CDN Public Health & Community Nutrition 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes a 'food swamp'?
- An area with no grocery stores within 10 miles
- An area flooded with outlets selling energy-dense, low-nutrient foods (Correct answer)
- A community garden that produces excess produce
- A region with contaminated water supplies
Correct answer: An area flooded with outlets selling energy-dense, low-nutrient foods
A food swamp has an overabundance of fast food and convenience stores relative to healthy food options.
Question 2: The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every how many years and are jointly published by:
- 5 years; USDA and HHS (Correct answer)
- 10 years; USDA and CDC
- 5 years; FDA and USDA
- 2 years; HHS and NIH
Correct answer: 5 years; USDA and HHS
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every 5 years and are jointly published by USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Question 3: A community health worker reports that a rural county has a 35% rate of food insecurity. This statistic is an example of which type of data?
- Individual clinical data
- Population-level epidemiological data (Correct answer)
- Qualitative interview data
- Biochemical nutritional data
Correct answer: Population-level epidemiological data
A county-level food insecurity rate represents population-level epidemiological data describing the health burden in a defined group.
Question 4: Which of the following is the MOST effective strategy to improve diet quality at the population level?
- Providing one-on-one nutrition counseling to all residents
- Implementing policy and environmental changes such as taxing sugary beverages (Correct answer)
- Distributing brochures about healthy eating
- Hosting community cooking classes monthly
Correct answer: Implementing policy and environmental changes such as taxing sugary beverages
Policy and environmental interventions have the broadest reach and most sustainable impact on population-level dietary behavior.
Question 5: A registered dietitian designing a school nutrition program applies the social-ecological model. Which level of intervention focuses on school cafeteria layout changes?
- Individual
- Interpersonal
- Organizational/institutional (Correct answer)
- Community
Correct answer: Organizational/institutional
Cafeteria layout changes operate at the organizational/institutional level, modifying the physical environment within the school setting.
Question 6: In a cross-sectional study of dietary patterns and hypertension, researchers find that high sodium intake is associated with elevated blood pressure. What is the major limitation of this study design?
- It cannot calculate disease prevalence
- It cannot establish temporal (cause-effect) relationships (Correct answer)
- It cannot include large sample sizes
- It is too expensive to conduct
Correct answer: It cannot establish temporal (cause-effect) relationships
Cross-sectional studies measure exposure and outcome simultaneously, making it impossible to determine which came first (causality).
Question 7: The 'built environment' concept in public health nutrition refers to:
- Nutrient composition of manufactured foods
- Human-made surroundings that influence physical activity and food access (Correct answer)
- Infrastructure of hospital nutrition departments
- Construction of community gardens
Correct answer: Human-made surroundings that influence physical activity and food access
The built environment encompasses human-made physical settings (roads, stores, parks) that shape opportunities for healthy eating and activity.
CDN Public Health & Community Nutrition 3
Which of the following best describes a 'food swamp'?