Publications
Year 2018
Banna JC. Awareness of cancer risk: variation in measurement approaches. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2018;12(3):211-214.
Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Diet, nutrition, physical inactivity, and obesity have been identified as important contributors to the increasing cancer incidence worldwide. To effectively plan interventions to reduce cancer incidence and to influence the public’s decisions regarding health behaviors, it is important for professionals to have an understanding of the ways in which people understand risk with regard to development of cancer. Selecting an appropriate method to evaluate awareness of cancer risk is an important consideration.
Banna JC, O’Driscoll J, Boushey CJ, Auld G, Olson B, Cluskey M, Edlefsen Ballejos M, Bruhn C, Misner S, Reicks M, Wong SS, Zaghloul S. Parent and household influences on calcium intake among early adolescents. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):1390.
Calcium intake during early adolescence falls short of requirements for maximum bone accretion. Parents and the home food environment potentially influence children’s calcium intakes. This study aimed to quantify parental psychosocial factors predicting calcium intakes of Asian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white early adolescent children from a parental perspective.
Gibby C, Palacios C, Lim E, Banna JC. Associations between gestational weight gain and rate of infancy weight gain in Hawaii and Puerto Rico WIC participants. BMC Obesity. 2018;5:41.
Excessive gestational weight gain and rapid infancy weight gain are associated with increased susceptibility to childhood obesity. Since low-income and minority children are particularly at risk, investigation of the associations between gestational weight gain and rate of infancy weight gain may inform childhood obesity prevention. This study investigated the associations between gestational weight gain and rate of infancy weight gain during the first four to six months postpartum in participants from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Banna JC, Panizza CE, Boushey CJ, Delp EJ, Lim E. Association between cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating and BMI and the amount of food wasted in early adolescent girls. Nutrients. 2018;10(9):1279.
Understanding of behavioral factors associated with obesity is of importance in addressing this issue. This study examined the association between cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating and body mass index (BMI) and amount of food plated, consumed, leftovers, and leftover food thrown into the trash (food wasted) in early adolescent girls nine to 13 years in O’ahu, Hawai’i (n = 93). Food plated, consumed, leftovers, and food wasted were estimated using a three-day mobile food record™ (mFR)
Banna JC. Considerations for evaluation of diabetes prevention programs in Hispanic adults in the US. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2018;12(1):21-24.
Hispanics are at high risk for diabetes. While there have been a number of diabetes prevention programs targeting Hispanics in the United States, not all recent studies focused on evaluating such programs have made use of validated tools to examine behavior change or examined acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Tools used to assess behavioral outcomes such as diet should be tested to ensure validity and reliability. Acceptability may be examined using qualitative and quantitative measures to obtain feedback on the content of the intervention. Feasibility of the intervention may be evidenced by the enrollment, attendance, and attrition rates, as well as barriers or facilitators to participating in the program. Appropriate and comprehensive evaluation of such programs will allow for continued improvement of prevention efforts to address high rates of diabetes in this at-risk population.
Banna JC, Bersamin A. Community involvement in design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions to reduce chronic diseases in indigenous populations in the US: a systematic review. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2018; 17(1):116.
Indigenous peoples of the United States disproportionately experience chronic diseases associated with poor nutrition, including obesity and diabetes. While chronic disease related health disparities among Indigenous people are well documented, it is unknown whether interventions adequately address these health disparities. In addition, it is unknown whether and to what extent interventions are culturally adapted or tailored to the unique culture, worldview and nutrition environments of Indigenous people. The aim of this review was to identify and characterize nutrition interventions conducted with Indigenous populations in the US, and to determine whether and to what degree communities are involved in intervention design, implementation and evaluation.
Mosley MA, Banna JC, Lim E, Fialkowski MK, Novotny R. Dietary patterns change over two years in female adolescents in Hawai’i. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2018; 27(1):238-245.
In investigating diet-disease relationships, examination of dietary patterns allows for conclusions to be drawn based on overall intake. This study characterized dietary patterns of early adolescent girls over a two-year period and examined the relationship between dietary patterns and body mass index (BMI).
Palacios C, Campos M, Gibby C, Melendez M, Lee J, Banna J. Effect of a multi-site trial using short message service (SMS) on infant feeding practices and weight gain in low-income minorities. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2018;37(7):605-613.
This study sought to test the effects of weekly SMS for improving infant feeding practices and infant weight.
This was a multi-site randomized clinical trial in a convenience sample of 202 caregivers of healthy term infants 0–2 months participating in the WIC program in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Participants were randomized to receive SMS about infant’s general health issues (control) or SMS for improving feeding practices (intervention) for four months. Weight, length and infant feeding practices were assessed at baseline and four months later.
