Early exposure to added sugars via infant formula may explain high intakes of added sugars during complementary feeding beyond maternal modeling.

Background: Research has shown that early exposure to added sugars from table food is related to increased intake of added sugars in later childhood. The earliest window of exposure to added sugars may be in infancy via infant formula. However, beyond the well-established factors of maternal lifestyle and modeling, there is a lack of research examining how exposure to added sugars from infant formula influences infant/toddler added sugar intakes from table foods and sugar sweetened beverages (SSB).

Caregiver feeding decisions and sociodemographic characteristics are associated with snack food intake during infancy and toddlerhood.

Snacking starts early in childhood, yet little is known about child versus family influences on snacking during infancy and toddlerhood. This secondary analysis of baseline data examined associations of child characteristics (e.g.

The Association between Maternal Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Infant/Toddler Added Sugar Intakes.

Intake of added sugars during early life is associated with poor health outcomes. Maternal dietary intake influences the intake of their children, but little research investigates the relationship between maternal sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) and infant/toddler added sugar intakes. Our objective was to explore the relationship between maternal total sugars and SSB intakes and infant/toddler added sugar intakes.

Reducing relative food reinforcement of infants using a music enrichment program: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Food reinforcement or one's motivation to eat may be established early in life; it might not be the food reinforcement per se that drives weight gain, but rather the imbalance between food and nonfood reinforcement.

Objectives: We implemented a 2-y randomized, controlled trial to assess the effects of a music enrichment program (music, n = 45) compared with an active play date control (control, n = 45) in 9- to 15-mo-old healthy infants who were strongly motivated to eat.

Methods: The 12-mo intensive intervention phase included 4 semesters of Music Together® or a play date program (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall), comprised of once per week group meetings, followed by a 12-mo maintenance phase with monthly meetings.

Frequency of Sweet and Salty Snack Food Consumption Is Associated with Higher Intakes of Overconsumed Nutrients and Weight-For-Length z Scores During Infancy and Toddlerhood.

Background: Current dietary guidelines recommend avoiding foods and beverages with added sugars and higher sodium before age 2 years.

Objective: The aim was to describe daily snack food intake (frequency and total energy) and the associations with overconsumed nutrients (added sugars, sodium, and saturated fats) and child weight-for-length z scores.

Design: A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of baseline data from an ongoing longitudinal intervention was conducted.

Added sugars mediate the relation between pre-pregnancy BMI and infant rapid weight gain: a preliminary study.

Background: Parental obesity is linked to offspring obesity, though little research has explored factors that might influence this relationship during the complementary feeding period. This study investigated whether infant intakes of added sugars mediate the relationship between a mother's pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and infant rapid weight gain (defined as upward weight-for-age percentile crossing).

Methods: This study was of a cross-sectional design.

The Prevalence of Hyperpalatable Baby Foods and Exposure During Infancy: A Preliminary Investigation.

To characterize the prevalence of hyperpalatable foods (HPF) among baby foods in the U.S. and examine the prevalence of HPF exposure and consumption from both baby food and adult food sources among infants aged 9-15 months.

Association Between Added Sugars from Infant Formulas and Rapid Weight Gain in US Infants and Toddlers.

Background: Formulas often contain high amounts of added sugars, though little research has studied their connection to obesity.

Objectives: This study assessed the contribution of added sugars from formulas during complementary feeding on total added sugar intakes, and the association between these sugars and upward weight-for-age percentile (WFA%) crossing (i.e.

High intake of added sugars is linked to rapid weight gain in infancy, breastfeeding ≥12 months may protect against this: A preliminary investigation.

Background: Consumption of added sugars is linked to excess adiposity in older age groups and breastfeeding has been shown to protect against later obesity.

Objectives: This investigation aimed to determine whether intake of added sugars associates with rapid weight gain in individuals under 2 years of age, if intake of added sugars associates with breastfeeding duration, and how both influence body weight.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of data from three 24-hours dietary recalls collected from 141 infants/toddlers (age 11.

Functional connectivity: a source of variance in the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognition?

Over the next 20 years the number of Americans diagnosed with dementia is expected to more than double (CDC, 2007). It is, therefore, an important public health initiative to understand what factors contribute to the longevity of a healthy mind. Both default mode network (DMN) function and increased aerobic fitness have been associated with better cognitive performance and reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease among older adults.

Preliminary evidence that self-efficacy predicts physical activity in multiple sclerosis.

