Obesity as a risk factor for developing functional limitation among older adults: A conditional inference tree analysis.

Objective: To examine the risk factors of developing functional decline and make probabilistic predictions by using a tree-based method that allows higher order polynomials and interactions of the risk factors.

Methods: The conditional inference tree analysis, a data mining approach, was used to construct a risk stratification algorithm for developing functional limitation based on BMI and other potential risk factors for disability in 1,951 older adults without functional limitations at baseline (baseline age 73.1 ± 4.

Diet quality and body mass index are associated with health care resource use in rural older adults.

Health care resource consumption is a growing concern. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between diet quality and body mass index with health care resource use (HRU) in a cohort of advanced age. Participants in the Geisinger Rural Aging Study (n=5,993) were mailed demographic and dietary questionnaires in 2009.

Body mass index, poor diet quality, and health-related quality of life are associated with mortality in rural older adults.

In an aging population, potentially modifiable factors impacting mortality such as diet quality, body mass index (BMI), and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are of interest. Surviving members of the Geisinger Rural Aging Study (GRAS) (n = 5,993; aged ?74 years) were contacted in the fall of 2009. Participants in the present study were the 2,995 (1,267 male, 1,728 female; mean age 81.

Diet-related practices and BMI are associated with diet quality in older adults.

Objective: To assess the association of diet-related practices and BMI with diet quality in rural adults aged ≥74 years.

Design: Cross-sectional. Dietary quality was assessed by the twenty-five-item Dietary Screening Tool (DST).

Association between dietary quality and mortality in older adults: a review of the epidemiological evidence.

The population is aging worldwide. Delayed mortality is associated with an increased burden of chronic health conditions, many of which have a dietary component. A literature search was conducted to retrieve and review relevant articles considering quality of diets in association with mortality in older adults aged 60 years and older.

Development and evaluation of a method for calculating the Healthy Eating Index-2005 using the Nutrition Data System for Research.

Objective: To develop and evaluate a method for calculating the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005) with the widely used Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) based on the method developed for use with the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrient Dietary Data System (FNDDS) and MyPyramid Equivalents Database (MPED).

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Non-institutionalized, community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and above.

Girls' early sweetened carbonated beverage intake predicts different patterns of beverage and nutrient intake across childhood and adolescence.

Background: Information is limited on persistence of early beverage patterns throughout childhood and adolescence and their influence on long-term dietary intake.

Objective: To describe changes in beverage intake during childhood and assess beverage and nutrient intake from ages 5 to 15 years among girls who were consuming or not consuming sweetened carbonated beverages (soda) at age 5 years.

Design/subjects: Participants were part of a longitudinal study of non-Hispanic white girls and their parents (n=170) assessed biennially from age 5 to 15 years starting fall 1996.

Beverage intake of girls at age 5 y predicts adiposity and weight status in childhood and adolescence.

Background: Increased consumption of sweetened beverage has been linked to higher energy intake and adiposity in childhood.

Objective: The objective was to assess whether beverage intake at age 5 y predicted energy intake, adiposity, and weight status across childhood and adolescence.

Design: Participants were part of a longitudinal study of non-Hispanic white girls and their parents (n = 170) who were assessed biennially from age 5 to 15 y.

Dietary screening tool identifies nutritional risk in older adults.

Background: No rapid methods exist for screening overall dietary intakes in older adults.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a scoring system for a diet screening tool to identify nutritional risk in community-dwelling older adults.

Design: This cross-sectional study in older adults (n = 204) who reside in rural areas examined nutrition status by using an in-person interview, biochemical measures, and four 24-h recalls that included the use of dietary supplements.

Consumption of recommended food groups among children from medically underserved communities.

This cross-sectional study of 2- to 12-year-olds living in medically underserved areas examined the proportion of children meeting the food group intake recommendations for fruits, vegetables, total grains, dairy, and meat/meat alternatives by age group and body weight status. Based on 24-hour recalls collected between July 2004 and March of 2005, mean food group intake and deviation from the recommended intake amounts were determined (actual intake minus recommended intake). Measured weight and height were used to calculate body mass index z scores using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts.

Plausible reports of energy intake may predict body mass index in pre-adolescent girls.

Inaccurate reporting of energy intake makes it difficult to study the associations between diet and weight status. This study examined reported energy intake at age 9 years as a predictor of girls' body mass index (BMI) at age 11 years, before and after adjusting for parents' BMI and girls' pubertal status. This prospective, observational cohort study included 177 non-Hispanic white girls and their parents.

A carbohydrate-restricted diet alters gut peptides and adiposity signals in men and women with metabolic syndrome.

