Practitioners in health departments, university extension programs, and nonprofit organizations working in public health face varied challenges to publishing in the peer-reviewed literature. These practitioners may lack time, support, skills, and efficacy needed for manuscript submission, which keeps them from sharing their wisdom and experience-based evidence. This exclusion can contribute to literature gaps, a failure of evidence-based practice to inform future research, reduced ability to educate partners, and delays in advancing public health practice. Our article describes the writing workshops offered to Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded programs in 2021. This project consisted of three 60-minute introductory writing webinars open to all recipients, followed by a Writing for Publications workshop, an 8- to 9-week virtual learning/writing intensive for selected writing team applicants. The Society for Public Health Education staff, consultants, and CDC/DNPAO staff developed, refined, and presented the curriculum. The workshop for public health practitioner writing teams was offered to two cohorts and included extensive coaching and focused on potential submission to a Health Promotion Practice supplement, "Reducing Chronic Disease through Physical Activity and Nutrition: Public Health Practice in the Field" (see Supplemental Material), which was supported by CDC/DNPAO. We describe the webinars, the workshop design, modifications, evaluation methods and results.

PURPOSE:: As part of wellness efforts, employers may seek to improve the nutritional quality of foods offered and consumed in cafeterias and vending machines. However, little is known about who consumes food from these venues and the types and dietary quality of the foods consumed. DESIGN:: Cross-sectional. SETTING:: Nonschool cafeterias and vending machines. PARTICIPANTS:: US adults >/=20 years old. MEASURES:: Prevalence of consuming foods, most common foods eaten, leading calorie sources, 2010 Healthy Eating Index. ANALYSIS:: Using 24-hour dietary recall data from NHANES 2005-2014 (N = 25,549 adults), we estimated the prevalence of consuming foods, assessed the most commonly consumed foods, and calculated dietary quality of foods. RESULTS:: On a given day, 3.1% of adults consumed foods from cafeterias and 3.9% from vending machines. Consumers averaged 692 kcal from cafeterias and 264 kcal from vending machines. Cafeteria consumers had higher income and education, while vending consumers were more likely to be male and younger adults. Common cafeteria foods included vegetables and fruits, but cafeteria foods were generally high in sodium and low in whole grains. Sugar-sweetened beverages and candies accounted for approximately half of all vending calories. CONCLUSION:: Foods chosen from cafeterias and vending machines do not align well with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Improving the dietary quality of foods consumed from these venues could impact millions of adults.

PURPOSE: Characteristics of parents who purchased kids' meals, reasons for the purchase, and desire for healthy options were examined. DESIGN: Quantitative, cross-sectional study. SETTING: National. PARTICIPANTS: The SummerStyles survey data of 1147 parents (>/=18 years). MEASURES: Self-reported outcome variables were purchase of kids' meals (yes/no), reasons for the purchase (13 choices), and desire for healthy options (yes/no). ANALYSIS: We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for purchasing kids' meals based on parental sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. RESULTS: Over half (51%) of parents reported purchasing kids' meals in the past month. The adjusted OR of purchasing kids' meals were significantly higher among younger parents (OR = 3.44 vs >/=50 years) and among parents who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) daily (OR = 2.70 vs none). No differences were found for race/ethnicity, income, and education. Parents who purchased kids' meals reported that the top 3 reasons for purchase were (1) because their children asked for kids' meals, (2) habit, and (3) offering of healthier sides such as fruits or fruit cups. Thirty-seven percent of parents who did not purchase kids' meals expressed willingness to purchase kids' meals if healthy options were available; this willingness was highest among younger parents (47%; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Kids' meal purchases were somewhat common. Our findings on characteristics of parents who frequently bought kids' meals (ie, younger parents and SSB consumers), common reasons for purchasing kids' meals, and willingness to buy healthier kids' meal can be used to inform intervention efforts to improve quality of kids' meals.

BACKGROUND: Menu labeling can help people select foods and beverages with fewer calories and is a potential population-based strategy to reduce obesity and diet-related chronic diseases in the United States. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of menu-labeling use among adults and its association with sociodemographic, behavioral, and policy factors. METHODS: The 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 17 states, which included 100,141 adults who noticed menu labeling at fast-food or chain restaurants ("When calorie information is available in the restaurant, how often does this information help you decide what to order?") were used. Menu-labeling use was categorized as frequent (always/most of the time), moderate (half the time/sometimes), and never. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations among sociodemographic, behavioral, and policy factors with menu-labeling use. RESULTS: Overall, of adults who noticed menu labeling, 25.6% reported frequent use of menu labeling, 31.6% reported moderate use, and 42.7% reported that they never use menu labeling. Compared with never users, frequent users were significantly more likely to be younger, female, nonwhite, more educated, high-income, adults who were overweight or obese, physically active, former- or never-smokers, less than daily (<1 time/day) consumers of sugar-sweetened beverage, and living in states where menu-labeling legislation was enacted or proposed. CONCLUSIONS: Menu labeling is one method that consumers can use to help reduce their calorie consumption from restaurants. These findings can be used to develop targeted interventions to increase menu-labeling use among subpopulations with lower use.

Waist circumference is a simple and valuable anthropometric measure of total and intra-abdominal body fat.1 The clinical guidelines from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults recommend that clinicians assess waist circumference of their patients.2 Although the prevalence of abdominal obesity has increased in the United States through 2008,3 its trend in recent years is unknown. Therefore, our objective was to provide recent information about the trends in mean waist circumference and prevalence of abdominal obesity among adults in the United States from 1999 to 2012.

BACKGROUND: To examine whether youth use calorie information when it is available at fast food/chain restaurants and what factors are associated with using this information to make their food selection. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a sample of 721 youth (9-18 years) using the 2010 YouthStyles and HealthStyles surveys. The outcome measure was reported use of calorie information at fast food/chain restaurants. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the associations between sociodemographic variables and the use of calorie information at fast food/chain restaurants. RESULTS: Of those who visited fast food/chain restaurants, 42.4% reported using calorie information at least sometimes. Girls were more likely than boys (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.2-2.5) and youth who were obese were more likely than those at a healthy weight (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.04-2.9) to use calorie information, and youth eating at a fast food/chain restaurant twice a week or more versus once a week or less were half as likely to report using calorie information (aOR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.4-0.8). CONCLUSION: Public health education efforts can benefit from research to determine how to increase usage among youth so that their food choices are appropriate for their caloric needs.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and characteristics of persons with arthritis or hypertension who received advice from their health-care professional to manage their condition. METHODS: Data from 9 states were obtained from the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Two modules (Arthritis Management and Actions to Control High Blood Pressure) were analyzed (sample sizes: arthritis 29,698, hypertension 29,783). RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of persons with arthritis and 75.8% of persons with hypertension reported that their health-care professional ever suggested physical activity or exercise to help manage their condition. Correlates for being less likely to receive advice were lower levels of education, longer time since last routine doctor visit, being physically inactive, and having lower body mass index. Among inactive, normal weight persons, 43.0% (95% CI: 38.7, 47.4) with arthritis and 50.0% (95% CI: 44.4, 55.6) with hypertension reported receiving advice; among inactive, obese patients, 59.1% (95% CI: 55.8, 62.3) with arthritis and 74.0% (95% CI: 70.5, 77.3) with hypertension reported receiving advice. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that health-care professionals may base physical activity counseling more on body mass index than a patient's activity level. To manage chronic health conditions, health-care professionals should assess patient's physical activity and offer all patients appropriate counseling.