Bi-Directional Associations Between Real-Time Affect and Physical Activity in Weight-Discordant Siblings.

Unlabelled: Pediatric obesity confers increased risk for a host of negative psychological and physical health consequences and is reliably linked to low levels of physical activity. Affective antecedents and consequences of physical activity are thought to be important for the development and maintenance of such behavior, though research examining these associations in youth across the weight spectrum remains limited.

Objective: This study examined bi-directional associations between affect and physical activity (i.

Assault Deterrents and Educators' Risk of Physical Assault: A Case-Control Study.

The study purpose was to identify associations between assault deterrent presence in kindergarten through 12th (K-12) grade schools and physical assaults (PAs) against educators. Data collected through a two-phase study identified physical and nonphysical violent events and utilized a nested case-control study to identify PA risk/protective factors. Analyses included multivariable modeling.

Weight discordant siblings' ability to reduce energy intake at a meal as compensation for prior energy intake from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).

Background: Insufficient compensation for energy from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumed prior to meals may promote greater overall energy intake. If so, ability to compensate for prior energy intake may account for difference in adiposity between adolescents with and without overweight. Studies of fraternal siblings discordant for weight status control for some genetic and shared within-family factors, which allows for testing how putative non-shared factors, such as parental control of feeding, predicts sibling weight differences.

Associations between objective physical activity and emotional eating among adiposity-discordant siblings using ecological momentary assessment and accelerometers.

Background: Emotional eating is associated with obesity, though less is known regarding factors that predict emotional eating episodes in children and adolescents.

Objectives: To investigate whether moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) or total activity counts 60 minutes prior to psychological stress predicted stress-related eating and positive emotional eating (ie, eating while happy), and whether adiposity (z-BMI) moderated these associations.

Methods: Participants were drawn from a prior study of siblings (N = 77; mean age = 15.

Eating Responses to External Food Cues in Weight Discordant Siblings.

Purpose: Heightened responsivity to external food cues may promote energy intake and account for differences in weight status between nonoverweight and overweight adolescents. Studies of weight-discordant fraternal siblings control for some genetic and shared within-family factors, which allow for testing of other nonshared factors relevant to sibling weight differences.The aim of the study was to determine whether same-sex weight-discordant (one nonoverweight and one overweight) adolescent siblings differ in responsiveness to external food cues.

The social context moderates the relationship between neighborhood safety and adolescents' activities.

Studies of neighborhood safety and physical activity have typically neglected to consider the youth's peer context as a modifier of these relationships. This study fills this gap in testing the independent and interactive effects of perceived neighborhood safety and time spent with friends and peers on young adolescents' physical activity and sedentary behavior. Participants (N = 80; ages 13-17) completed the Pedestrian/Traffic Safety and Crime Safety subscales of the adolescent version of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS).

Infant Temperament Is Associated with Relative Food Reinforcement.

Objective: Food reinforcement refers to how hard someone is motivated to work to gain access to food. Infant temperament is defined as behavioral styles, or constitutionally based individual differences in reactive and regulatory aspects of behavior. Identifying correlates of food reinforcement, such as infant temperament, may help identify infants at risk for future negative health consequences (e.

Reducing relative food reinforcement in infants by an enriched music experience.

Objective: The reinforcing value of food may be established early in life. Research shows that infant weight status is related to the relative reinforcing value of food versus non-food alternatives (food reinforcing ratio, FRR). The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the effects of a 6-week music enhancement program (Music Together®, n = 14) versus an active play date control group (n = 13) on the FRR in 9- to 16-month-old infants who were high in relative food reinforcement.

The Effect of Increasing Autonomy Through Choice on Young Children's Physical Activity Behavior.

Background: Increasing autonomy by manipulating the choice of available physical activity options in a laboratory setting can increase physical activity in older children and adults. However, the effect of manipulating the number of physically active choices has yet to be examined in young children in a gymnasium environment.

Methods: Twenty children (n = 10 girls, 6.

Habituation to a stressor predicts adolescents' adiposity.

Background And Objectives: Stress is associated with gains in adiposity. One factor that determines how much stress is experienced is how quickly an adolescent reduces responding (habituates) across repeated stressors. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of body mass index (BMI) percentile and the rate of habituation to a stressor.

Origins of food reinforcement in infants.

Background: Rapid weight gain in infancy is associated with a higher risk of obesity in children and adults. A high relative reinforcing value of food is cross-sectionally related to obesity; lean children find nonfood alternatives more reinforcing than do overweight/obese children. However, to our knowledge, there is no research on how and when food reinforcement develops.

