Associations of 5-year changes in alcoholic beverage intake with 5-year changes in waist circumference and BMI in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.

Objective: This study aimed to shed light on contradictory associations of alcohol intake with waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) by examining 5-yr changes in alcohol intake in relation to 5-yr WC and BMI changes.

Methods: This prospective study included 4,355 participants (1,974 men and 2,381 women) enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study at baseline (1985-1986) and followed over 25 years (2010-2011). Longitudinal random effects linear regression models were used to test whether changes in drinking (defined categorically) as starting to drink, increasing, decreasing, stable drinking or stopping drinking (versus stable non-drinking) over a series of 5-yr periods were associated with corresponding 5-yr WC and BMI changes.

Child Maltreatment and Body Mass Index over Time: The Roles of Social Support and Stress Responses.

An unhealthy body mass index (BMI) trajectory can exacerbate the burdens associated with child maltreatment. However, we have yet to explain why the relationship between maltreatment and BMI trajectories exists and what allows individuals to attain healthy BMI trajectories despite adversity. Guided by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, we evaluated (1) if peer friendship and adult mentors moderate, and (2) if impulsivity and depressive symptoms mediate, the relationship between maltreatment experiences and average excess BMI.

Is a Hypertension Diagnosis Associated With Improved Dietary Outcomes Within 2 to 4 Years? A Fixed-Effects Analysis From the China Health and Nutrition Survey.

Background Evidence shows that dietary factors play an important role in blood pressure. However, there is no clear understanding of whether hypertension diagnosis is associated with dietary modifications. The aim of this study is to estimate the longitudinal association between hypertension diagnosis and subsequent changes (within 2-4 years) in dietary sodium, potassium, and sodium-potassium (Na/K) ratio.

Simulating the impact of sodium reduction from packaged foods on population sodium intake in US adults and children.

Objective: To simulate the impact that Na reductions in food categories that are the largest contributors to dietary Na intake would have on population Na intake from packaged foods among US adults and children.

Design: 24 h Dietary recall data were used. For each store-bought packaged food product reported by participants, we generated sales-weighted Na content at the median and 25th percentile using Nutrition Facts Panel data from 193 195 products purchased by US households.

Sensitive Periods for the Association Between Childhood Maltreatment and BMI.

Introduction: Although previous research has suggested a positive association between child maltreatment and BMI over the life course, it is unclear when this develops.

Methods: The authors used time-varying effect models and data from a nationally representative, longitudinal, cohort study (Add Health), to test how childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse uniquely varied in associations with BMI from age 13 to 28 years, and whether different patterns existed for male and female participants. Add Health collected data from 1994 to 2008, and the present analyses took place in 2018.

Maltreatment experience in childhood and average excess body mass from adolescence to young adulthood.

Background: Prior studies have suggested maltreatment is a strong predictor of later weight outcomes, such that maltreatment experiences in childhood increase the likelihood of being overweight or obese in adulthood. Estimates of this relationship may be biased due to: 1) inadequate selection of covariates; 2) improper operationalization of child maltreatment; and 3) restricting analyses to cross-sectional outcomes.

Objectives: Evaluate how latent classes of child maltreatment experiences are associated with a longitudinal BMI measure from adolescence to adulthood.

Persistent disparities over time in the distribution of sugar-sweetened beverage intake among children in the United States.

Background: Recent research suggests that sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has been declining among US children aged 2-18 y. However, most studies focused on changes in mean intake, ignore high SSB consumers and do not examine intake among vulnerable groups and, including adolescents, low-income households, and several racial/ethnic minorities.

Objective: The aim was to estimate usual SSB intake from NHANES surveys from 2003-2004 to 2013-2014 to examine shifts at both the median and 90th percentile among US children, evaluating the extent to which intake disparities in total SSBs and subtypes have persisted.

Patterns and trends in the intake distribution of manufactured and homemade sugar-sweetened beverages in pre-tax Mexico, 1999-2012.

Objective: To describe trends across the intake distribution of total, manufactured and homemade sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) from 1999 to 2012, focusing on high SSB consumers and on changes by socio-economic status (SES) subgroup.

Design: We analysed data from one 24 h dietary recall from two nationally representative surveys. Quantile regression models at the 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles of energy intake distribution of SSB were used.

