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Resources for Grantseekers Program Definitions
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Definitions for terms related to the research areas supported by the Healthy Eating Research program.
After-school programs - May either be located on school grounds or in other community settings, such as YMCA sites.
Agricultural policies – Policies related to what and how farmers grow or raise domestically, what agricultural products get imported, as well agriculture and extension research programs that can include farm production and nutrition. All of these upstream policies impact dietary intake among children in the U.S. Examples include policies to favor production of certain agricultural commodities, and to impact market prices of these commodities.
Agricultural “subsidies” – Refers to a variety of programs to support farmers. Examples include direct payment programs to producers of certain commodity crops, crop loan programs, crop insurance, and payments for environmental services provided by farms, such as maintenance of buffer strips to protect water quality or to conserve habitat for birds and other wildlife.
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.
Commodity foods - include those foods distributed through the USDA Commodity Food Distribution Program (administered through the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service). Through the Commodity Food Distribution Program, USDA purchases foods through direct appropriations from Congress, and under surplus-removal and price-support activities. The foods are distributed to State agencies for use by eligible local outlets, including schools. For example, schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program may receive USDA commodity meats, vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy products.
Competitive foods - Foods and beverages offered at schools that are sold or offered outside of the federally reimbursed school lunch and breakfast 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 - The latest dietary guidance for Americans aged 2 and over based on current scientific evidence. 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.
Discretionary calories—The balance of calories remaining in a person's "energy allowance" after consuming sufficient nutrient-dense forms of foods to meet all nutrient needs for a day.
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 - involve changing: 1) 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).
Food access – The availability of a range of foods at a reasonable price. This can include both actual availability, as well as perceived availability.
Food assistance programs – Programs aimed at providing children and lower-income people with access to food, a healthful diet and nutrition education. In the
Fast food - Foods designed for ready availability, use or consumption and sold at eating establishments for quick availability or take-out.
Food and beverage formulation – The preparation or synthesis of standard food and beverage products, particularly those which are sold on a large-scale by restaurants and food manufacturers.
Food environments - Factors and conditions in one's surroundings that influence food choices and food consumption. These environments include home, child care, school, after-school programs, and food outlets where children and their families make food decisions. Food environments influence children's food choices and intake through: 1) food access (what food sources are accessible in schools, homes, supermarkets, restaurants, corner stores etc?); 2) food availability (are healthy foods affordable and available?); 3) food characteristics (what is the quality, energy density and portion size?); and 4) food promotion (what is the type of food, price, placement and packaging?)
Food policies - Regulations, laws, policy-making actions or formal or informal rules established by formal organizations or government units. Policies are those that influence the food environment and eating behavior to improve children's eating and body weight.
Front-of-package labeling – Labels that appear on food and beverage packaging (typically on the front of the package), beyond that which is currently regulated by law such as the Nutrition Facts panel, as well as nutrient content or health claims. Current front-of-package labeling schemes include a range of varying symbols and design schemes. In the
Healthy eating - Eating the recommended types and amounts of foods and beverages, 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 support energy balance for an appropriate body weight.
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 influences and policies - "Upstream" approaches that work at the highest levels of influence and have impact at the population level. Macro-level factors represent powerful levers for change and include food production and distribution systems, food marketing, agricultural polices, federal food assistance programs, and economic price structures.
Menu labeling – Labeling restaurant menus to contain nutrition information, as well as other information this is traditionally included here, such as pricing. Calories are most often being considered for current menu labeling efforts. At present, numerous states are considering policies to require fast food and other chain restaurants to provide this information on menus and menu boards. Several states and localities have already passed 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.
Point-of-purchase – A place where sales are made. Various intervention strategies have been proposed to impact individuals’ dietary decisions at the point of purchase, such as labeling menus or menu boards in restaurants using calorie information or nutrition labeling shelf tags in grocery stores.
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