Publications by authors named "Nanette Lopez"

Background: Plant-based diets are associated with lower inflammatory biomarkers and reduced risk of age-related chronic diseases. Epigenetic biomarkers of aging are DNA methylation-based tools that estimate biological age and rate of aging, providing insights into age-related health risks. Healthy diet and lifestyle indicators correlate with slower epigenetic aging.

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Background: Postprandial sleepiness refers to the state of excessive drowsiness that occurs after consuming a meal. This transient phenomenon is experienced by many individuals, often leading to decreased productivity and impaired cognitive performance. This study examined the effect of a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) diet on postprandial sleepiness.

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Depression is a global health concern, with various treatments available. In this study, participants (n = 430) were self-selected or medically referred to a residential lifestyle program at the Black Hills Health & Education Center (BHHEC), with a mean stay of 19 days. Individualized treatment plans included structured physical activity sessions, counseling sessions, and the provision of a vegan diet.

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Objective: Assess the impact of a weight-inclusive podcast (WIP) intervention on body appreciation, intuitive eating (IE), anti-fat attitudes, and weight and health attitudes in university students enrolled in an upper-division nutrition course.

Methods: Quasi-experimental design: Intervention participants listened to 8 weekly WIP episodes (n = 16); the comparison group listened to 8 weekly general nutrition podcasts (n = 29). Intuitive eating, body appreciation, anti-fat attitudes, and general weight and health attitudes were measured preintervention and postintervention.

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Background: Parents play an influential role on their child's eating and physical activity. How maternal personality and individual differences, such as motivation and self-regulation, are associated with their weight-related parenting has yet to be studied. The current study examined relationships of mothers' motivational and self-regulatory characteristics with weight-related parenting practices.

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Background: Impostor phenomenon, also referred to as imposter syndrome or impostorism, was initially identified among high achieving women who felt undeserving of their successes because they felt they were earned through luck or chance, rather than skill or experience. It's prevalence has been identified in many health professions; however, there are no known studies of Registered Dietitians' (RDs) perceptions of impostor phenomenon. This study assesses the following among RDs: [1] prevalence of impostor phenomenon and differences in impostor phenomenon levels, if any, based on [2] highest educational level achieved and [3] years of experience as an RD.

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Existing resilience measures have psychometric shortcomings, and there is no current gold-standard resilience measure. Previous work indicates adults enrolled in a health coaching program may benefit from a resilience measure that is tailored and contextualized to this sample. This two-part study aimed to develop and evaluate a resilience instrument focused on health behavior change in adults in a health coaching program.

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The current study evaluated the efficacy of a three-week self-compassion (SC) meditation intervention in improving body image and SC during pregnancy and postpartum. Participants (n = 71; age = 31.92 ± 3.

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Background: Poor diet may contribute to deleterious chronic health among individuals incarcerated. Yet, limited research has evaluated the nutritional content of menus and commissary items provided in jails. Thus, this study assessed the macronutrient distribution, caloric composition, and diet quality of the seven-day cycle menu and commissary items provided in a southwest, rural county jail in the United States.

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Background: Childhood obesity prevention interventions routinely focus on changing maternal parenting practices. Failure to assess how fathers' weight-related (ie, diet and physical activity) parenting practices contribute to children's energy balance behaviors limits the understanding of their paternal role within the family. Examining the independent and interacting effects of fathers' and mothers' weight-related parenting practices on children's diet and physical activity addresses this important research gap.

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Purpose: Using a seven-day cycle menu and commissary items at a rural county jail, this study aims to describe provisions of micronutrients known to be associated with mental health disorders and if they meet dietary guidelines.

Design/methodology/approach: The nutritional content of a seven-day cycle menu and four available commissary food packs were evaluated using NutritionCalc® Plus software (McGraw-Hill Education version 5.0.

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Background: Latina women are less likely to report engaging in leisure-time physical activity (PA) than non-Latina white women. This study evaluated the 24-month impact of a faith-based PA intervention targeting Latinas.

Methods: The study is a cluster randomized controlled trial of a PA intervention or cancer screening comparison condition, with churches as the randomization unit.

