Effect of Yoga and Meditation with and Without Nutrition Education on Snack Nutrient Intakes in Seventh and Eighth Grade Students

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Effect of Yoga and Meditation with and Without Nutrition Education on Snack Nutrient Intakes in Seventh and Eighth Grade Students EFFECT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION WITH AND WITHOUT NUTRITION EDUCATION ON SNACK NUTRIENT INTAKES IN SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS A thesis submitted to the Kent State University College of Education, Health, and Human Services in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science By Natalie Mendez August 2018 Thesis written by Natalie Mendez B.S., California State University, Chico, 2015 M.S., Kent State University, 2018 Approved by ________________________________________, Director, Master’s Thesis Committee Natalie Caine-Bish _________________________________________, Member, Master’s Thesis Committee David Sharp _________________________________________, Member, Master’s Thesis Committee Karen Gordon Accepted by _________________________, Interim Director, School of Health Sciences Ellen Glickman _________________________, Dean, College of Education, Health and Human Services James Hannon ii MENDEZ, NATALIE, M.S., AUGUST 2018 Nutrition EFFECT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION WITH AND WITHOUT NUTRITION EDUCATION ON SNACK NUTRIENT INTAKES IN SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS (139 pp.) Director of Thesis: Natalie Caine-Bish, Ph.D., R.D., L.D. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of mind-body therapies (yoga and meditation) and nutrition education on snack intakes in seventh and eighth grade students. This was a non-randomized repeated measures design. The study was conducted at two different middle schools, one California public school (CPS, n = 29) and one Ohio private school (OPS, n = 19). The schools differed by time, frequency, and intervention. The interval times (IT) difference was 35-minutes for CPS and 45-minutes for OPS. The frequency of IT differed by the school; CPS accomplished conducting all IT within one week versus OPS who completed IT once a week for three consecutive weeks. Interventions differed by the school as well, CPS studied the effects of MBT alone whereas OPS incorporated using MBT alone than with the nutrition education. Thus, IT were compared individually for each school. The same snack items were provided and measured via digital photography during all IT. MBT was practiced at CPS to evaluate if it would inadvertently change snack nutrient intakes but did not display significant changes. Conversely, the study conducted at OPS was intended to determine the effects of including nutrition education along with the MBT practice. OPS was shown to have significantly influenced snack nutrient intakes through a significant increase for polyunsaturated fat (p < 0.009) and monounsaturated fat (p < 0.001), and a significant decrease in sodium (p < 0.038) and iron (p < 0.012). Since the combination of MBT with nutrition education was the only intervention to produce significant changes in nutrient intake, more research is needed on adolescents snacking behaviors to justify incorporating MBT with nutrition education into school curriculums. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am incredibly grateful for all those involved in making this research project possible. Thank you to the participating schools that volunteered to be a part of this study, this research could not have been accomplished without your willingness to accommodate your busy school schedules with this project. Special thanks to all the school staff members and participants for the positive and courteous encounters through this project. I would also like to thank my thesis committee members who guided and worked with me throughout this project. Most importantly, I would like to thank my family who encouraged and assisted me both financially and throughout this project. I could not have done it without my mother, brother, and sister’s support. Overall, I would like to dedicate this project to Bryan Sickling. Words could not explain my gratitude for this gentleman, during the ups and downs of this project, he was the one person I could always rely on, count on, kept me motivated, and inspired me to accomplish this project successfully. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTERS I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 Problem Statement ...........................................................................................................3 Purpose Statement ............................................................................................................5 Hypothesis ........................................................................................................................5 Operational Definitions ....................................................................................................6 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................................8 Nutritional Recommendations for Adolescents ...............................................................8 Grain, Protein, Dairy and Fat Dietary Guidelines .......................................................12 Fruit and Vegetable Dietary Guidelines .....................................................................15 Smart Snacks Standards ..............................................................................................16 Adolescents Current Dietary Intake and Eating Behaviors ...........................................18 Fruit and Vegetable Consumption ..............................................................................21 Reasons for Adolescents Dietary Intake ........................................................................23 Environmental Influence .............................................................................................23 Sociocultural Influence ...............................................................................................27 Behavior Factor ...........................................................................................................30 Benefits of Healthy Eating ..........................................................................................31 Consequences of Poor Dietary Intake .........................................................................35 Mind and Body Therapy ................................................................................................39 Meditation ...................................................................................................................41 Yoga ............................................................................................................................42 Recommendations for Mind-Body Therapy Practices ................................................43 The Practice of Mind-Body Therapy ..........................................................................44 Benefits of Mind-Body Therapies ..............................................................................46 Relationship Between Mind-Body Therapy and Eating Behaviors ...............................50 III. METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................58 Design ............................................................................................................................58 Setting ............................................................................................................................59 Sample ............................................................................................................................59 Measurement Instruments ..............................................................................................59 Materials .....................................................................................................................59 iv Digital Photography Documentation ..........................................................................61 Mind-body Therapy Intervention ................................................................................63 Procedures ......................................................................................................................64 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................69 IV. JOURNAL ARTICLE ................................................................................................71 Introduction ....................................................................................................................71 Methods ..........................................................................................................................72 Participants ..................................................................................................................72 Measures ........................................................................................................................73 Materials .....................................................................................................................73 Digital Photography ....................................................................................................75 Mind-Body Therapy ....................................................................................................76
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