Associations of appetite sensations and metabolic characteristics with weight retention in postpartum women.

Postpartum weight retention (PPWR) is an important risk factor for long-term obesity. Appetite may be a key factor regulating PPWR. The objectives of this study were to determine the associations between () PPWR and appetite; and () appetite, lactation, and metabolic characteristics.

Association of pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain with fat mass distribution and accretion during pregnancy and early postpartum: a prospective study of Albertan women.

Objectives: To examine the patterns of fat mass gain in pregnancy and fat loss in the early postpartum period relative to women's pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and by adherence to Institute of Medicine's gestational weight gain (GWG) recommendations.

Design: Prospective cohort study with three to four study visits.

Setting: This study is a part of the prospective longitudinal birth cohort, 'The Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition Study' (APrON) that recruited pregnant women from the cities of Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta.

The influence of energy metabolism on postpartum weight retention.

Background: Profiling postpartum energy metabolism may assist in optimizing weight management following childbirth.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to profile total energy expenditure (TEE), resting energy expenditure (REE), exercise energy expenditure, sleep energy expenditure, and respiratory quotient in women at 3 and 9 mo postpartum (3M-PP, 9M-PP, respectively), and to examine the association between energy metabolism and postpartum weight retention (PPWR).

Methods: In this cohort study, 1-h REE (measured in a whole body calorimetry unit, WBCU) and body composition (BC, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) were measured at 3M-PP and 9M-PP (n = 49).

The use of whole body calorimetry to compare measured versus predicted energy expenditure in postpartum women.

Background: Accurate assessment of energy expenditure may support weight-management recommendations. Measuring energy expenditure for each postpartum woman is unfeasible; therefore, accurate predictive equations are needed.

Objectives: This study compared measured with predicted resting energy expenditure (REE) and total energy expenditure (TEE) in postpartum women.

Trajectory and determinants of change in lean soft tissue over the postpartum period.

The aim of this study was to characterise changes in lean soft tissue (LST) and examine the contributions of energy intake, physical activity and breast-feeding practices to LST changes at 3 and 9 months postpartum. We examined current weight, LST (via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), dietary intake (3-d food diary), physical activity (Baecke questionnaire) and breast-feeding practices (3-d breast-feeding diary) in forty-nine women aged 32·9 (sd 3·8) years. Changes in LST varied from -2·51 to +2·50 kg with twenty-nine women gaining LST (1·1 (sd 0·7) kg, P<0·001) and twenty women losing LST (-0·9 (sd 0·8) kg, P<0·001).

Changes in Energy Metabolism from Prepregnancy to Postpartum: A Case Report.

Purpose: Energy metabolism is at the core of maintaining healthy body weights. Likewise, the assessment of energy needs is essential for providing adequate dietary advice. We explored differences in energy metabolism of a primigravid woman (age: 30 years) at 1 month prepregnancy ("baseline"), during pregnancy (33 weeks), and at 3 and 9 months postpartum.

The Voice of Experience: Diet and Weight Change in Women with Breast Cancer Associate with Psychosocial and Treatment-Related Challenges.

Purpose: This study investigated relationships between psychosocial and treatment-related factors, diet, and weight change in women treated with chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer.

Methods: Comprehensive qualitative interviews were conducted with 28 women who were within 12 months of completing chemotherapy treatment.

Results: Changes in food intake and eating patterns were universal over the course of chemotherapy, with broad variability in treatment effects and associated dietary responses linked to weight change.

Higher Pre-pregnancy BMI and Excessive Gestational Weight Gain are Risk Factors for Rapid Weight Gain in Infants.

Objective To describe the effects of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) on infant anthropometrics at birth and 3 months and infant growth rates between birth and 3 months. Methods Body weight prior to and during pregnancy and infant weight and length at birth and 3 months were collected from 600 mother-infant pairs. Adherence to GWG was based on IOM recommendations.

Targeting specific interstitial glycemic parameters with high-intensity interval exercise and fasted-state exercise in type 2 diabetes.

Aims: To compare the acute glycemic responses to a bout of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) and energy-matched moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) performed under fasted and postprandial conditions.

Methods: A randomized, controlled, crossover design was used. Ten individuals with type 2 diabetes were each tested in five experimental conditions after an overnight fast: 1) fasted-state HIIE (HIIEfast); 2) post-breakfast HIIE (HIIEfed); 3) fasted-state MICE (MICEfast); 4) post-breakfast MICE (MICEfed); and 5) no exercise (control).

Assessment of Pre-Pregnancy Dietary Intake with a Food Frequency Questionnaire in Alberta Women.

Purpose: Pre-pregnancy is an under-examined and potentially important time to optimize dietary intake to support fetal growth and development as well as maternal health. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which dietary intake reported by non-pregnant women is similar to pre-pregnancy dietary intake reported by pregnant women using the same assessment tool.

Methods: The self-administered, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was adapted from the Canadian version of the Diet History Questionnaire, originally developed by the National Cancer Institute in the United States.

Using traffic light labels to improve food selection in recreation and sport facility eating environments.

Many recreation and sports facilities have unhealthy food environments, however managers are reluctant to offer healthier foods because they perceive patrons will not purchase them. Preliminary evidence indicates that traffic light labeling (TLL) can increase purchase of healthy foods in away-from-home food retail settings. We examined the effectiveness of TLL of menus in promoting healthier food purchases by patrons of a recreation and sport facility concession, and among various sub-groups.

Women who take n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements during pregnancy and lactation meet the recommended intake.

