Exploring the contribution of lifestyle to the impact of education on the risk of cancer through Mendelian randomization analysis.

Educational attainment (EA) has been linked to the risk of several types of cancer, despite having no expected direct biological connection. In this paper, we investigate the mediating role of alcohol consumption, smoking, vegetable consumption, fruit consumption and body mass index (BMI) in explaining the effect of EA on 7 cancer groupings. Large-scale genome wide association study (GWAS) results were used to construct the genetic instrument for EA and the lifestyle factors.

Associations of adolescents' diet and meal patterns with school performance in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986: A Mendelian randomisation study.

Background: Several observational studies indicate that dietary habits in children and adolescents are associated with school performance. These associations are heavily confounded by socio-economic characteristics, such as household income and parents' educational attainment, amongst other factors. The objective of this study was to explore the association between diet and school performance in adolescents from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC1986).

Depression mediates the relationship between alexithymia and obesity in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966).

Background: The fact that a complex relationship exists between alexithymia and body mass index (BMI) is well established, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we explore the relationship between alexithymia and depressive symptoms in relation to adiposity measures, including the direct and indirect effect of alexithymia and depressive symptoms on obesity over a 15-year time-period, in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966).

Methods: The study included individuals from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) who had available data for adiposity measures (body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio), alexithymia (measured by the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: TAS-20), depressive symptoms (measured by the 13-item depression subscale of Hopkins Symptom Checklist: HSCL-13) at age of 31 years (n = 4773) and 46 years (n = 4431).

Psychosocial Interventions for the Treatment of Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) can severely affect the life of children and their families, with symptoms carrying into adulthood. Management of FADP symptoms is also a financial and time burden to clinicians and health care systems.

Objective: To systematically review various randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on the outcomes of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), educational support, yoga, hypnotherapy, gut-directed hypnotherapy, guided imagery, and relaxation in the management of FAPDs.

Interventions for the management of abdominal pain in Crohn's disease and inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Crohn's disease is a remitting and relapsing disorder that can affect the whole gastrointestinal tract. Active disease symptoms include abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, and diarrhoea. There is no known cure; however, the disease can be managed, and therefore places a huge financial burden on healthcare systems.

Interventions for the management of abdominal pain in ulcerative colitis.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammation of the colon characterised by periods of relapse and remission. It starts in the rectum and can extend throughout the colon. UC and Crohn's disease (CD) are the most common inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).

Eating behaviour, behavioural problems and sensory profiles of children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), autistic spectrum disorders or picky eating: Same or different?

Background: Not much is known at present about the behavioural and sensory profiles of children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), the newest addition to the eating disorder diagnostic category in DSM-V. Our aims were to examine eating difficulties, behavioural problems and sensory hypersensitivity in ARFID children, relative to typically developing children with no reported feeding, mental or physical health problems, as well as children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD; typically associated with a high prevalence of eating problems) or Picky Eating (PE).

Methods: Four hundred and eighty-six parents of children with ARFID (n = 29), ASD (n = 56), PE (n = 143) or no reported difficulties (n = 259) completed (online) the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale, the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire about the children.

Relationship between BMI and emotion-handling capacity in an adult Finnish population: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966.

Background: Alexithymia, a difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions, has been associated with obesity and eating disorders in small-scale cross-sectional studies. Here, we assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and alexithymia in a large cohort of free-living Finnish adults over a 15-year period.

Methods: Participants were drawn from the Northern Finnish Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966).

OBSERVATION AND COMPARISON OF MEALTIME BEHAVIORS IN A SAMPLE OF CHILDREN WITH AVOIDANT/RESTRICTIVE FOOD INTAKE DISORDERS AND A CONTROL SAMPLE OF CHILDREN WITH TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT.

Despite widespread use of behavioral observations to evaluate child feeding behaviors in research and clinical practice, few studies have comprehensively characterized mealtimes or identified features that differentiate children with and without disordered feeding; these were the aims of the current study. Mealtime observations were conducted for 18 children with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and 21 typically developing children. Observations were coded inductively, and associations between disorder and observed mealtime actions were examined.

Characteristics of feeding tube dependency with respect to food aversive behaviour and growth.

The use of feeding tubes in pediatric medical procedures and management has dramatically increased over the last three decades. With this increase, the prevalence of Feeding Tube Dependency (FTD) - a reliance on enteral feeding following medical recovery due to lack of oral intake of nutrition, despite being able to eat- has increased too. It has been suggested, that cases with FTD show avoidant feeding behaviours such as food refusal, gagging or swallowing resistance, but evidence for this hypothesis is scarce.

Definitions and Clinical Guidance on the Enteral Dependence Component of the Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Diagnostic Criteria in Children.

The aim of the current article is to offer definitive guidance on weaning children who are reliant on nasogastric/gastrostomy feeding tubes. To date, no internationally recognized definitions or principles for interventions exist, and clinics have been reliant on creating their own unique intervention criteria. To achieve the aim, 2 goals are set out within the current article.

Responsiveness to healthy advertisements in adults: An experiment assessing beyond brand snack selection and the impact of restrained eating.