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are less physically active than non diseased people. One method for increasing physical activity levels involves the identification of factors that correlate with physical activity and that are modifiable by a well designed intervention. This study examined two types of self-efficacy as cross-sectional and prospective correlates of objectively measured physical activity in 16 individuals with a diagnosis of MS.

Aerobic fitness is associated with hippocampal volume in elderly humans.

Deterioration of the hippocampus occurs in elderly individuals with and without dementia, yet individual variation exists in the degree and rate of hippocampal decay. Determining the factors that influence individual variation in the magnitude and rate of hippocampal decay may help promote lifestyle changes that prevent such deterioration from taking place. Aerobic fitness and exercise are effective at preventing cortical decay and cognitive impairment in older adults and epidemiological studies suggest that physical activity can reduce the risk for developing dementia.

Dedifferentiation in the visual cortex: an fMRI investigation of individual differences in older adults.

Dedifferentiation, or decreased processing specificity, has been suggested to represent a ubiquitous characteristic of cognitive aging. In this study, we examined both age-related differences and intra-group differences in neural specificity in the ventral visual cortex for color, words, faces and places. Our results demonstrated that neural dedifferentiation was not ubiquitous across stimulus categories.

Pathways from physical activity to quality of life in older women.

Background: In spite of consistent evidence to suggest that being more physically active is associated with enhanced quality of life (QOL), there have been remarkably few attempts to determine the possible underlying mechanisms in this relationship.

Purpose: To prospectively examine the roles played by self-efficacy and physical and mental health status in the physical activity and QOL relationship in older women.

Method: Older women (M age = 68.

Neighborhood satisfaction, functional limitations, and self-efficacy influences on physical activity in older women.

Background: Perceptions of one's environment and functional status have been linked to physical activity in older adults. However, little is known about these associations over time, and even less about the possible mediators of this relationship. We examined the roles played by neighborhood satisfaction, functional limitations, self-efficacy, and physical activity in a sample of older women over a 6-month period.

Effects of change in physical activity on physical function limitations in older women: mediating roles of physical function performance and self-efficacy.

Objectives: To examine the hypothesis that changes in self-efficacy and functional performance mediate, in part, the beneficial effect of physical activity on functional limitations over time.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Setting: Community-based.

Self-efficacy and environmental correlates of physical activity among older women and women with multiple sclerosis.

Physical inactivity is a major health problem in the United States, particularly in elderly and disabled populations. Little research exists examining the relationships between aspects of the built environment and physical activity in older adults and individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). We adopted a social cognitive perspective to examine the independent roles of perceptions of the environmental, self-efficacy and functional limitations in understanding physical activity levels among elderly women and women with MS.

Long-term follow-up of physical activity behavior in older adults.

Objective: To examine the contribution of social-cognitive factors (self-efficacy and affect) in predicting long-term physical activity in a sample of older adults (N=174).

Design: A prospective design assessed physical activity and psychosocial variables at 2 and 5 years following a 6-month randomized, controlled exercise trial.

Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome variable was self-reported physical activity, with previous behavior, self-efficacy, and affect assessed as determinants of physical activity.

Self-efficacy effects on neuroelectric and behavioral indices of action monitoring in older adults.

The relationships between self-efficacy (SE), i.e., beliefs in personal capabilities, and behavioral and neuroelectric (i.

Physical activity and functional limitations in older women: influence of self-efficacy.

This study examined the role of self-efficacy and physical function performance in the relationship between physical activity and functional limitations. Older women (age, M = 68.2 years) completed measures of physical activity, self-efficacy, physical function performance, and functional limitations at the baseline of an ongoing study.

Physical activity and quality of life in older adults: influence of health status and self-efficacy.

Background: Physical activity has been positively linked to quality of life (QOL) in older adults. Measures of health status and global well-being represent common methods of assessing QOL outcomes, yet little has been done to determine the nature of the relationship of these outcomes with physical activity.

Purpose: We examined the roles played by physical activity, health status, and self-efficacy in global QOL (satisfaction with life) in a sample of older Black and White women.

Measuring disability and function in older women: psychometric properties of the late-life function and disability instrument.

Background: The recent development of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument (LL-FDI) was an important contribution to the measurement of function and disability in older adults. The present study examined the psychometric properties and construct validity of the LL-FDI measure in a sample of older women.

Methods: Older black (n = 81) and white (n = 168) women completed the LL-FDI, several measures of physical function, and physical activity measures, and had their body mass index assessed at baseline of an ongoing prospective study.