Identifying meaningful dietary intake and physical activity questions for individual and population health.

We aimed to identify valid screening questions for adults regarding physical activity and dietary behaviours that (a) were correlated with BMI, (b) were deemed by patients and providers to be relevant to clinical care, and (c) have utility for longitudinal understanding of health behaviours in populations. The goal was to identify screening questions that could be implemented at annual health care visits. First, we identified dietary behaviour questions and solicited patient input.

Applying the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy to Four Multicomponent Childhood Obesity Interventions.

Applying the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy has the potential to facilitate identification of effective childhood obesity intervention components. This article evaluates the feasibility of coding Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Consortium interventions and compares reliability between external taxonomy-familiar coders and internal intervention-familiar coders. After training, coder pairs independently coded prespecified portions of intervention materials.

Development of Brief Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Screening Questions for Electronic Health Record Use.

To develop and test brief nutrition and physical activity screening questions for children ages 2-11 years that could be used as a pragmatic screening tool to tailor counseling, track behavior change, and improve population health. A literature review identified existing validated questions for nutrition and physical activity behaviors in children ages 2-11 years. Response variation and concurrent validity was then assessed using a mechanical Turk (MTurk) crowdsourcing survey employed in 2018.

Salivary epigenetic biomarkers as predictors of emerging childhood obesity.

Background: Epigenetics could facilitate greater understanding of disparities in the emergence of childhood obesity. While blood is a common tissue used in human epigenetic studies, saliva is a promising tissue. Our prior findings in non-obese preschool-aged Hispanic children identified 17 CpG dinucleotides for which differential methylation in saliva at baseline was associated with maternal obesity status.

Effect of a Behavioral Intervention for Underserved Preschool-Age Children on Change in Body Mass Index: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Prevention of obesity during childhood is critical for children in underserved populations, for whom obesity prevalence and risk of chronic disease are highest.

Objective: To test the effect of a multicomponent behavioral intervention on child body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) growth trajectories over 36 months among preschool-age children at risk for obesity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A randomized clinical trial assigned 610 parent-child pairs from underserved communities in Nashville, Tennessee, to a 36-month intervention targeting health behaviors or a school-readiness control.

Parental feeding patterns and child weight status for Latino preschoolers.

Objective: To examine the relationships between parental patterns regarding child feeding and child body mass index (BMI) percentile in Latino parent€-preschooler dyads participating in a clinical trial.

Methods: This secondary analysis examined data collected during a randomized clinical trial of a culturally tailored healthy lifestyle intervention focused on childhood obesity prevention, Salud Con La Familia. We analyzed 77 Latino parent-child dyads who completed baseline and 3-month follow-up data collection, assessing associations between preschool child BMI percentile and parental response to the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) over time.

Growing Right Onto Wellness (GROW): a family-centered, community-based obesity prevention randomized controlled trial for preschool child-parent pairs.

Growing Right Onto Wellness (GROW) is a randomized controlled trial that tests the efficacy of a family-centered, community-based, behavioral intervention to prevent childhood obesity among preschool-aged children. Focusing on parent-child pairs, GROW utilizes a multi-level framework, which accounts for macro (i.e.

The relationship between executive function and obesity in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review.

The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the development of executive function (EF) and obesity in children and adolescents. We reviewed 1,065 unique abstracts: 31 from PubMed, 87 from Google Scholar, 16 from Science Direct, and 931 from PsycINFO. Of those abstracts, 28 met inclusion criteria and were reviewed.

Culturally tailored, family-centered, behavioral obesity intervention for Latino-American preschool-aged children.

Objective: To test the effect of a culturally tailored, family-centered, short-term behavioral intervention on BMI in Latino-American preschool-aged children.

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 54 parent-child dyads were allocated to the intervention and 52 dyads were allocated to an alternative school-readiness program as the control condition. Parent-child dyads were eligible if the parent self-defined Latino, was at least 18 years old, had a 2- to 6-year-old child not currently enrolled in another healthy lifestyle program, had a valid telephone number, and planned on remaining in the city for the next 6 months.

Systematic exposure to recreation centers increases use by Latino families with young children.

Background: Living near community recreation centers (CRC) is associated with increases in adolescent and adult physical activity, but the efficacy of efforts to increase use among Latino parents and young children is unknown. We hypothesized that Latino parent-child dyads with exposure to a CRC through culturally tailored programming would be more likely to use the facility for physical activity a year after programming ended than dyads living in the same geographic area who were not exposed to the programming.

Methods: Self-identified Latino parent-child dyads who had participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a culturally tailored healthy lifestyle program and completed a 12-month follow-up assessment constituted the "exposed" group (n = 66).

Changing overweight Latino preadolescent body mass index: the effect of the parent-child dyad.

Background: Latino children are disproportionately burdened by obesity.

Objective: To assess whether body mass index (BMI) change in preadolescents reflected that of their participating parent.

Methods: A total of 72 Latino overweight/obese preadolescents (BMI ≥ 85%) and a parent participated in a randomized controlled trial.

Pediatric obesity community programs: barriers & facilitators toward sustainability.

Our current generation of young people could become the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents. Families need resources in their community to address this issue. Identifying barriers and facilitators of community organizations to offer obesity-related services is a first step in understanding sustainable community programs.

Social influences on self-reported physical activity in overweight Latino children.

Psychosocial variables influence physical activity for different age groups, sex, and ethnic groups. However, little is known about their influence on physical activity in preadolescent Latino children. The authors examined how a) confidence in one's ability to be physically active (self-efficacy); b) ideas about the consequences of being physically active (beliefs), and c) the influences of family and friends on physical activity (social influences) effect physical activity levels in overweight (body mass index >or=85%) Latino preadolescent children.