The aim of the current study was to estimate total intake and dietary sources of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentanoic (DPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and compare DHA intakes with the recommended intakes in a cohort of pregnant and lactating women. Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls and supplement intake questionnaires were collected from 600 women in the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort at each trimester of pregnancy and 3 months postpartum. Dietary intake was estimated in 2 ways: by using a commercial software program and by using a database created for APrON.

Piloting online WellnessRx learning modules: demonstration of developmental evaluation.

WellnessRx is a health initiative focusing on healthy living through education, knowledge translation, and community engagement. Stakeholders of WellnessRx identified web-based education learning modules on nutrition and physical education as a priority to be integrated into existing health sciences curricula, as well as adapted for use by health professionals. Five learning modules were created with essential knowledge, skills, attitudes and resources or tools for health professional students and practitioners.

If we offer it, will children buy it? Sales of healthy foods mirrored their availability in a community sport, commercial setting in Alberta, Canada.

Background: Community sports settings are often sources of unhealthy foods for children. Many managers in these settings are reluctant to increase availability of healthy food options because they perceive that healthy foods are not profitable. This study assessed the independent contribution of increased availability of healthy foods to their sales in a community sport, commercial context.

Organizational characteristics and processes are important in the adoption of the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth in child-care centres.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to gain an understanding of the organizational characteristics and processes in two child-care centres that may influence adoption of the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth (ANGCY).

Design: In-depth qualitative case studies. Data were collected through direct observations, key informant interviews and field notes.

Feasibility and efficacy of menu planning combined with individual counselling to improve health outcomes and dietary adherence in people with type 2 diabetes: a pilot study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and efficacy of implementing a 4-week menu plan combined with individual counselling among people with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: A 12-week pilot study with a pretest and post-test design was conducted among 15 participants with type 2 diabetes. The menu plan incorporated the overall recommendations of the Canadian Diabetes Association nutrition therapy guidelines and considered factors such as the accessibility, availability and acceptability of foods.

Outdoor time is associated with physical activity, sedentary time, and cardiorespiratory fitness in youth.

Objective: To determine whether time spent outdoors was associated with increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and related health benefits in youth.

Study Design: We performed a cross-sectional study of 306 youth aged 13.6 ± 1.

Dietary changes and food intake in the first year after breast cancer treatment.

Understanding dietary habits of women after breast cancer is a critical first step in developing nutrition guidelines that will support weight management and optimal health in survivorship; however, limited data are available. The objective of this study was to describe changes in diet among breast cancer survivors in the first year after treatment, and to evaluate these changes in the context of current dietary intake. Changes in diet were assessed in 28 early stage breast cancer survivors, using a self-reported survey in which women identified changes in food intake since their diagnosis.

Test-retest reliability of a continuous glucose monitoring system in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Aims: This study determined the test-retest reliability of a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) (iPro™2; Medtronic, Northridge, CA) under standardized conditions in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Subjects And Methods: Fourteen individuals with T2D spent two nonconsecutive days in a calorimetry unit. On both days, meals, medication, and exercise were standardized.

Estimation of choline intake from 24 h dietary intake recalls and contribution of egg and milk consumption to intake among pregnant and lactating women in Alberta.

Despite recommendations for higher choline intakes during pregnancy and lactation, there is limited research regarding maternal intake during these important periods. In the present study, we estimated dietary choline intake during pregnancy and lactation in a population of Albertan women and the contribution of egg and milk consumption to intake. Dietary intake data were collected from the first 600 women enrolled in a prospective cohort study carried out in Alberta, Canada.

Changes in dietary and physical activity risk factors for type 2 diabetes in Alberta youth between 2005 and 2008.

Objective: Unhealthy dietary and physical inactivity patterns inspired many initiatives promoting healthy youth and healthy schools in Alberta between 2005 and 2008. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the prevalence of lifestyle risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D) between two province-wide samples of Alberta adolescents (2005 and 2008).

Methods: The dietary and physical activity (PA) patterns of Alberta youth were assessed in two cross-sectional studies of grade 7-10 students, one in 2005 (n=4936) and one in 2008 (n=5091), using a validated web-survey.

Choosing healthier foods in recreational sports settings: a mixed methods investigation of the impact of nudging and an economic incentive.

Background: Nudging is an approach to environmental change that alters social and physical environments to shift behaviors in positive, self-interested directions. Evidence indicates that eating is largely an automatic behavior governed by environmental cues, suggesting that it might be possible to nudge healthier dietary behaviors. This study assessed the comparative and additive efficacy of two nudges and an economic incentive in supporting healthy food purchases by patrons at a recreational swimming pool.

Predictors of health-related quality of life in 500 severely obese patients.

Objective: To characterize health-related quality of life (HRQL) impairment in severely obese subjects, using several validated instruments.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 500 severely obese subjects was completed. Short-Form (SF)-12 [Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS) component summary scores], EuroQol (EQ)-5D [Index and Visual Analog Scale (VAS)], and Impact of Weight on Quality of Life (IWQOL)-Lite were administered.

Healthy strategies for successful weight loss and weight maintenance: a systematic review.

The rates of overweight and obesity are rising in Canada and worldwide, and there is a need for effective methods for weight loss and weight maintenance to empower individuals to make changes. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the evidence available for successful diet strategies for weight loss and weight maintenance among adults. A search was conducted of the following databases: CAB Abstracts, Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Food Science and Technology Abstracts, and Web of Knowledge.

Weight loss and outcomes in wait-listed, medically managed, and surgically treated patients enrolled in a population-based Bariatric program: prospective cohort study.

Background: Multidisciplinary bariatric care is increasingly being delivered in Canada within publicly funded regional programs. Demand is high, wait lists are long, and clinical effectiveness is unknown.

Objective: To examine the "real-world" outcomes associated with a publicly funded, population-based regional bariatric (medical and surgical) program.