Does a parsimonious measure of complex body mass index trajectories exist?

Background: A single measure that distills complex body mass index (BMI) trajectories into one value could facilitate otherwise complicated analyses. This study creates and assesses the validity of such a measure: average excess BMI.

Methods: We use data from Waves I-IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 17,669).

Federal Nutrition Program Revisions Impact Low-income Households' Food Purchases.

Introduction: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) required major revisions to food packages in 2009; effects on nationwide low-income household purchases remain unexamined.

Methods: This study examines associations between WIC revisions and nutritional profiles of packaged food purchases from 2008 to 2014 among 4,537 low-income households with preschoolers in the U.S.

Associations of Alcoholic Beverage Consumption with Dietary Intake, Waist Circumference, and Body Mass Index in US Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2012.

Background: Findings from studies of alcohol and obesity measures (eg, waist circumference [WC] and body mass index [BMI; calculated as kg/m]) are conflicting. Residual confounding by dietary intake, inconsistent definitions of alcohol consumption across studies, and the inclusion of former drinkers in the nondrinking comparison group can contribute to the mixed literature.

Objective: This study examines associations of alcoholic beverage consumption with dietary intake, WC, and BMI.

Development of a food composition database to monitor changes in packaged foods and beverages.

In order to monitor nutritional changes in the US food supply and assess potential impact on individual dietary intake, an approach was developed to enhance existing standard food composition tables with time-varying product- and brand-specific information for barcoded packaged foods. A "Crosswalk" was formed between barcoded products and USDA foodcodes in a time-specific manner, such that sales-weighted average nutritional profiles were generated for each foodcode based on corresponding products (275,000 to 350,000 per 2-year cycle). This Crosswalk-enhanced food composition table was applied to dietary intake data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (cycles 2007-2008, 2009-2010, and 2011-2012).

Ultra-processed Food Intake and Obesity: What Really Matters for Health-Processing or Nutrient Content?

Purpose Of Review: The aim of this narrative review was to summarize and critique recent evidence evaluating the association between ultra-processed food intake and obesity.

Recent Findings: Four of five studies found that higher purchases or consumption of ultra-processed food was associated with overweight/obesity. Additional studies reported relationships between ultra-processed food intake and higher fasting glucose, metabolic syndrome, increases in total and LDL cholesterol, and risk of hypertension.

Emerging Disparities in Dietary Sodium Intake from Snacking in the US Population.

Background: The US population consumes dietary sodium well in excess of recommended levels. It is unknown how the contribution of snack foods to sodium intake has changed over time, and whether disparities exist within specific subgroups of the US population.

Objective: To examine short and long term trends in the contribution of snack food sources to dietary sodium intake for US adults and children over a 37-year period from 1977 to 2014.

Sodium Reduction in US Households' Packaged Food and Beverage Purchases, 2000 to 2014.

Importance: Initiatives to reduce sodium in packaged foods have been launched in the United States, yet corresponding changes in the amount of sodium that US households obtain from packaged foods have not been evaluated, to our knowledge.

Objective: To assess 15-year changes in the amount of sodium that US households acquire from packaged food purchases, the sodium content of purchases, and the proportion of households that have purchases with optimal sodium density.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Longitudinal study of US households in the 2000 to 2014 Nielsen Homescan Consumer Panel, a population-based sample of households that used barcode scanners to record all packaged foods purchased throughout the year.

Color-Coded Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels-An Option for US Packaged Foods?

The implementation of a standardized front-of-pack-labelling (FoPL) scheme would likely be a useful tool for many consumers trying to improve the healthfulness of their diets. Our objective was to examine what the traffic light labelling scheme would look like if implemented in the US. Data were extracted from Label Insight's Open Access branded food database in 2017.

Changes in prices, sales, consumer spending, and beverage consumption one year after a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in Berkeley, California, US: A before-and-after study.

Background: Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) meant to improve health and raise revenue are being adopted, yet evaluation is scarce. This study examines the association of the first penny per ounce SSB excise tax in the United States, in Berkeley, California, with beverage prices, sales, store revenue/consumer spending, and usual beverage intake.

