225989 Participants' beliefs of increasing whole grain consumption following WIC food package changes

Monday, November 8, 2010

Rebecca Balhoff, MHS , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Joy P. Nanda, DSc, MS, MHS, MBA , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Marycatherine Augustyn, PhD , Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Susan Gross, PhD, MPH, RD , Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Amy Resnik, MS, RD, CSP, LDN , Maryland WIC Program, Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Balitmore, MD
Caitlin Cross-Barnet, PhD , Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
David M. Paige, MD MPH , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
In October 2009, the USDA's WIC program implemented its revised food packages (RFP) to address chronic disease issues. Increasing whole grain consumption, per National Dietary Guidelines of 2005, was a priority and objective of the RFP,. In this presentation, we describe results from a survey prior to implementation of the RFP, about participants' beliefs whether the revised food packages would increase their children's whole grain bread and brown rice consumption.

Caregivers of a convenience sample of 271 ( 46% overall response rate) children from all 10 clinics of a WIC local agency responded to a pre-test survey during September 2009. Caregivers were mostly African American females , with an average age of 26 years and high school/GED education. At baseline, 72% reported buying whole grain breads for their families. Among these, 86%, compared to 62% among those who did not buy them, reported that the revised food packages would increase their child's intake of whole grain breads,

Also, 56% reported buying brown rice for their families. Among these, 82% reported that the revised food packages would increase their child's intake of brown rice, compared to 58% among those who did not buy brown rice.

After adjusting for child's age and maternal race and education, the odds that the child's whole grain bread (OR=4.12, p<0.001) or brown rice (OR=3.30, p<0.001) consumption, would increase was significantly higher among children who consumed these foods at baseline than among children who did not.

Addition of new food packages show promise for increasing whole grain consumption among current consumers. Nevertheless, barriers to consuming whole grains need further exploration for non-consumers of whole grains in order to develop effective strategies. A follow up survey due in Spring 2010, will provide actual consumption data for evaluating effects of the RFP implementation. Together, these data will guide future efforts to improve strategies for educating whole grain consumption among WIC participants in the local agency.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate food consumption practices among WIC program participants. Analyze participants' perception of changing food practices following policy changes.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, WIC

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Just completing my Masters in Health Sciences Program in Nutrition. Have previous experience in resaerch and work in low-income population
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3162.0: Nutrition policy and national food assistance programs