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As women age, they typically experience a progressive decrease in skeletal muscle mass and strength, which can lead to a decline in functional fitness and quality of life. Resistance training (RT) has the potential to attenuate these losses. Although well established for men, evidence regarding the benefits of RT for women is sparse and inconsistent: prior reviews include too few studies with women and do not adequately examine the interactive or additive impacts of workload, modalities, and nutritional supplements on outcomes such as muscle mass (MM), body composition (BC), muscle strength (MS), and functional fitness (FF).

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Background: The 26-item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) is a commonly used tool to assess eating disorder risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the EAT-26 with a combined sample: (1) of adults with overweight and obesity enrolled in a behavioral weight loss program and (2) general adult sample (n = 469; age = 36.17 ± 17.

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Background: The purpose of this study is to examine three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ) scores at baseline and post-intervention (6 months) on successful weight loss and weight maintenance in an 18-month behavioral weight management intervention for adults with overweight and obesity.

Methods: TFEQ and weight were assessed at baseline, 6, and 18 months. Logistic regression models were used to examine scores at baseline on disinhibition, restraint, and perceived hunger factors in the TFEQ on 5% body weight loss at 6 months and 6-month scores to predict 5% weight maintenance at 18 months while controlling for age, sex, and baseline weight.

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"Blue Zones" are geographical regions where people live to be non-agenarians and centenarians with significantly better rates of mental wellness when compared to the average American. It was discovered that these areas have nine unique evidenced-based lifestyle principles, with one of their main principles being the consumption of a plant-based diet. With this in mind, we performed a worksite intervention with the objective of understanding the relationships among Blue Zones knowledge, a plant-based lifestyle, and improvements in overall mental wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Purpose: This paper determined sodium provisions from a seven-day cycle menu and commissary at a rural Southwest County jail and compared it to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) recommendations for sodium.

Design/methodology/approach: A seven-day cycle menu and commissary items were used to determine sodium content for each meal and commissary pack. Estimates for the menu and commissary packs paired with the menu (commissary scenarios) were converted to a daily average of sodium and compared to DRI and DASH recommendations.

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In this study, we examined compliance and progress factors associated with weight loss and maintenance, individual patterns of weight trends following weight loss, and impact of early weight loss on longer-term weight change. We conducted secondary analysis of pre-post data. Participants were 8769 persons (mean age = 47.

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Background: Understanding SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is necessary to reopen schools safely.

Methods: We measured SARS-CoV-2 infection in 320 learners [10.5 ± 2.

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Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, some K-12 schools resumed in-person classes with varying degrees of mitigation plans in the fall 2020. Physical distancing and face coverings can minimize SARS-CoV-2 spread, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, no research has focused on adherence to mitigation strategies during school days.

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Background: Performing regular muscle-strengthening activity has numerous health benefits, including improvements in blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and lean body mass. Despite the disproportionate prevalence of lifestyle-related chronic disease in Latinas (diabetes, hypertension, obesity), most do not report meeting the national guidelines for muscle-strengthening activity. Existing physical activity (PA) research in Latinas has focused almost exclusively on aerobic PA.

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Purpose: Knowledge of within-day factors associated with binge-eating severity among middle-aged fathers is limited. The purpose of the current report was to examine within-day associations of affect, diet, and activity in relation to binge-eating severity using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in men.

Methods: Twenty-three middle-aged fathers completed 8 days of EMA and wore accelerometers to objectively assess activity.

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Background: Understanding SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is necessary to reopen schools safely.

Methods: We measured SARS-CoV-2 infection in 320 learners [10.5 ± 2.

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Despite compelling evidence that fruit and vegetable (F/V) consumption can reduce the risk of obesity and chronic disease, most children fail to meet the daily recommendations for dietary consumption. Theoretical models and empirical findings suggest that parents play a key role in guiding children's overall dietary behaviors. To extend previous findings, the current study utilized ecological momentary assessment (EMA) on smartphones to assess the within-subject and between-subject effects of maternal support (i.

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