Needs Assessment

DaH SnAcKs

Cesar Flores Navarro, Ada Ling, Nichole McCune, Hanin Nijim

Dr. ​Susan Milstein

HSCV 471-01 11:00AM

Part 1: Summary

Our audience will include 3rd through 5th-grade elementary students. Our group will be

focusing on nutrition and obesity. We will be providing different healthy items so that the

students can create their own healthy snack. Once they have finalized their snack, each team

member will ask them a few questions regarding what they learned from our lesson plan. In

addition, the group will be putting together a small game where the children will be sorting the

nutritious vs non-nutritious foods. By implementing this short session we are hoping that

children will go to their parents or guardians and inform them of what they should be consuming

on a daily basis. We also hope that children can slowly transition from eating unhealthy snacks,

such as chips and sugary beverages, to healthy snacks, such as fruit and vegetables. This will not

take a day to accomplish, but giving them some basic information will be a great start for them

and their families to make healthier diet changes. Our group believes that this topic is important

in preventing chronic health diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. We hope this lesson will

possibly give rise to an active and healthy future generation, inspire the children to utilize the

information provided to continue living a healthy and prolonged life, and to have them begin

transitioning from a meat/junk food/chemically infused/ preserved food diet to a rich and

nutritious whole foods diet. The change that we would all like to see after our lesson is for the

children to be more comfortable with eating fruits and vegetables and for them to know that it is

for their benefit. Another immediate change that we would like to see after this session is the

children talking with other children or adults about what healthy fruits and vegetables they are

most likely to consume at home. The plan is for us to create a foundation for healthy foods

(fruits and vegetables), which will be the beginning of a new, healthier era.
Part 2: Introduction

Due to the sheer number and locations of about forty fast food restaurants in the Chico,

California area, there seems to be an increase in unhealthy meal choices for busy families.

Grocery stores are filled with unhealthy snacks and sugar filled beverages that are displayed at

children’s eye level located by the register. Our group decided to focus on nutrition of 3rd to 5th

graders in elementary school because they are most vulnerable to America’s eating habits, which

could possibly lead to chronic diseases and become a burden on national healthcare.

Part 3: Primary data

Summary: The majority of the children consumed fruits and vegetables within 24 hours.

The children seemed to enjoy taking the survey with the graphics and understood the questions

easily. None of the children had questions about what a fruit or vegetable could be, the pictures

to the right of the questions helped them to answer. The majority of the children stated they

drank juice within the last 24 hour period and many had fast food within the last 24 hours. The

animated pictures were successful, children would look at the animation and see if they had

consumed it previous to this survey. Animation usually catches the children’s eye and gives

them a clearer vision of what a vegetable or fruit could be. The fast food animation was

somewhat helpful, children did ask if those were the only options that they had to choose from.

Perhaps more pictures with more variety of fast food options would have been more helpful.

Part 4: Additional Data

Phase 2: Epidemiological Assessment

Genetics​:
 According to the National Institutes of Health (2019), genetic factors have shown to

increase the risk of childhood obesity. Children can inherit genes from their parents that can

make them gain weight more easily than others. Having a leptin deficiency, for example, a

condition that causes obesity beginning in childhood, causes children to constantly be hungry

and has been linked to abnormal childhood eating behaviors such as hiding to eat, hoarding food,

and fighting others over food (NIH, 2019, p.1). Unfortunately, this cannot be changed since it is

the gene that the child is born with so it would be hard to make adjustments to their genetic code.

However, by educating children at a young age about healthy nutritious options, they can make

healthier diet choices to maintain healthy body weight.

Environment​:

Chico is a food desert, within a few blocks there are about ten fast food restaurants all

next to each other. According to Thomsen, Naya, Alviola, and Rouse (2016), they found an

increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) corresponding to areas of food deserts. Thomsen et al.

(2016) state a reason for food deserts being correlated with an increased BMI as having six times

as many fast food restaurants (p. 13). The location you live in contributes to your eating habits

and your quality of life. This is important because people need access to healthy food in order to

stay healthy. This is not an easy fix, encouraging local farmers markets or requesting more

healthful foods at the grocery store is a possibility. For very impoverished areas this would most

definitely not be changeable.

Phase 3: Educational and ecological assessment

Predisposing​:
 According to Williams et al. (2018), socioeconomic factors such as not being able to

afford healthy produce and the overconsumption of sugary beverages in low-income households

causes a child to be more prone to obesity. Soda and fast food are among the main risk factors.

