Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and obesity risk: A review of recommendations for obesity prevention policies.

Emerging evidence indicates that industrially produced endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be as obesogenic as poor dietary patterns and should be considered in obesity prevention policies. The authors conducted two reviews: (a) a systematic search of four electronic databases for papers published since January 2010 to identify the policy recommendations contained in scientific reviews of EDC exposure and obesity risk and (b) a narrative review of obesity policy documents published since January 2012 to identify the recommendations of national and international agencies. A search of four electronic databases found 63 scientific reviews with policy recommendations, of which 26 suggested individual responsibility to avoid exposure, 11 suggested medical interventions to counter the effects of exposure, and 42 suggested regulatory control of hazardous chemicals.

Role of food aid and assistance in addressing the double burden of malnutrition in Ghana: a qualitative policy analysis.

Background And Aims: In many low-income and middle-income countries, the double burden of malnutrition threatens public health and economic progress, urging a re-evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of nutrition actors, both traditional and non-traditional. This study examines the food aid and assistance activities of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)-one non-traditional actor in the double burden conversation-and the potential for these activities to reach beyond their traditional mandate on undernutrition to also address overweight and obesity in Ghana.

Methods: Information on WFP activities in Ghana from 2012 up through its planning into 2023 was extracted from 11 WFP planning, operations and evaluation documents.

Recognize fish as food in policy discourse and development funding.

The international development community is off-track from meeting targets for alleviating global malnutrition. Meanwhile, there is growing consensus across scientific disciplines that fish plays a crucial role in food and nutrition security. However, this 'fish as food' perspective has yet to translate into policy and development funding priorities.

Grappling With Complex Food Systems to Reduce Obesity: A US Public Health Challenge.

Despite 2 decades of effort by the public health community to combat obesity, obesity rates in the United States continue to rise. This lack of progress raises fundamental questions about the adequacy of our current approaches. Although the causes of population-wide obesity are multifactorial, attention to food systems as potential drivers of obesity has been prominent.

Sports Sponsorships of Food and Nonalcoholic Beverages.

Background: Food and nonalcoholic beverage companies spend millions of dollars on professional sports sponsorships, yet this form of marketing is understudied. These sponsorships are valuable marketing tools but prompt concerns when unhealthy products are associated with popular sports organizations, especially those viewed by youth.

Methods: This descriptive study used Nielsen audience data to select 10 sports organizations with the most 2-17 year old viewers of 2015 televised events.

Food Swamps Predict Obesity Rates Better Than Food Deserts in the United States.

This paper investigates the effect of food environments, characterized as food swamps, on adult obesity rates. Food swamps have been described as areas with a high-density of establishments selling high-calorie fast food and junk food, relative to healthier food options. This study examines multiple ways of categorizing food environments as food swamps and food deserts, including alternate versions of the Retail Food Environment Index.

Marketing Food and Beverages to Youth Through Sports.

Food and beverage marketing has been identified as a major driver of obesity yet sports sponsorship remains common practice and represents millions of dollars in advertising expenditures. Research shows that food and beverage products associated with sports (e.g.

Strategic science for eating disorders research and policy impact.

Scientific research often fails to have relevance and impact because scientists do not engage policy makers and influencers in the process of identifying information needs and generating high priority questions. To address this scholarship-policy gap, we have developed a model of Strategic Science. This research approach involves working with policy makers and influencers to craft research questions that will answer important and timely policy-related questions.

The Heterogeneity of Obesity: Fitting Treatments To Individuals - Republished Article.

Body weight is regulated by a complex interaction of biological, behavioral, and cultural factors. The population as a whole is at risk for obesity because of increased intake of dietary fat, the consumption of calories in fewer meals per day, striking accessibility to palatable foods, and decreased physical activity. This risk may become a reality in individuals with certain biological predispositions (genetic tendency, low metabolic rate, increased fat cell number), specific eating patterns, and susceptibility to the extreme cultural pressure to be lean.

Development of the Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0.

Parallels in biological, psychological, and behavioral systems have led to the hypothesis that an addictive process may contribute to problematic eating. The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) was developed to provide a validated measure of addictive-like eating behavior based upon the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence. Recently, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.

Exposure to Weight-Stigmatizing Media: Effects on Exercise Intentions, Motivation, and Behavior.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of exposure to weight-stigmatizing media on exercise intentions, motivation, and behavior, as well as to examine the interaction between this exposure and past experiences with weight stigma. A community sample of 72 women were randomly assigned to view a brief weight-stigmatizing or neutral video. Participants' choice of taking the stairs versus the elevator was observed before they completed measures of exercise intentions, motivation, and behavior; psychological well-being; and experiences with weight stigma.

Patchy progress on obesity prevention: emerging examples, entrenched barriers, and new thinking.

Despite isolated areas of improvement, no country to date has reversed its obesity epidemic. Governments, together with a broad range of stakeholders, need to act urgently to decrease the prevalence of obesity. In this Series paper, we review several regulatory and non-regulatory actions taken around the world to address obesity and discuss some of the reasons for the scarce and fitful progress.

Individual differences in striatum activity to food commercials predict weight gain in adolescents.

Objective: Adolescents view thousands of food commercials annually, but little is known about how individual differences in neural response to food commercials relate to weight gain. To add to our understanding of individual risk factors for unhealthy weight gain and environmental contributions to the obesity epidemic, we tested the associations between reward region (striatum and orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]) responsivity to food commercials and future change in body mass index (BMI).

Methods: Adolescents (N = 30) underwent a scan session at baseline while watching a television show edited to include 20 food commercials and 20 nonfood commercials.

Heightened vagal activity during high-calorie food presentation in obese compared with non-obese individuals--results of a pilot study.

Eating behaviours are highly cue-dependent. Changes in mood states and exposure to palatable food both increase craving and consumption of food. Vagal activity supports adaptive modulation of physiological arousal and has an important role in cue-induced appetitive behaviours.

Food-addiction scale measurement in 2 cohorts of middle-aged and older women.

Background: Excess weight is a major threat to public health. An addiction-like tendency toward certain foods may contribute to overeating.

Objective: We aimed to describe the prevalence and associated characteristics in relation to a food-addiction scale in middle-aged and older women.