Methods And Findings: Methods included comparison of pre-taxation (before 1 January 2015) and first-year post-taxation (1 March 2015-29 February 2016) measures of (1) beverage prices at 26 Berkeley stores; (2) point-of-sale scanner data on 15.

Associations of Cooking With Dietary Intake and Obesity Among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participants.

Introduction: Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may help ease economic and time constraints of cooking, helping low-income households prepare healthier meals. Therefore, frequent cooking may be more strongly associated with improved dietary outcomes among SNAP recipients than among income-eligible non-recipients. Alternately, increased frequency of home-cooked meals among SNAP participants may be beneficial simply by replacing fast food intake.

Trends in racial/ethnic and income disparities in foods and beverages consumed and purchased from stores among US households with children, 2000-2013.

Background: It is unclear whether racial/ethnic and income differences in foods and beverages obtained from stores contribute to disparities in caloric intake over time.

Objective: We sought to determine whether there are disparities in calories obtained from store-bought consumer packaged goods (CPGs), whether brands (name brands compared with private labels) matter, and if disparities have changed over time.

Design: We used NHANES individual dietary intake data among households with children along with the Nielsen Homescan data on CPG purchases among households with children.

Highly Processed and Ready-to-Eat Packaged Food and Beverage Purchases Differ by Race/Ethnicity among US Households.

Background: Racial/ethnic disparities in dietary quality persist among Americans, but it is unclear whether highly processed foods or convenience foods contribute to these inequalities.

Objective: We examined the independent associations of race/ethnicity with highly processed and ready-to-eat (RTE) food purchases among US households. We determined whether controlling for between-group differences in purchases of these products attenuated associations between race/ethnicity and the nutritional quality of purchases.

Trends in Energy Intake from Alcoholic Beverages among US Adults by Sociodemographic Characteristics, 1989-2012.

Background: Long-term US trends in alcoholic beverage calorie intakes remain unexamined, particularly with respect to changes in population subgroup-specific patterns over time.

Objective: This study examined shifts in the consumption of alcoholic beverages, in total and by beverage type, on any given day among US adults in relation to sociodemographic characteristics.

Design: This study was a repeated cross-sectional analysis of data from the 1989-1991 and 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and the 2003-2006 and 2009-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.

Where people shop is not associated with the nutrient quality of packaged foods for any racial-ethnic group in the United States.

Background: In the literature, it has been suggested that there are race-ethnic disparities in what Americans eat. In addition, some studies have shown that residents of African American and low-income neighborhoods have less access to grocery stores and supermarkets, which tend to stock healthier foods. However, it is unclear whether differences in food shopping patterns contribute to the poorer nutrient profile of food purchases made by racial-ethnic minorities.

Is the degree of food processing and convenience linked with the nutritional quality of foods purchased by US households?

Background: "Processed foods" are defined as any foods other than raw agricultural commodities and can be categorized by the extent of changes occurring in foods as a result of processing. Conclusions about the association between the degree of food processing and nutritional quality are discrepant.

Objective: We aimed to determine 2000-2012 trends in the contribution of processed and convenience food categories to purchases by US households and to compare saturated fat, sugar, and sodium content of purchases across levels of processing and convenience.

Where are kids getting their empty calories? Stores, schools, and fast-food restaurants each played an important role in empty calorie intake among US children during 2009-2010.

Consumption of empty calories, the sum of energy from added sugar and solid fat, exceeds recommendations, but little is known about where US children obtain these empty calories. The objectives of this study were to compare children's empty calorie consumption from retail food stores, schools, and fast-food restaurants; to identify food groups that were top contributors of empty calories from each location; and to determine the location providing the majority of calories for these key food groups. This cross-sectional analysis used data from 3,077 US children aged 2 to 18 years participating in the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The association of fast food consumption with poor dietary outcomes and obesity among children: is it the fast food or the remainder of the diet?

Background: Although fast food consumption has been linked to adverse health outcomes, the relative contribution of fast food itself compared with the rest of the diet to these associations remains unclear.

Objective: Our objective was to compare the independent associations with overweight/obesity or dietary outcomes for fast food consumption compared with dietary pattern for the remainder of intake.

Design: This cross-sectional analysis studied 4466 US children aged 2-18 y from NHANES 2007-2010.