Food reinforcement and delay discounting in zBMI-discordant siblings.

Objective: The interaction of food reinforcement and the inability to delay gratification are related to adult energy intake and obesity. This study was designed to test the association of sibling pair differences in relative reinforcing efficacy of food and delay discounting on sibling pair differences in zBMI scores of same-gender zBMI-discordant siblings.

Design And Methods: We tested main and interactive relationships between delay discounting and relative reinforcing efficacy of food on zBMI discordance in 14 zBMI-discordant biological sibling pairs (6 female pairs) using a discordant sibling study design.

Effect of Interpersonal and Cognitive Stressors on Habituation and the Utility of Heart Rate Variability to Measure Habituation.

Habituation is a decrease in responding to a repeated stimulus. Operant responding and salivation measure habituation in eating behaviour research. Stress may increase eating by acting as a distractor, yielding spontaneous recovery and prolonging responding for food.

Stress, behavior, and biology: risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in youth.

Psychological stress reactivity is associated with atherogenesis in youth. The novel hypothesis is that stress promotes atherogenic behaviors, including snacking on energy-dense food and reducing physical activity, and increases adiposity. Stress also increases systolic blood pressure cardiovascular reactivity, which also may be atherogenic.

Food reinforcement and parental obesity predict future weight gain in non-obese adolescents.

Background: Food reinforcement, the extent to which people are willing to work to earn a preferred snack food, and parental obesity are risk factors for weight gain, but there is no research comparing the predictive effects of these factors for adolescent weight gain.

Methods: 130 non-obese adolescents (M age=15.2 ± 1.

Case-control study of student-perpetrated physical violence against educators.

Purpose: Although prior research focused primarily on student-on-student school violence, educators are also at risk. This study was designed to identify risk factors for assaults against educators.

Methods: Kindergarten-grade 12 educators (n = 26,000), randomly selected from a state license database, were screened for eligibility (6,469, eligible) by mailed questionnaire.

Risk of physical assault against school educators with histories of occupational and other violence: a case-control study.

A case-control study design was used to investigate risks of work-related physical assault (PA) associated with a history of violent victimization among educators. A total of 6,469 state-licensed educators (Kindergarten - Grade 12) worked in the previous 12~months and were eligible to participate. Exposure data were collected from cases (reporting a PA event in previous 12 months, n=290) for the month before PA, and from controls (no work-related PA in previous 12 months; n=867) for a randomly selected working month.

Autonomy supportive environments and mastery as basic factors to motivate physical activity in children: a controlled laboratory study.

Background: Choice promotes the experience of autonomy, which enhances intrinsic motivation. Providing a greater choice of traditional active toys may increase children's activity time. Mastery also increases intrinsic motivation and is designed into exergames, which may increase play time of a single exergame, reducing the need for choice to motivate activity compared to traditional active toys.

Effect of increasing the choice of active options on children's physically active play.

Objectives: To determine whether increasing the choice of physical activity options increases the duration and intensity of children's physically active play.

Design: This cross-sectional laboratory study included gender (male and female) and choice group [single toy (no choice), three toys (low choice), five toys (high choice)] as between participant factors.

Methods: Boys and girls (n=36, 8-12 y) were stratified, randomly assigned to a choice group that always provided access to each participant's most liked active toy(s), and allowed 60 min of free time.

Violence against educators: a population-based study.

Objective: Identify the magnitude and risk factors for occupational physical assault (PA) and nonphysical violence (NPV) against Minnesota educators.

Methods: Among 26,000 randomly selected licensed kindergarten to grade 12 educators, 6469 eligible educators reported whether they experienced PA or NPV during the prior year. Multiple logistic regression models were based on directed acyclic graphs.

Stress-induced cardiovascular reactivity and atherogenesis in adolescents.

Objective: To examine the association between cardiovascular reactivity to a set of psychological stressors and carotid artery intima-media thickness, a marker of subclinical cardiovascular disease in healthy adolescents.

Methods: Participants were 25 boys and 23 girls age 14.2 ± 0.

Written violence policies and risk of physical assault against Minnesota educators.

Few research studies on school violence policies use quantitative methods to evaluate the impact of policies on workplace violence. This study analyzed nine different written violence policies and their impact on work-related physical assault in educational settings. Data were from the Minnesota Educators' Study.