Program Definitions List
This page provides definitions for select terms related to the Healthy Eating Research Round 3 and Special Solicitation Round 2 Calls for Proposals, which focus on studies of policy and environmental strategies in four areas: food pricing and economic approaches; food and beverage marketing and promotion; improving access to affordable healthy foods in low-income communities; and evaluations of other promising food-related policy and environmental strategies. Additional questions regarding terms and concepts utilized by the Healthy Eating Research program may be submitted to program staff at healthyeating@umn.edu.
After-school programs – May either be located on school grounds or in other community settings, such as YMCA sites.
Balanced diet – The overall dietary pattern of foods consumed that provide all the essential nutrients in the appropriate amounts to support life processes, such as growth in children without promoting excess weight.
Body mass index (BMI) – BMI is an indirect measure of body fat that is calculated as the ratio of a person's body weight in kilograms to the square of a person's height in meters.
BMI (kg/m2) = weight (kilograms)/height (meters)2
BMI (lb/in2) = [weight (pounds)/height (inches)2 ] x 703
In children and youth, BMI is based on growth charts for age and gender and is referred to as "BMI-for-age," which is used to assess underweight, overweight and obesity. See www.cdc.gov/growthcharts for more information.
Child-care settings – include child-care centers and child-care provided in homes. Early childhood education settings, such as preschool and Head Start programs, also are included.
Competitive foods – Foods and beverages offered at schools that fall outside of the meals and snacks served through the federally reimbursed school lunch, breakfast and after-school snack programs. Competitive foods include food and beverage items sold through à la carte lines, snack bars, student stores, vending machines and school fundraisers.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans – A federal summary of the latest dietary guidance for the public based on current scientific evidence and medical knowledge. The Guidelines are issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture and revised every five years. See www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines for more information.
Energy balance – A state where energy intake is equivalent to energy expenditure, resulting in no net weight gain or weight loss. With regard to children, energy balance is used to indicate equality between energy intake and energy expenditure that supports normal growth without promoting excess weight gain.
Environmental interventions – Environmental interventions involve: 1) changing physical surroundings or settings; 2) access, availability or information about foods at the point of purchase; or 3) organizational systems to promote dietary behavior change and reduce obesity risk.
Energy density – The amount of energy stored in a given food per unit volume or mass. Fat stores 9 kilocalories/gram (gm), alcohol stores 7 kilocalories/gm, carbohydrate and protein each store 4 kilocalories/gm, fiber stores 1.5 to 2.5 kilocalories/gm and water has no calories. Foods that are almost entirely composed of fat with minimal water (e.g., butter) are more energy-dense than foods that consist largely of water, fiber and carbohydrates (e.g., fruits and vegetables).
Fast food – Foods designed for ready availability, use or consumption and sold at eating establishments for quick availability or take-out.
Food environments – Children's food environments refer to a child's physical environment, such as child-care, preschool, school, after-school programs, and food outlets (e.g., corner stores, grocery stores, restaurants) where children and their families make food purchases and food decisions. These environments influence children's food choices and intake through food access, availability, characteristics (e.g., energy density and portion size) and promotion (e.g., price, placement and packaging). These environments are affected by broader macro-level influences and policies, such as food marketing, government regulations, agricultural policies, and market and economic factors.
Food policy – Regulations, laws, policy-making actions or formal or informal rules established by formal organizations or government units. Food policies operate in many settings and at many levels. Examples include restrictions on the sale of low-nutrition foods and beverages in schools, nutrition standards for foods available in schools and child-care facilities, and commodity food regulations.
Healthy eating – Eating the recommended types and amounts of foods, nutrients and calories recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, while limiting low-nutrient, high-fat and high-sugar foods and beverages to promote health and achieve and maintain an optimum body weight and energy balance. Healthy eating covers the consumption of healthy foods and beverages.
Low-nutrient, energy-dense foods and beverages – Foods and beverages that are low in nutrients but high in energy or caloric density per unit volume or mass (see energy density and nutrient density).
Macro-level policy and system determinants – These include "upstream" policy and environmental factors that work at the highest levels of influence and that have impact at the population level. Examples include National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program regulations, school food revenues and expenses, agricultural subsidies and farm support programs, and local land use and zoning policies.
Nutrient density – The amount of nutrients that a food contains per unit volume or mass. Nutrient density is independent of energy density although, in practice, the nutrient density of a food is often described in relationship to the food's energy density. Fruits and vegetables are nutrient-dense but not energy-dense. Compared to foods with high fat content, soda or soft drinks are not particularly energy-dense because they primarily are made up of water and carbohydrates; however, because they are otherwise low in nutrients, their energy density is high relative to their nutrient content.
Obesity – An excess amount of subcutaneous body fat in proportion to lean body mass. In adults, a BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese. Obesity in children and youth refers to the age- and gender-specific BMI scores that are equal to or greater than the 95th percentile as indicated on the CDC's BMI charts. In most children, these values are known to indicate elevated body fat and to reflect the comorbidities associated with excessive body weight.
Overweight – In children and youth, BMI is used to assess underweight, overweight and obesity. Children's body fatness changes over the years as they grow. Girls and boys differ in their body fatness as they mature; as such, BMI for children, also referred to as BMI-for-age, is gender- and age-specific. BMI-for-age is plotted on age- and gender-specific BMI charts for children and teens ages 2 to 20 years (see www.cdc.gov/growthcharts). According to a recent expert committee, overweight is defined as BMI-for-age that is greater than or equal to the 85th percentile.
