The Effect of Mental Activation of One's Pet Dog on Stress Reactivity.

Research suggests that mental activation of human social support may reduce stress reactivity. However, the extent to which social support from pets elicits a similar effect has been less explored. This study aims to determine whether the mental activation of one's pet dog reduces stress reactivity to a subsequent experimental stressor.

The Role of Front-of-Package Nutrition Labels with and without Explanatory Videos on Parent and Child Food Choices.

The aim of this research was to determine whether parent/child pairs choosing products from a grocery aisle labeled with front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels would make more healthful choices than pairs who viewed the same items without labels, and to determine the added value of viewing an explanatory video before choosing. In this experiment, 175 parent/child pairs chose USD 20 worth of packaged foods and beverages from a grocery aisle in a research laboratory and were randomly assigned to see products that either did or did not have 0-4-star FOP labels, with more stars indicating more healthful products. Among those participants with access to FOP labels, half were randomly assigned to view a 30 s video explaining the FOP labels before selecting foods.

Motivational Profile as a Predictor of Physical Activity Among US Adults During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Daily Diary Study.

This study used a daily diary approach to examine associations between day-level physical activity (PA) behavior, PA-specific motivational profile, and days since the COVID-19 national emergency declaration during the early months (April-June 2020) of the pandemic. A total of 468 US adults (Mage = 34.8 y, 79% female) participated in a 28-day smartphone-based daily diary study assessing PA.

Virtual reality assessment of walking in a modifiable urban environment: a feasibility and acceptability study.

Physical activity is known to be one of the most health-beneficial behaviors, and salutogenic design modifications to the built environment can facilitate increased physical activity. Unfortunately, it is not often clear in advance which environmental and urban design implementations will generate increases in activities such as walking, and which will have little impact or even reduce walking. The present study tested the feasibility and acceptability of a virtual reality (VR) model for pre-testing urban designs for their impact on walking.

Changes in Adults' Eating Behaviors During the Initial Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review.

Factors such as regulations and health concerns shifted daily habits, including eating behaviors, during the early months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This comprehensive narrative review synthesizes research on eating behavior changes during the early months of the pandemic (February to June 2020), including changes in amount, rate, and timing of food consumption, types and healthfulness of foods consumed, the occurrence of other specified eating behaviors (eg, restrained eating or binging), and reasons for eating (eg, stress or cravings), among adults. A literature search using three EBSCOhost databases and Google Scholar was conducted to identify relevant articles made available in 2020.

Environmental Physical Activity Cues and Children's Active vs. Sedentary Recreation.

Physical activity (PA) benefits health, and intensive environmental modifications can increase children's PA. Research has not yet addressed if subtle environmental cues, such as posters depicting PA, increase child PA. In the current study, it was hypothesized that children exposed to active posters (vs.

Veterinary-Prescribed Physical Activity: Feasibility and Acceptability among Veterinary Staff and Dog Owners.

Physical inactivity remains a global epidemic leading to an estimated 5 million preventable deaths per year. Although there exist numerous public-health campaigns aimed at increasing physical activity (PA), a potentially fruitful but underexplored avenue to promote both human and animal health is veterinary-prescribed PA programs. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of incorporating veterinary-prescribed PA programming into a diverse array of clinic settings.

GMO Food Labels Do Not Affect College Student Food Selection, Despite Negative Attitudes towards GMOs.

US Public Law 114-216 dictates that food producers in the United States of America will be required to label foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) starting in 2022; however, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating how U.S. consumers would use food labels that indicate the presence or absence of GMOs.

Veterinary-prescribed physical activity promotes walking in healthy dogs and people.

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) promotes health and can prevent and treat diseases among both humans and dogs. Unfortunately, most U.S.

A Systematic Review of Community Engagement Outcomes Research in School-Based Health Interventions.

Background: Involving communities in school health has been purported as a practice integral to supporting a Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) approach. Although community collaboration is often included in school-based health initiatives, there is little research considering methods for increasing community engagement. The purpose of this study was to identify effective school-based health interventions documenting changes in community engagement.

Promoting Outdoor Physical Activity for People and Pets: Opportunities for Veterinarians to Engage in Public Health.

Regular physical activity (PA) is a health promoting behavior that transcends species. The collective evidence of a positive relationship between PA and health in both people and animals suggests that implementation of outdoor, dog-associated activities to increase PA may synergistically enhance both human and dog health. A systematic literature review was performed to identify research investigating objective, quantitative health outcomes in both dogs and people exercising together.

Interparental conflict moderates the association between neighborhood stress and adolescent health.

Extensive research has linked neighborhood stress with poorer adolescent physical health, but there are individual differences in this association. There is robust evidence that qualities of family relationships, and particularly interparental conflict, can buffer or exacerbate the effects of neighborhood characteristics on development. The goal of this study was to examine interactions between perceived neighborhood stress and marital conflict in relation to reported adolescent health.

Television advertising of food during children's programming in Nepal.

