In persons smoking after 6 wk of varenicline or combined NRT, increasing dose or switching combined NRT to varenicline increased cessation.

Cinciripini PM, Green CE, Shete S, et al. JAMA. 2024;331:1722-1731.

In adults at CV risk, Mediterranean-style or low-fat dietary programs vs. minimal interventions reduce all-cause mortality.

Karam G, Agarwal A, Sadeghirad B, et al. BMJ. 2023;380:e072003.

Nutrition Support Therapy.

Nutrition support therapy is the delivery of formulated enteral or parenteral nutrients to restore nutritional status. Family physicians can provide nutrition support therapy to patients at risk of malnutrition when it would improve quality of life. The evidence for when to use nutrition support therapy is inconsistent and based mostly on low-quality studies.

Change in Glycemic Control for Patients Enrolled in a Membership-Based Primary Care Program: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background: Both primary care practices based on the chronic care model (CCM) and digital therapeutics have been shown to improve the care of patients with diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this observational study was to examine the change in diabetes control for patients enrolled in a membership-based primary care service that is based on the CCM.

Methods: Using a diabetes registry, we analyzed the change in glycated hemoglobin (HbA) for patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (initial HbA≥9%).

Correction: Variability in engagement and progress in efficacious integrated collaborative care for primary care patients with obesity and depression: Within-treatment analysis in the RAINBOW trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Association Between Monetary Deposits and Weight Loss in Online Commitment Contracts.

Purpose: To examine the characteristics of voluntary online commitment contracts that may be associated with greater weight loss.

Design: Retrospective analysis of weight loss commitment contracts derived from a company that provides web-based support for personal commitment contracts. Using regression, we analyzed whether percentage weight loss differed between participants who incentivized their contract using monetary deposits and those who did not.

Evaluating the healthiness of chain-restaurant menu items using crowdsourcing: a new method.

Objective: To develop a technology-based method for evaluating the nutritional quality of chain-restaurant menus to increase the efficiency and lower the cost of large-scale data analysis of food items.

Design: Using a Modified Nutrient Profiling Index (MNPI), we assessed chain-restaurant items from the MenuStat database with a process involving three steps: (i) testing 'extreme' scores; (ii) crowdsourcing to analyse fruit, nut and vegetable (FNV) amounts; and (iii) analysis of the ambiguous items by a registered dietitian.

Results: In applying the approach to assess 22 422 foods, only 3566 could not be scored automatically based on MenuStat data and required further evaluation to determine healthiness.

Nutrition myths and healthy dietary advice in clinical practice.

Healthy dietary intake is important for the maintenance of general health and wellness, the prevention of chronic illness, the optimization of life expectancy, and the clinical management of virtually all disease states. Dietary myths (i.e.

Medicare annual preventive care visits: use increased among fee-for-service patients, but many do not participate.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare coverage expanded in 2011 to fully cover annual preventive care visits. We assessed the impact of coverage expansion, using 2007-13 data from primary care patients of Medicare-eligible age at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (204,388 patient-years), which serves people in four counties near San Francisco, California. We compared trends in preventive visits and recommended preventive services among Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) patients as well as non-Medicare patients ages 65-75 who were covered by private fee-for-service and private HMO plans.

Mobile applications for weight management: theory-based content analysis.

Background: The use of smartphone applications (apps) to assist with weight management is increasingly prevalent, but the quality of these apps is not well characterized.

Purpose: The goal of the study was to evaluate diet/nutrition and anthropometric tracking apps based on incorporation of features consistent with theories of behavior change.

Methods: A comparative, descriptive assessment was conducted of the top-rated free apps in the Health and Fitness category available in the iTunes App Store.

Adolescent Purchasing Behavior at McDonald's and Subway.

Purpose: To assess whether adolescents purchasing food at a restaurant marketed as "healthy" (Subway) purchase fewer calories than at a competing chain (McDonald's).

Methods: We studied 97 adolescents who purchased a meal at both restaurants on different days, using each participant as his or her control. We compared the difference in calories purchased by adolescents at McDonald's and Subway in a diverse area of Los Angeles, CA.

Outdoor advertising, obesity, and soda consumption: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Recent research has shown that neighborhood characteristics are associated with obesity prevalence. While food advertising in periodicals and television has been linked to overweight and obesity, it is unknown whether outdoor advertising is related to obesity.

Methods: To test the association between outdoor food advertising and obesity, we analyzed telephone survey data on adults, aged 18-98, collected from 220 census tracts in Los Angeles and Louisiana.

Assessment of food offerings and marketing strategies in the food-service venues at California Children's Hospitals.

Objective: Marketing strategies and food offerings in hospital cafeterias can impact dietary choices. Using a survey adapted to assess food environments, the purpose of this study was to assess the food environment available to patients, staff, and visitors at the food-service venues in all 14 California children's hospitals.

Methods: We modified a widely-used tool to create the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey for Cafeterias (NEMS-C) by partnering with a hospital wellness committee.

Having and being a personal physician: vision of the Pisacano scholars.

Having a strong relationship with a personal physician can improve patient health outcomes. Yet achieving and sustaining this type of patient-physician relationship is often not possible in the current American health care system. Pisacano scholars and alumni, a group of young physician leaders supported by the American Board of Family Medicine, gathered for a 2-day symposium in June 2010 to explore the meaning of personal doctoring and its importance to our work as family physicians.

Comparison between US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations and Medicare coverage.

Purpose: The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is authorized by the US government to review and disseminate the scientific evidence for clinical preventive services. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the alignment of Medicare preventive services coverage with the recommendations of the USPSTF before implementation of health reform.

Methods: We recorded all Medicare coverage for preventive services as listed in the Medicare preventive services guide of 2007 (including the 2009 update) for all recommended (A-or B-rated) USPSTF and not recommended (D-rated) guidelines for preventive screening and counseling in adults aged 65 years and older.

Changing patient health-risk behavior requires new investment in primary care.

Evidence supports the effectiveness of primary care interventions to improve nutrition, increase physical activity levels, reduce alcohol intake, and stop tobacco use. However, implementing these interventions requires considerable practice expense. If we hope to change behavior to reduce chronic illness, the way we pay for primary care services must be modified to incorporate these expenses.