Having a low socioeconomic status makes children more vulnerable to poor eating habits and

predisposes them to sugary drinks and fast food which tends to be cheaper and easier to

consume. Especially for working parents who do not have enough time to prepare a meal at

home. The communities need to have higher access to fruits and vegetables and have less access

to highly processed fast foods and canned foods. City councils and public health departments

should be able to assess what is needed in the community, create a plan to provide more

resources and implement the plan in the struggling community. Socioeconomic factors can be

changed if the right programs are accessible in the community, such as WIC and CalFresh. These

programs provide healthy food options to low-income families.

Reinforcing​:

In accordance with Epstein, Leddy, Temple, and Faith (2007, p.12), researchers state that

food could be seen as a positive reinforcer. They see obesity linked to food reinforcement,

consuming food is at the top of the list for pleasurable things that people do. Obesity is said to

be a disorder of positive energy balance, instead of more energy being wasted, there is less

energy being wasted and it is later being stored as fat (Epstein et al., 2007, p. 12). Epstein et al.

(2007) suggest that obese individuals find food more reinforcing compared to non-obese

individuals. The study suggests that dopamine could play a role in food reinforcement,

dopamine is released when given food (Epstein et al., 2007). Once they are given food on an

energy depletion stage, the individuals will take whatever they get, they will be happy once they
are given food. (Epstein et al., 2007, p. 12). It is important that we take food reinforcing into

consideration because if children look at it as their reward, the problem will continue to grow

until it reaches the chronic stage. Once it has reached the chronic stage of obesity there is a

possibility that there could be a cascade of other health conditions, such as diabetes,

hypertension, loss of sight, loss of limbs, or atherosclerosis. We need to have children avoid

using food as their reinforcing factor, or at least try to shift it into healthier food reinforcements.

Having children incorporate more physical activity outside of school can lower their chances of

developing a future chronic disease.

Phase 4: Administrative and policy assessment and intervention alignment

Educational Strategies​:

According to Savoie-Roskos et al. (2016), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-

Education (SNAP-ed) is a federal program that offers cooking classes to promote healthy eating

within a budget for families that are SNAP eligible (p. 18). Not only do they offer classes but

many farmer markets accept EBT or have EBT programs that promote eating more fruit and

vegetables. (Savoie-Roskos at el., 2016, p. 11). Having families use programs like this can foster

healthier eating habits by providing healthier food options such as having access to organic

produce and expand cooking skills to utilize these resources. This is a factor we can change, but

the program requires money and resources to bring these educational strategies to the public.
 References

Epstein, L. H., Leddy, J. J., Temple J. L., & Faith M. S. (2007). Food reinforcement and eating:

A multilevel analysis. Psychology Bulletin, 133(5), 884-906. doi:

10.1037/0033-2909.133.5.884

National Institutes of Health (2019). Leptin receptor deficiency - Genetics Home Reference.

Retrieved from ​https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/leptin-receptor-deficiency

Savoie-Roskos, M., LeBlanc, H., Coombs, C., Palmer, L., Jewkes, M., & Hunsaker, T. (2016).

Effectiveness of a SNAP-Ed nutrition education booth at farmers markets. ​Journal of

Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development​, ​7(1),​ 11–19.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2016.071.003

Thomsen, M. R., Nayga, R.M., Alviola, P. A., Rouse, H.L. (2016). The effect of food deserts on

body max index of elementary school children. ​American Journal of Agricultural

Economics, 98, ​1-18.

Williams, A. S., Ge, B., Petroski, G., Kruse, R. L., McElroy, J. A., Koopman, R. J. (2018).

Socioeconomic status and other factors associated with childhood obesity. ​Journal of

The American Board of Family Medicine. 4,5​ 14-521.

What grade are you in?

3rd 4th 5th

1. Yesterday, did you eat any vegetables?

a. Yes, I did

b. No, I did not

2. Yesterday, did you eat fruits?

a. Yes, I did

b. No, I did not

3. Yesterday, did you drink fruit juice?

a. Yes, I did

b. No, I did not

4. Yesterday, did you eat french fries or chips?

a. Yes, I did

b. No, I did not

5. Yesterday, did you have any fast food such as Mcdonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, In N

Out, Taco Bell or pizza?

a. Yes, I did

b. No, I did not