Objective: The World Health Organization has recommended that advertising of unhealthy food to children decrease in quantity (exposure) and efficacy (power). The degree to which marketing practices align with these recommendations varies across countries. The purpose of this study is to describe the television food marketing landscape that children experience in the South Asian country of Nepal.

Comparison of two front-of-package nutrition labeling schemes, and their explanation, on consumers' perception of product healthfulness and food choice.

Objective: Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels are increasingly used to present nutritional information to consumers. A variety of FOP nutrition schemes exist for presenting condensed nutrition information. The present study directly compared two symbolic FOP labeling systems - traffic light and star-based schemes - with specific regard to healthfulness perception and purchase intention for a variety of products.

Comparing five front-of-pack nutrition labels' influence on consumers' perceptions and purchase intentions.

In 2011, a National Academy of Medicine report recommended that packaged food in the U.S. display a uniform front-of-package nutrition label, using a system such as a 0-3 star ranking.

Simplifying mental math: Changing how added sugars are displayed on the nutrition facts label can improve consumer understanding.

Background: Proposed variations to Nutrition Facts Labels (NFL) have included the display of added sugars (AS) content, but its impact on consumer understanding is poorly understood.

Objective: To examine the degree to which different formats for displaying AS influence consumer understanding, perceptions, and purchase intentions.

Design: Randomized-controlled online experiment.

Innovative Techniques for Evaluating Behavioral Nutrition Interventions.

Assessing outcomes and the impact from behavioral nutrition interventions has remained challenging because of the lack of methods available beyond traditional nutrition assessment tools and techniques. With the current high global obesity and related chronic disease rates, novel methods to evaluate the impact of behavioral nutrition-based interventions are much needed. The objective of this narrative review is to describe and review the current status of knowledge as it relates to 4 different innovative methods or tools to assess behavioral nutrition interventions.

Attention to Physical Activity-Equivalent Calorie Information on Nutrition Facts Labels: An Eye-Tracking Investigation.

Objective: Investigate attention to Nutrition Facts Labels (NFLs) with numeric only vs both numeric and activity-equivalent calorie information, and attitudes toward activity-equivalent calories.

Design: An eye-tracking camera monitored participants' viewing of NFLs for 64 packaged foods with either standard NFLs or modified NFLs. Participants self-reported demographic information and diet-related attitudes and behaviors.

Influence of Cartoon Media Characters on Children's Attention to and Preference for Food and Beverage Products.

Background: Over-consuming unhealthful foods and beverages contributes to pediatric obesity and associated diseases. Food marketing influences children's food preferences, choices, and intake.

Objective: To examine whether adding licensed media characters to healthful food/beverage packages increases children's attention to and preference for these products.

General and food-selection specific parenting style in relation to the healthfulness of parent-child choices while grocery shopping.

Past research has demonstrated that parenting style is related to children's health and eating patterns, and that parenting can vary across time and context. However, there is little evidence about similarities and differences between general, self-reported parenting style and observed parenting during grocery shopping. The goals of this study were to investigate links between general parenting style, parental warmth and limit setting (important dimensions of parenting style) during grocery shopping, and the healthfulness of foods chosen.

Impact of explained v. unexplained front-of-package nutrition labels on parent and child food choices: a randomized trial.

Objective: The present study investigated whether parent/child pairs would select more healthful foods when: (i) products were labelled with front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels relative to packages without labels; (ii) products were labelled with colour-coded Multiple Traffic Light (MTL) FOP labels relative to monochromatic Facts up Front (FuF) FOP labels; and (iii) FOP labels were explained via in-aisle signage v. unexplained.

Design: Participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: (i) FuF labels with in-aisle signs explaining the labels; (ii) FuF labels, no signage; (iii) MTL labels with in-aisle signage; (iv) MTL labels, no signage; (v) control group, no labels/signage.

Evaluating the Impact of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-Proposed Nutrition Facts Label Changes on Young Adults' Visual Attention and Purchase Intentions.

Background: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed modifying the Nutrition Facts Label (NFL) on food packages to increase consumer attention to this resource and to promote healthier dietary choices.

Mirror, Mirror by the Stairs: The Impact of Mirror Exposure on Stair versus Elevator Use in College Students.

Previous research has indicated that self-awareness-inducing mirrors can successfully incite behaviors that align with one's personal values, such as helping others. Other research has found a large discrepancy between the high percentage of young adults who report valuing the healthfulness of physical activity (PA) and the low percentage who actually meet PA participation standards. However, few studies have examined how mirror exposure and both perceived and actual body size influence highly valued PA participation among college students.

Nutrition Label Viewing during a Food-Selection Task: Front-of-Package Labels vs Nutrition Facts Labels.

Background: Earlier research has identified consumer characteristics associated with viewing Nutrition Facts labels; however, little is known about those who view front-of-package nutrition labels. Front-of-package nutrition labels might appeal to more consumers than do Nutrition Facts labels, but it might be necessary to provide consumers with information about how to locate and use these labels.

Objective: This study quantifies Nutrition Facts and front-of-package nutrition label viewing among American adult consumers.