Carbohydrate-restricted diets have been shown to enhance satiation- and other homeostatic-signaling pathways controlling food intake and energy balance, which may serve to reduce the incidence of obesity and metabolic syndrome. This study was designed as a correlational, observational investigation of the effects of a carbohydrate-restricted diet on weight loss and body fat reduction and associated changes in circulating leptin, insulin, ghrelin, and cholecystokinin (CCK) concentrations in overweight/obese patients (4 men and 16 women) with metabolic syndrome. Subjects received clinical instruction on the initiation and maintenance of the commercial South Beach Diet, consisting of 2 phases: Phase I (initial 2 wk of the study) and Phase II (remaining 10 wk).

Reductions in dietary energy density are associated with weight loss in overweight and obese participants in the PREMIER trial.

Background: Dietary energy density (ED) reductions are associated with energy intake (EI) reductions. Little is known about influences on body weight (BW).

Objectives: We examined the effects of behavioral interventions on ED values and explored how 6-mo ED changes relate to BW.

A dietary screening questionnaire identifies dietary patterns in older adults.

Dietary patterns reflect habitual exposure of foods and nutrients and are a preferred means to assess diet and disease relations. Our objective was to design a screening tool to assess diet quality and dietary patterns among older adults and to relate the patterns to markers of general health and nutrition status. We used a population-specific data-based approach to design a diet screening instrument that was tested among subjects sampled from the Geisinger Rural Aging Study cohort (n=205).

Assessing the effect of underreporting energy intake on dietary patterns and weight status.

Objectives: To identify misreporting among older rural adults using a prediction algorithm and to compare dietary patterns of underreporters and plausible reporters.

Design: In this cross-sectional study, diet information was assessed by five 24-hour recalls collected over 10 months. All foods were classified into 24 food subgroups.

Girls' dairy intake, energy intake, and weight status.

We explored the relationships among girls' weight status, dairy servings, and total energy intake. The hypothesis that consuming dairy could reduce risk for overweight was evaluated by comparing energy intake and weight status of girls who met or consumed less than the recommended three servings of dairy per day. Participants included 172 11-year-old non-Hispanic white girls, assessed cross-sectionally.

Comparative strategies for using cluster analysis to assess dietary patterns.

Objectives: To characterize dietary patterns using two different cluster analysis strategies.

Design: In this cross-sectional study, diet information was assessed by five 24-hour recalls collected over 10 months. All foods were classified into 24 food subgroups.

Understanding reporting bias in the dietary recall data of 11-year-old girls.

Objective: This study describes patterns of bias in self-reported dietary recall data of girls by examining differences among girls classified as under-reporters, plausible reporters, and over-reporters on weight, dietary patterns, and psychosocial characteristics.

Research Methods And Procedures: Participants included 176 girls at age 11 and their parents. Girls' weight and height were measured.

Diet quality, added sugar, and dietary fiber intakes in American preschoolers.

Purpose: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between meeting the intake recommendations for added sugar (AS) and dietary fiber and overall diet quality in American preschoolers from different ethnic backgrounds.

Methods: Data from a nationally representative sample of preschoolers participating in the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII) 1994-1996, and 1998 (n=5,437) were categorized into 3 groups: (1) meeting the recommendation for AS intake (< or = 10% of energy) and dietary fiber (14 g and 20 g in 2- to 3-year-olds and 4- to 5-year-olds, respectively; n=236); (2) meeting only 1 recommendation (n=1,502); and (3) meeting neither (n=3,699). Dietary AS and dietary fiber sources were ascertained.

Girls' calcium intake is associated with bone mineral content during middle childhood.

We examined longitudinally the association between calcium intake and total body bone mineral content (TBBMC) in 151 non-Hispanic white girls. Intakes of dairy, energy, and calcium were assessed using three 24-h dietary recalls in girls at ages 5, 7, 9, and 11 y. We assessed their total-body bone mineral content with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at ages 9 and 11 y.

Dairy and dairy-related nutrient intake during middle childhood.

Objective: To characterize patterns of dairy intake among girls in middle childhood.

Design: Longitudinal data were used to characterize girls' patterns of dairy intake at age 5, 7, 9, and 11 years.

Subjects: Participants were 151 girls from predominately middle-class and exclusively non-Hispanic white families living in central Pennsylvania.

Nutritional status predicts primary subclasses of T cells and the lymphocyte proliferation response in healthy older women.

Aging is often associated with a dysregulation in immune function, particularly in T-cell responses, even in the healthy elderly. Adequate nutrition is important for optimal immune function. The literature on the relation of nutritional status with immune function in the elderly offers mixed findings.

Tanita foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analysis system validated in older adults.

Simple, accurate, and noninvasive methods for assessing body composition are needed in many clinical, community, and research settings. The foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) system may be one method of addressing those needs. The objective of this study was to determine the validity of a foot-to-foot BIA system for body-composition assessment of older adults.