Adolescent eating is an important area of study, as adolescence is a time of transition to greater independence that is often accompanied with more convenience foods.
But in the study, Relationship between Family Racial/Ethnic Backgrounds, Parenting Practices and Styles, and Adolescent Eating Behaviors, a multi-state team of researchers have collaborated to do just that by investigating the relationships among racial/ethnic backgrounds, parenting practices and styles, and eating behaviors in adolescents.
The researchers found that parenting practices, adolescent weight, and adolescents’ food consumption and eating behaviors differed according to race/ethnicity.
“Taking into account such information is of importance when designing interventions to improve eating habits,” say Jinan Banna of the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food, and Animal Sciences. “Our research efforts are geared toward understanding how best to positively impact the health of communities through healthy eating. More research is needed in this area.”
For its work, the team will be recognized June 29 with an Excellence in Multistate Research Award from the Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors.
The study appears in a recent International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
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In another recently published study, A qualitative investigation of the perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine among adults in Hawaiʻi, Jinan sought to identify the perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine among adult residents of Hawaiʻi.
CAM, a group of diverse medical and healthcare practices outside of conventional medicine modalities, is steadily increasing in use – despite gaps in the scientific evidence supporting its usage and the challenges of its regulation and integration into conventional healthcare practices.
“In this context, perceptions concerning CAM become important,” says Jinan. “We found mainly positive perceptions of CAM among Hawaiʻi residents.”
However, with “insufficient data and understanding of current medical literature, CAM users may place themselves at risk for harmful herb-herb and herb-drug interactions,” she adds. “These findings have implications for healthcare providers of both conventional medicine and CAM traditions.”
The study appears in a recent BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies.
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Jinan Banna also served as a mentor for new students at UH. Through this program, she met with her mentee regularly and provided advice on different issues her mentee faced during the semester.