The role of sociodemographic, behavioral and environmental factors on dietary practices of students attending alternative high schools.

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. July 2009. Major: Nutrition. Advisor: Mary Story, PhD, RD. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 238 pages, appendices A-E.The aim of this dissertation is to describe selected dietary practices and to examine how they associate with demographic, school food environmental factors and substance use among a sample of alternative high school students. The dietary practices examined in this research are consumption of regular soda, sports drinks, other sugar-sweetened beverages, high fat food, fruits and vegetables, and frequency of fast food restaurant use. Bronfenbrenner's ecological model guided the development of this research. Data were drawn from the Team COOL (Controlling Overweight and Obesity for Life) pilot study, a multi-component diet and physical activity intervention trial in six alternative public high schools (four urban and two suburban) in the St. Paul- Minneapolis metropolitan area. A convenience sample of 145 students (gender: 52% male; age: 63%