Changes in leukocyte telomere length among children with obesity participating in a behavioural weight control program.

Objective: To examine changes in leukocyte telomere length (LTL) during and after a behavioural weight control program for children with obesity.

Methods: We measured LTL among a cohort of 158 children 8-12 years of age with a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile for age and sex. Children were 55% female, 29% white, 52% Latinx, 8% Asian and 11% Pacific Islander, other or multiethnic.

Are mobile phone ownership and age of acquisition associated with child adjustment? A 5-year prospective study among low-income Latinx children.

This prospective, longitudinal study examined associations between whether and when children first acquire a mobile phone and their adjustment measures, among low-income Latinx children. Children (N = 263; 55% female; baseline M  = 9.5) and their parents were assessed annually for 5 years from 2012.

Simulation-Based Evaluation of Methods for Handling Nonwear Time in Accelerometer Studies of Physical Activity.

Unlabelled: Accelerometer data are widely used in research to provide objective measurements of physical activity. Frequently, participants may remove accelerometers during their observation period resulting in missing data referred to as nonwear periods. Common approaches for handling nonwear periods include discarding data (days with insufficient hours or individuals with insufficient valid days) from analyses and single imputation (SI) methods.

Packaging and Scaling the Stanford Pediatric Weight Control Program: A Family-Based, Group, Behavioral Weight Management Program for Children with Obesity and Their Families: Background, Rationale, and Design of the Stanford CORD 3.0 Project.

Efficacious treatments for children with obesity have not been broadly disseminated. The Stanford Pediatric Weight Control Program (SPWCP) is grounded in behavioral theory and prior observations, follows a proven treatment model, and is consistent with the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations. It has shown high levels of participation and retention and reductions in BMI and percent of median BMI for age and sex comparable to many studied programs, as well as improvements in physiological risk factors, psychological measures, and diet, activity, and screen time behaviors in children with obesity when delivered as a real-world clinical program with sociodemographically diverse families in multiple clinic and community settings.

A community-based, multi-level, multi-setting, multi-component intervention to reduce weight gain among low socioeconomic status Latinx children with overweight or obesity: The Stanford GOALS randomised controlled trial.

Background: There are few long-term studies of interventions to reduce in low socioeconomic status children with overweight or obesity. The Stanford GOALS trial evaluated a 3-year, community-based, multi-level, multi-setting, multi-component (MMM) systems intervention, to reduce weight gain among low socioeconomic status, Latinx children with overweight or obesity.

Methods: We did a two-arm, parallel group, randomised, open-label, active placebo-controlled trial with masked assessment over 3 years.

Potential corner case cautions regarding publicly available implementations of the National Cancer Institute's nonwear/wear classification algorithm for accelerometer data.

The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) wear time classification algorithm uses a rule based on the occurrence of physical activity data counts-a cumulative measure of movement, influenced by both magnitude and duration of acceleration-to differentiate between when a physical activity monitoring (PAM) device (ActiGraph accelerometer) is being worn by a participant (wear) from when it is not (nonwear). It was applied to PAM data generated from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003-2004). We discuss two corner case conditions that can produce unexpected, and perhaps unintended results when the algorithm is applied.

Effects of Varying Epoch Lengths, Wear Time Algorithms, and Activity Cut-Points on Estimates of Child Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity from Accelerometer Data.

Objective: To examine the effects of accelerometer epoch lengths, wear time (WT) algorithms, and activity cut-points on estimates of WT, sedentary behavior (SB), and physical activity (PA).

Methods: 268 7-11 year-olds with BMI ≥ 85th percentile for age and sex wore accelerometers on their right hips for 4-7 days. Data were processed and analyzed at epoch lengths of 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 30-, and 60-seconds.

Turn off the TV and dance! Participation in culturally tailored health interventions: implications for obesity prevention among Mexican American girls.

Our evaluation study identifies facilitators and barriers to participation among families participating in the treatment arm of Stanford ECHALE. This culturally tailored obesity prevention trial consisted of a combined intervention with two main treatment components: 1) a folkloric dance program; and 2) a screen time reduction curriculum designed for 7-11 year old Latinas and their families. We conducted 83 interviews (40 parents and 43 girls) in participant homes after 6 months of enrollment in the ECHALE trial.

Family, community and clinic collaboration to treat overweight and obese children: Stanford GOALS-A randomized controlled trial of a three-year, multi-component, multi-level, multi-setting intervention.

Objective: To test the effects of a three-year, community-based, multi-component, multi-level, multi-setting (MMM) approach for treating overweight and obese children.

Design: Two-arm, parallel group, randomized controlled trial with measures at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months after randomization.

Participants: Seven through eleven year old, overweight and obese children (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) and their parents/caregivers recruited from community locations in low-income, primarily Latino neighborhoods in Northern California.

A randomized controlled trial of culturally tailored dance and reducing screen time to prevent weight gain in low-income African American girls: Stanford GEMS.

Objective: To test a 2-year community- and family-based obesity prevention program for low-income African American girls: Stanford GEMS (Girls' health Enrichment Multi-site Studies).

Design: Randomized controlled trial with follow-up measures scheduled at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months.

Setting: Low-income areas of Oakland, California.

Team sports for overweight children: the Stanford Sports to Prevent Obesity Randomized Trial (SPORT).

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an after-school team sports program for reducing weight gain in low-income overweight children.

Design: Six-month, 2-arm, parallel-group, pilot randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Low-income, racial/ethnic minority community.

Stanford GEMS phase 2 obesity prevention trial for low-income African-American girls: design and sample baseline characteristics.

