Browsing by Author "Young, Dana"

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    The feasibility of using an adapted 24-hour recall method versus skin carotenoids status to assess fruit and vegetable intake in low-income Māori households : a thesis presented for the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Young, Dana
    Background: High fruit and vegetables (F/V) intake have been repeatedly shown to decrease risk of developing obesity and non-communicable diseases. Māori people living in deprived areas are often experiencing some degree of food insecurity, which exposes this population to a greater nutritional risk due to lower F/V intake. There is currently no validated instrument to measure F/V intake in low-income Māori households. Finding a feasible dietary assessment tool will be helpful to determine nutritional status and consumption patterns; to assess the association between F/V and diseases; and to guide evaluation for food policies and programs in eliminating barriers to healthy eating. Aim: To assess the feasibility of an adapted 24-hour (24-h) recalls versus skin carotenoids status to assess F/V intake in low-income Māori households participating in a F/V intervention. Methods: This feasibility study was conducted in 12 Māori households living in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Intake of F/V were measured by a 24-h recall and skin carotenoid via Veggie Meter © (VM) on four randomised days during baseline, followed by a washout period of five weeks. The intervention study commenced with participants receiving a weekly free box of F/V (enough to feed the entire household according to guidelines). The same measurements were repeated. Feasibility of both instruments were analysed by Pearson and Spearman correlation. Significance was set as p <0.05. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean total F/V servings across the study. Median servings and intake of fruit were significantly different between baseline and endpoint (p = 0.05). Only one (8%) participant met the MoH daily recommendations of 5 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruits at baseline, and four participants (50%) at endpoint. Spearman’s rho correlation showed no association between VM scores and self-reported F/V intake (p = 0.50). A significant correlation was found between those with a ≥250 VM score and intake of yellow-vitamin-A F/V and F/V at baseline (p = 0.04) and intervention (p = 0.03). Conclusion: The developed multiple-pass 24-h recall was a feasible tool to assess F/V intake in low-income Māori income. To improve quality of data collection, more training and support for the research assistants is needed. Measuring skin carotenoids as a method to measure vitamin A F/V is feasible, but may not be the best to objectively measure F/V.