Appendix B
Glossary
Abruptio placentae | The separation of the placenta from its attachment to the inner wall of the uterus before the baby is delivered |
Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) | Range of macronutrient intake that is associated with reduced risk of chronic disease, while providing recommended intakes of other essential nutrients |
Added sugars | Sugars that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared, not naturally occurring in foods |
Adequate Intake (AI) | The recommended average daily intake level based on observed or experimentally determined estimates of nutrient intake of groups of apparently healthy people that are assumed to be adequate; used when an Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cannot be determined |
Anemia | Condition that occurs when the body does not have enough red blood cells or when the red blood cells do not function properly |
Arachidonic acid | A polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid found in animal fats that is essential in human nutrition |
Bacterial vaginosis | An infection caused when too much of certain bacteria change the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina |
Cardiometabolic profile | Factors used to identify individuals at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, including higher blood pressure, greater insulin resistance, lower adiponectin, and higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol |
Cash value voucher (CVV) | A monthly voucher in the WIC food package ($11 for women and $8 for children) that allows for the purchase of a variety of fruits and vegetables |
Celiac disease | An autoimmune disorder that can occur in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine |
Complementary foods | Foods other than breast milk or infant formula introduced to an infant to provide nutrients |
DASH Eating Plan | The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is a dietary pattern shown to prevent and control hypertension emphasizing vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and lean meats, while limiting sodium and sugar |
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) | An omega-3 fatty acid found in cold-water, fatty fish |
Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card | An electronic system that allows a recipient to authorize transfer of his or her government benefits from a federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received |
Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) | A nutrient intake value that is estimated to meet the requirement of half the healthy individuals in a population |
Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) | The average dietary energy intake that is predicted to maintain energy balance in a healthy adult of a defined age, gender, weight, height, and level of physical activity consistent with good health |
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments |
Farm-to-school programs | A program in the United States through which schools buy and feature in their menus locally produced foods such as fruits and vegetables, eggs, honey, meat, and beans |
Federal poverty guidelines | Guidelines used by the U.S. government to determine financial eligibility for certain federal programs, issued each year in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) |
Final Rule | 7 C.F.R. § 246 in the Federal Register updated on March 4, 2014, to reflect revisions to the WIC food packages proposed in the 2006 IOM report WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change |
Food allergy | An adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response that occurs reproducibly on exposure to a given food |
Food composition data | Calorie and nutrient content of foods |
Food insecurity | Limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways |
Food security | The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life” |
Full-redemption | All foods prescribed in WIC package were purchased in the quantities available using monthly benefits |
Fully breastfed | “Exclusive breastfeeding” is defined by the World Health Organzation as giving no other food or drink—not even water—except breast milk. It does, however, allow the infant to receive oral rehydration salts (ORSs), drops, and syrups (vitamins, minerals, and medicines) |
Functional ingredient | Nutrient or nonnutrient component added to foods that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition and is considered safe at estimated national levels of consumption |
Gestational diabetes | Type of diabetes that is first seen in a pregnant woman who did not have diabetes before she was pregnant |
Gestational weight gain | Amount of weight gained during pregnancy |
Gluten | Proteins found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale |
Glycemic index | A ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating |
Halal | When used in relation to food products, Halal refers to any foods that are allowed to be eaten according to Islamic Sharia law. Foods that are not considered Halal include pork and its byproducts, alcohol, and animals not slaughtered properly according to Islamic law |
Healthy Eating Index (HEI) | A measure of diet quality that assesses conformance to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans |
Healthy People 2020 | A set of goals and objectives released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with 10-year targets designed to guide national health promotion and disease prevention efforts to improve the health of all people in the United States |
Heme iron | Easily absorbed form of dietary iron that comes primarily from meat |
Hydrolyzed protein | Protein that has been broken down into its component amino acids |
Hypoglycemia | A condition characterized by an abnormally low level of blood sugar (glucose) |
Income-to-poverty ratio | Measurement of the depth of poverty as determined by how close a family’s or individual’s income is to their poverty threshold. Families and individuals with an income-to-poverty ratio of less than 100 percent are identified as being in poverty. An income-to-poverty ratio of 50 percent indicates a family or person is living in deep poverty |
Indian Tribal Organization | Any tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village, regional corporation, or village corporation that is recognized by the Secretary of the Interior as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians |
Interconceptional nutrition | Dietary intake and status of a woman during her reproductive years, between pregnancies, and 6 weeks after delivery |
ISU method | Method developed at Iowa State University (ISU) to estimate the distributions of usual intake of nutrients, foods consumed almost daily, and other dietary components |