Objective: African-American girls and women are at high risk of obesity and its associated morbidities. Few studies have tested obesity prevention strategies specifically designed for African-American girls. This report describes the design and baseline findings of the Stanford GEMS (Girls health Enrichment Multi-site Studies) trial to test the effect of a two-year community- and family-based intervention to reduce weight gain in low-income, pre-adolescent African-American girls.

Associations among familism, language preference, and education in Mexican-American mothers and their children.

Latino families who express a higher degree of familism are characterized by positive interpersonal familial relationships, high family unity, social support, interdependence in the completion of daily activities, and close proximity with extended family members. Retention of cultural values, such as familism, may be linked to positive health outcomes; however, little is known about how families retain culture of origin values in the face of acculturation pressures. The current study explores acculturation influences as indexed by language preference and household education on maternal and child familism.

Are perceived neighborhood hazards a barrier to physical activity in children?

Background: We hypothesized that children's perceptions of more neighborhood hazards would be associated with less physical activity, less aerobic fitness, and a higher body mass index.

Objective: To examine the association between a hazardous neighborhood context and physical activity in children.

Methods: Fourth-grade students (n = 796) of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds completed measures of neighborhood hazards, self-reported physical activity, physical fitness, height, and weight.

Effects of reducing television viewing on children's requests for toys: a randomized controlled trial.

Previous attempts to reduce the effects of television advertising on children's purchase requests have had little success. Therefore, we tested the effects of a classroom intervention to reduce television, videotape, and video game use on children's toy purchase requests, in a school-based randomized controlled trial. Third- and fourth-grade children (mean age, 8.

Is parental control over children's eating associated with childhood obesity? Results from a population-based sample of third graders.

Objective: Identifying parental behaviors that influence childhood obesity is critical for the development of effective prevention and treatment programs. Findings from a prior laboratory study suggest that parents who impose control over their children's eating may interfere with their children's ability to regulate intake, potentially resulting in overweight. These findings have been widely endorsed; however, the direct relationship between parental control of children's intake and their children's degree of overweight has not been shown in a generalized sample.

Effects of reducing children's television and video game use on aggressive behavior: a randomized controlled trial.

Context: The relationship between exposure to aggression in the media and children's aggressive behavior is well documented. However, few potential solutions have been evaluated.

Objective: To assess the effects of reducing television, videotape, and video game use on aggressive behavior and perceptions of a mean and scary world.

Overweight concerns and body dissatisfaction among third-grade children: the impacts of ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of overweight concerns and body dissatisfaction among third-grade girls and boys and the influences of ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES).

Study Design: Nine hundred sixty-nine children (mean age, 8.5 years) attending 13 northern California public elementary schools completed assessments of overweight concerns, body dissatisfaction, and desired shape, height, and weight.

Are overweight children unhappy?: Body mass index, depressive symptoms, and overweight concerns in elementary school children.

Background: It is commonly believed that overweight children are unhappy with their weight. However, population-based data addressing this association are lacking.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between obesity and depressive symptoms in a diverse, school-based sample of preadolescent children, and to examine whether overweight concerns play a role in this association.

Psychosocial factors associated with youth involvement in community activities promoting heart health.

This study examined factors that influence youth participation in heart disease prevention activities among 2,609 ninth graders in six inner-city public high schools. Constructs derived from social cognitive, empowerment, and community development theories informed the conceptual framework employed. Study participants were diverse with respect to gender, ethnicity, parent education, acculturation, and academic achievement.

Nicotine dependence among adolescent smokers.

Objective: To assess nicotine dependence among adolescents to determine whether quitting smoking is associated with the emergence of nicotine withdrawal symptoms and craving, and to identify the factors associated with these symptoms.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Participants: We studied 2197 10th-grade students in 6 San Jose, Calif, high schools.

Prospective study of risk factors for the initiation of cigarette smoking.

Risk factors for the initiation of cigarette smoking were examined in 2 consecutive cohorts of teenagers (N = 1,901). Students in Cohort 1 were followed over 4 years from 9th to 12th grade; those in Cohort 2 were followed over 3 years from 9th to 11th grade. Among girls with no history of smoking at baseline, those with more friends who smoked at baseline (p < .

Ethnicity and body dissatisfaction: are Hispanic and Asian girls at increased risk for eating disorders?

Purpose: To compare prevalences and correlates of body dissatisfaction among white, Hispanic, and Asian girls.

Methods: A total of 939 6th and 7th grade girls (mean age 12.4 years) attending four middle schools in northern California completed self-administered assessments of age, ethnicity, desired body shape, parent education levels, mother's and father's body shapes, pubertal stage, and body dissatisfaction.

Comparison of the amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) direct test, Amplicor MTB PCR, and IS6110-PCR for detection of MTB in respiratory specimens.

Several nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAAT) have been developed for rapid and direct detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) from clinical specimens. This study compared the performances of the Gen-Probe Amplified MTB Direct Test (AMDT), Roche Amplicor MTB PCR test, and an IS6110-PCR assay with acid-fast smear and culture in the detection of MTB from 428 respiratory specimens from 259 patients. Patients' charts were reviewed for clinical correlation.

Weight concerns influence the development of eating disorders: a 4-year prospective study.

The authors examined factors prospectively associated with age of onset of partial syndrome eating disorders over a 4-year interval in a community sample (N = 877) of high school-age adolescent girls. Four percent developed a partial syndrome eating disorder over the interval. A measure of weight concerns was significantly associated with onset in a multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis (p < .