The objective of this study was to explore the impact of different advertising messages on adults' snack choice. Eighty participants (18-24 years old) were offered the choice between two snack packs following exposure to one of three advertising conditions. The snack packs contained either healthy or high fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) foods.

Screening Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in children: Outcomes from utilitarian versus specialist psychometrics.

This study assessed the specificity and sensitivity of two commonly used psychometric methods to assess ARFID in children. To achieve this, a sample of 329 mothers and one father completed the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) and the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS). A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that both measures were able to successfully differentiate a known clinical sample from those of typically developing population.

Validation of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) among Maltese women.

The main aim of this study was to assess the dimensional structure of the Maltese version of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) and evaluate the instrument's validity and reliability among Maltese women (N = 586). Exploratory factor analysis reflected the theoretical structure of three factors; emotional, restrained and external eating which was supported by a Confirmatory Factor analysis. Minor issues with specific items in the Emotional and External eating scale were identified and discussed.

Alterations in taste perception due to recreational drug use are due to smoking a substance rather than ingesting it.

Two studies explored the differences in tastant (salt, sour, bitter, sweet and spicy) concentration preference between recreational drug users and abstainers. In study 1, 250 opportunistically recruited abstainers, cannabis only users and multiple-drug users completed psychometric questionnaires and a concentration preference tastant test. In study 2, 76 participants purposefully recruited abstainers, daily tobacco users, recreational cannabis users and daily cannabis users completed the same protocol as study 1.

RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PARENT-PERCEIVED CHILD CHARACTERISTICS TO VARIATION IN CHILD FEEDING BEHAVIOR.

Few studies have examined the relative impact of co-occurring child characteristics on problematic feeding behavior. The aim of the current study was to assess the relative contributions of parent-perceived child characteristics in multivariable models of child feeding behavior. One hundred sixty-one mothers reported on their child's feeding behavior and a number of key child characteristics.

Muscle dysmorphia: methodological issues, implications for research.

Muscle dysmorphia is a male-dominated, body image-related psychological condition. Despite continued investigation, contention surrounds the nosological status of this disorder. The aim of this article was to review the literature on muscle dysmorphia to provide a qualitative account of methodological issues that may inhibit our understanding.

Screening for feeding disorders. Creating critical values using the behavioural pediatrics feeding assessment scale.

The aim of the current study was to discriminate between clinical and non-clinical samples on the Behavioural Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS). The objective was to present a cut-off value, that was derived statistically, which could be used to screen for feeding disorders. A sample of five hundred and seventy-three families with a target child ranging in age from 20 to 85 months took part in the current study.

Measuring oral sensitivity in clinical practice: a quick and reliable behavioural method.

This article aims to offer a behavioural assessment strategy for oral sensitivity that can be readily applied in the clinical setting. Four children, ranging in age and with a variety of developmental and medical problems, were used as test cases for a task analysis of tolerance to touch probes in and around the mouth. In all cases, the assessment was sensitive to weekly measures of an intervention for oral sensitivity over a 3-week period.

Food choice and overconsumption: effect of a premium sports celebrity endorser.

Objective: To determine whether exposure to celebrity endorsement in television (TV) food advertising and a nonfood context would affect ad libitum intake of the endorsed product and a perceived alternative brand.

Study Design: A total of 181 children from the UK aged 8-11 years viewed 1 of the following embedded within a cartoon: (1) a commercial for Walker's Crisps (potato chips), featuring a long-standing celebrity endorser; (2) a commercial for a savory food; (3) TV footage of the same endorser in his well-known role as a TV presenter; or (4) a commercial for a nonfood item. Children's ad libitum intake of potato chips labeled "Walker's" and "supermarket brand" was measured using ANOVA.

Plasma obestatin and autonomic function are altered in orexin-deficient narcolepsy, but ghrelin is unchanged.

Narcolepsy-cataplexy is characterised by orexin deficiency, sleep disturbance, obesity and dysautonomia. Ghrelin and obestatin affect both energy intake and sleep. Our aim was to investigate ghrelin, obestatin and metabolic/autonomic function in narcolepsy-cataplexy.

A quantitative psychometric evaluation of an intervention for poor dietary variety in children with a feeding problem of clinical significance.

Few studies have been published that offer a quantitative evaluation of interventions for feeding problems of clinical significance. Twenty-four children referred to the service for clinically significant feeding problems were administered the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS; W. Crist & A.

CNS regulation of appetite.

This article reviews the regulation of appetite from a biopsychological perspective. It considers psychological experiences and peripheral nutritional systems (both episodic and tonic) and addresses their relationship with the CNS networks that process and integrate their input. Whilst such regulatory aspects of obesity focus on homeostatic control mechanisms, in the modern environment hedonic aspects of appetite are also critical.

Developmental differences in sensory decision making involved in deciding to try a novel fruit.

Objectives: This research compared sensory processing and personality traits involved in deciding to try a novel fruit (guava) in adults and children.

Design: The research employed an age, sex, and food neophobia matched between-participant design to examine sensory decision making in choosing to eat a novel fruit.

Methods: Forty-four adults (Study 1) and 68 children (Study 2) took part.