Kosher | When used in relation to food products, “Kosher” means that the item in question meets the dietary requirements of Jewish law. Restrictions include those pertaining to types of animals that can be eaten, the process by which they are slaughtered, and the separation of meat and milk |
Lactose intolerance | An inability to digest lactose, which causes symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, and gas after eating or drinking milk or milk products |
Loving Support | The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) national breastfeeding promotion and support campaign that provides education, training, and outreach materials for staff of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Resources are also available for women and their families and friends and health care providers and community partners |
Macronutrient | Dietary components that constitute the bulk of the diet and supply energy and many essential nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins (including essential amino acids), and fats (including essential fatty acids) |
Management information system (MIS) | A computerized database of information organized and programmed in such a way that it produces regular reports on operations for management in an organization |
Maximum monthly allowance (MMA) | The maximum amount of a specific food a participant is allowed in WIC food packages |
Micronutrient | Dietary component required by the body in small amounts that are vital to development, disease prevention, and well-being. Micronutrients are not produced in the body and must be derived from the diet |
Nonceliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) | A form of gluten intolerance that neither meets the diagnostic criteria for celiac disease nor those for wheat allergy |
Nonredemption | No foods prescribed in WIC package were purchased using monthly benefits |
Nutrient-Based Diet Quality (NBDQ) Index | An index developed for this report to measure of the adequacy of nutrient intake and diet quality in the WIC population based on the mean probability of adequacy for the nine shortfall nutrients, calculated for each individual, as compared to Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) values |
Nutrients of public health concern | According to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, within the larger category of shortfall nutrients (nutrients inadequately consumed by the U.S. population), nutrients of public health concern are of particular importance because their underconsumption has been linked to adverse health outcomes |
Omega-3 fatty acid | An unsaturated fatty acid occurring chiefly in fish oils, reported to benefit cardiovascular health |
Partial-redemption | Some amount of foods prescribed in WIC package was purchased with some benefit remaining at the end of the month |
Partially breastfed | The World Health Organization definition of partial breastfeeding is: “giving a baby some breastfeeds, and some artificial feeds, either milk or cereal, or other food” |
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | Comprehensive health insurance reforms enacted to improve access, affordability, and quality of health care for Americans |
PC Software for Intake Distribution Estimation (PC-SIDE) | Software for intake distribution estimation developed at Iowa State University |
Perceived insufficient milk (PIM) | A state in which a mother has or perceives that she has an inadequate supply of breast milk to meet her infant’s needs |
Prebiotics | Natural, nondigestible food ingredients that are linked to promoting the growth of helpful bacteria in the gut. They include fructo-oligosaccharides, such as inulin, and galacto-oligosaccharides |
Preeclampsia | Pregnancy-induced hypertension that occurs after the 20th week (late 2nd or 3rd trimester) of pregnancy |
Pregnancy-induced hypertension | A pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure, swelling due to fluid retention, and protein in the urine |
Probiotics | Live microorganisms that help change or repopulate intestinal bacteria to balance gut flora. This functional component may boost immunity and overall health, especially gastrointestinal health. Probiotics are available to consumers mainly in the form of dietary supplements and foods |
Regional food hubs | A business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand |
Selection bias | A distortion of the measured effect resulting from procedures used to select subjects such that the relation between exposure and disease is different for those who participate and those who would be eligible but do not participate |
Sensitivity analysis | Study of how the uncertainty in the output of a model can be attributed to different sources of uncertainty in the model inputs |
Shortfall nutrients | Nutrients identified by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee as underconsumed by the U.S. population relative to Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) recommendations |
Split tender | Participants may pay the difference out of pocket if their fruit and vegetable purchase exceeds the amount on the cash value voucher |
State agency | State agencies administering the WIC program |
Statistical Program for Age-adjusted Dietary Assessment (SPADE) | Statistical method for estimating usual dietary intake distributions |
Supplemental food | “Those foods containing nutrients determined by nutritional research to be lacking in the diets of pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children, and foods that promote the health of the population served by the WIC Program as indicated by relevant nutrition science, public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns, as prescribed by the Secretary” (Public Law 95-627, § 17) |
Tachycardia | A faster than normal heart rate at rest |
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) | A federal program that provides grant funds to states and territories to provide financial assistance and related support services to pregnant women and families with one or more dependent children. State-administered programs may include childcare assistance, job preparation, and work assistance |
Tolerable Upper Level Intake (UL) | The highest average daily nutrient intake level that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population |
Type 2 diabetes | A chronic condition that affects the metabolism of glucose caused by the body’s ineffective use of insulin |
Universal Product Code (UPC) | A unique 12-digit number assigned to retail goods that identifies both the product and the vendor that sells the product |
USDA food pattern | Food patterns grouped by kilocalorie levels developed by the USDA to help individuals carry out Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations |