USDA-ARS Linking Beverage Consumption to Dietary Patterns in Children
*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.
ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), associated with the Delta Human Nutrition Research Program located in Stoneville, MS. The candidate can be located at another USDA facility.
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.
Research Project: Beverages account for about 18% of mean daily food energy; thus determining whether they are part of a healthy eating pattern would be important. The objective of the research project is to determine if links exist between types of beverages consumed and dietary patterns by meal type in US children 1-18 years of age. Data from 2-3 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) will be used to conduct this research. NHANES is a program of studies designed to measure the health and nutritional status of noninstitutionalized children and adults living in the US. Included in the interview portion are demographic (age, gender, race/ethnicity), socioeconomic (poverty-to-income ratio, food security, participation in nutrition programs), dietary, and health related questions. Dietary intake data, including beverages, are collected using 24-hour dietary recalls. Diet quality of the dietary intake data will be scored using the 2020 Healthy Eating Index (HEI), an a priori dietary pattern. The HEI was developed to measure how well Americans aged >2 years of age meet recommendations of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For children less than 2 years of age, the HEI-Toddlers-2020 will be used to score diet quality. This version of the HEI uses the same 13 components as the standard HEI, but the scoring standards are different to reflect the nutritional needs of toddlers. Health behaviors will include physical activity and sleep pattens. Thus, the goal of this research is to identify associations between food and beverage consumption patterns in US children 1-18 years of age and determine if these associations are moderated by health behaviors and socioeconomic characteristics.
Learning Objectives:
- By the end of the first 6 months, you will have been taught how to analyze beverage consumption patterns among U.S. children aged 1–18 years using at least two NHANES cycles, ensuring data cleaning and preparation are completed for statistical analysis.
- Within 12 months, you will have been taught how to compare and evaluate the relationship between beverage types and dietary patterns by meal type using descriptive and inferential statistics, producing at least one preliminary report.
- By month 18, you will have been taught how to apply and interpret HEI-2020 and HEI-Toddlers-2020 scoring systems to assess diet quality for all age groups in the dataset, and validate scoring accuracy through peer review.
- Within 20 months, you will have been taught how to investigate and assess the influence of socioeconomic factors and health behaviors (physical activity, sleep) on beverage and food consumption patterns using multivariate models, and summarize findings in a draft manuscript.
- By the end of the 24-month appointment, you will have been taught how to synthesize and report findings on associations between dietary intake, beverage choices, and health outcomes in alignment with the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and submit at least one manuscript for publication.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Jessica Thomson (jessica.thomson@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: September 1, 2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will be for two years.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $74,000 - $$74,678 annually.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.
ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process, please email ORISE.ARS.HQPostdoc@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Qualifications
The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past four years.
Preferred skills:
- Preferred educational background is dual focus in nutrition and public health and/or epidemiology.
- Favorable skills and/or experience include conducting literature reviews, managing projects and datasets, designing surveys, and interpreting analytic results.
Stipend
$74,000.00 – $74,678.00 Yearly
Point of Contact
Eligibility Requirements
- Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only