elect (Marla Reicks), 2021-2022 Chair (Lillie Monroe-Lords), 2021-2022 Secretary (Laura Hopkins), Past Chair (Alex Anderson)

Annual Meeting Accomplishments

1. We discussed progress on a qualitative study of parent-adolescent dyads regarding COVID-19 pandemic-related changes in food habits and parenting practices employed during adolescent independent eating occasions (iEOs). We reviewed the coding and analytical plan for the qualitative data. We also discussed ideas and writing assignments for a publication from the study.
2. We discussed preliminary themes from the adolescent and parent interviews of the COVID-19 related qualitative study.
3. We discussed the logistics and reviewed changes made for the Objective 1 Qualtrics survey and preparation to launch.
4. We discussed how we were going to measure dietary quality since this happens to be at the center of most of the papers we anticipate to publish from the Objective 1 data.
5. We discussed Objective 1 papers as we were ready to launch the Qualtrics survey. Leads were identified for each of the 6 papers discussed for the data to be generated from the survey.
6. We started preliminary discussion on possible grant funding (and potential sources of funding) to develop digital communications and intervention targeted to caregivers of preadolescents to improve iEOs.
7. Members nominated Lillie Monroe-Lord (Chair), Marla Reicks (Chair-Elect), and Laura Hopkins (Secretary) to serve in leadership positions for 2021-2022 term. Alex Kojo Anderson will serve as Past Chair. There is discussion to hold the next annual meeting in the Fall to align with completion of the Qualtrics survey and writing papers. This time is believed will allow adequate time to develop materials, and also work on the technology portion (Objective 2) into the project. There was great interest for the next annual meeting to be held at Oregon State University. It is scheduled for March 8-11, 2023. Siew Sun Wong will serve as the meeting host with Lillie Monroe-Lord as the chair. We have also scheduled a business meeting via Zoom video conferencing for July 20-21, 2023 for project updates and proposal development for extramural funding to support our work.

Accomplishments for 2020-2021

Background. Current literature shows that the home environment influences and shapes the eating and dietary habits of children. This has been ascribed to the food environment in the home and parental practices (Zeinstra et al., 2010; Yee et al., 2017; Loth et al., 2018). However, most of the research in this area have focused on early childhood with limited information among adolescents, especially during independent eating occasions (iEOs). Studies have demonstrated that iEOs have negative association with the healthfulness of dietary intake and weight status. Data from these studies show eating alone to be associated with intake of high energy density foods including snacks and with overweight/obesity (Reicks et al., 2019). Another study by Shirasawa et al (2018) also found a positive association between eating dinner alone with overweight in adolescent girls. There is knowledge gap about parenting practices and dietary intake of early adolescents during iEOs  among low-income, multiethnic populations. Accomplishment of the objectives for W-4003 will provide a better understanding of the relationships between food parenting practices and dietary intake of low-income, multiethnic early adolescents during iEOs and inform the development of interventions to promote positive parenting practices that may assist in obesity prevention.

 Project Objectives.

1. Examine the association between key parenting practices and positive eating behaviors during iEOs among low-income, multi-ethnic early adolescents.
2. Develop digital communications for parents and/or early adolescents such as mobile apps, virtual parent coaching/supervision, virtual cooking experiences, and online planning tools that promote parenting practices that support healthy food choices during iEOs among early adolescents (11-14 years).
3. Implement and evaluate a pilot intervention for parents and early adolescents (11-14 years) to promote positive parenting practices during independent eating occasions and to improve early adolescent dietary intake during these occasions based on digital communications developed in Objective 2.
4. Prepare a grant proposal to revise and implement a full-scale intervention and disseminate findings to health professionals.

 Main Accomplishments

Our work in the year under review was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the nationwide lockdown and school shutdowns, we had to suspend the launch of our data collection to accomplish Objective 1. Even though the year under review had been a difficult one, the W4003 group managed to stay active and productive in the midst of the challenges brought about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 The main accomplishments of the W4003 group during the 2020-2021 project year of were:

1. Small groups were set-up to review and develop the survey for Objective 1. The launch of the survey was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. We conducted a small COVID-related qualitative study with parent-adolescent dyads to gain an understanding of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parent-adolescent interaction around food and independent eating occasions. We designed and developed interview guides, and recruited a convenience sample of 12 parent-adolescent dyads of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds from our participating states. The goal of the in-depth interview was to understand the experiences of primary-caregivers and adolescent children during the pandemic, and the potential impact of the pandemic on diet quality and independent eating occasions. The data from this qualitative study is still in the process of being formally analyzed. We anticipate to have at least 1 publication from this study in a high impact journal.
3. We revised and re-formatted the Qualtrics survey for Objective 1, based on the COVID study. The modified main survey has been launched since November 1, 2021. We are making progress with the data collection.
4. We have 1 paper currently under review and another in preparation.
5. We continued to have our monthly video-conferencing with the entire group alongside subgroup meetings, as necessary.

Monroe-Lord L, Jones BL, Richards R, Reicks M, Gunther C, Banna J, Topham G, Anderson A, Lora K, Wong SS, Ballejos M, Hopkins L, Ardakani A. Parenting practices and adolescent eating behaviors in African American families. Int J Env Res Public Health, submitted 10-30-21, resubmitted 11-24-21

Banna J, Richards R, Jones B, Anderson A, Reicks M, Cluskey M, Gunther C, Hongu NK, Lora K, Misner S, Monroe-Lord L, Topham G, Wong S, Lim E. Describing independent eating occasions among low-income adolescents. Int J Env Res Public Health 2020;17:981. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17030981.

Reicks M, Banna J, Anderson A, Gunther C, Hongu N, Jones B, Lora K, Monroe-Lord L, Richards R, Topham G, Wong S. Development and testing of a questionnaire to assess frequency of food parenting practices to influence adolescent intake during independent eating occasions. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2020;52(3):307-313. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2019.10.018

Suzuki, A. Anderson, A. Cluskey, M. Gunther, C. Hongu, N. Jones, B. Lora, K. Misner, S. Monroe-Lord, L. Novotny, R. Reicks, M. Richards, R. Topham, G. L., Wong, S. Banna, J. Parental practices influencing eating behavior during independent eating occasions of early adolescents in Hawaiʻi. Annual meeting International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Summer 2021. Virtual presentation.

Monroe-Lord L, Jones B, Richards R, Reicks M, Gunther C, Banna J, Topham G, Anderson A, Lora K, Wong SS. Parenting practices and early adolescent eating behaviors in African American families. Food and Nutrition Conference & Expo, FNCE 2021, Virtual Event, October 16-19, 2021.