Recruitment and retention of families interested in a parent-based pediatric obesity intervention.

Recruitment and retention in pediatric obesity treatment remains challenging, especially for groups at highest risk of this condition, including African Americans. However, most investigations examine attrition during intervention or follow-up. Little is known about those who refuse enrollment, or drop out at baseline.

Evaluation of Parent-Reported Feeding Practices in a Racially Diverse, Treatment-Seeking Child Overweight/Obesity Sample.

This study examined psychometric properties and baseline/post-treatment racial differences in the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) in parents of overweight/obese children in a randomized controlled obesity trial. Participants were 302 (=285 mothers, =17 fathers) diverse (=207 Black, =80 White), treatment-seeking parents of children (5-11 years) with overweight/obesity. CFQ data fit an established factor structure (Anderson et al, 2005) in the full sample and subsample of Black parents.

A Pilot Intervention Targeting Dietary Intake in School Cafeterias.

Objectives: This study assessed fruit and vegetable (F&V) waste during school meals in two public elementary schools, and investigated the impact of a tasting intervention implemented in one of these schools.

Methods: F&V waste was evaluated before (baseline), immediately after (post-testing), and six weeks following (follow-up), the tasting intervention.

Results: The modal outcome at each assessment was that children ate all of the served F&Vs.

Messages about appearance, food, weight and exercise in "tween" television.

Tweens (children ages ~8-14years) are a relatively recently defined age group, increasingly targeted by marketers. Individuals in this age group are particularly vulnerable to opinions and behaviors presented in media messages, given their level of cognitive and social development. However, little research has examined messages about appearance, food, weight, and exercise in television specifically targeting tweens, despite the popularity of this media type among this age group.

Development and preliminary effectiveness of an innovative treatment for binge eating in racially diverse adolescent girls.

Introduction: Binge and loss of control (LOC) eating are significant concerns among many adolescents and are associated with poor physical, social, and psychological functioning. Black girls appear to be particularly vulnerable to binge and LOC eating. Yet, empirically validated, culturally sensitive treatments for these disordered eating behaviors are not well established.

Parent skills training to enhance weight loss in overweight children: evaluation of NOURISH.

Objective: Although there is general agreement that parents should be involved in pediatric obesity treatment, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of interventions that target parents exclusively. Moreover, the effectiveness of this approach has not been adequately assessed with racially diverse families, particularly African Americans(AA), a group at high risk for elevated Body Mass Index (BMI).

Methods: NOURISH (Nourishing Our Understanding of Role modeling to Improve Support and Health) is a culturally-sensitive parenting intervention targeting overweight (AA) children (ages 6-11; MBMI = 98.

Nourishing Our Understanding of Role Modeling to Improve Support and Health (NOURISH): design and methods.

Pediatric overweight is associated with numerous physical and psychological health risks, and overweight children are at significant risk for obesity in adulthood. African-American children are at particularly high risk for obesity and related health complications. However, this racial group has traditionally had limited access to obesity treatment and relatively few studies have included sufficient numbers of lower-SES, African American participants.

An evaluation of the reliability and construct validity of eating disorder measures in white and black women.

Most measures of eating disorder symptoms and risk factors were developed in predominantly White female samples. Yet eating disorders affect individuals of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Black women appear more vulnerable to certain forms of eating pathology, such as binge eating, and less susceptible to other eating disorder symptoms and risk factors, such as body dissatisfaction, compared with their White peers.

Representations of celebrities' weight and shape during pregnancy and postpartum: a content analysis of three entertainment magazine websites.

Entertainment magazine websites provide a continuous stream of celebrity news accessed by over 13 million unique viewers each month. Celebrities' experiences of pregnancy and new motherhood appear to be popular topics within these media outlets; however, little research has investigated the content of this coverage. In this study, investigators coded articles (N=387) published between August 1, 2007 and August 1, 2008 on three popular entertainment magazine websites.

Preventing weight gain in first year college students: an online intervention to prevent the "freshman fifteen".

The transition to college has been identified as a critical period for increases in overweight status. Overweight college students are at-risk of becoming obese adults, and, thus prevention efforts targeting college age individuals are key to reducing adult obesity rates. The current study evaluated an Internet intervention with first year college students (N=170) randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: 1) no treatment, 2) 6-week online intervention 3) 6-week weight and caloric feedback only (via email), and 4) 6-week combined feedback and online intervention.

Effects of a reality TV cosmetic surgery makeover program on eating disordered attitudes and behaviors.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a reality TV cosmetic surgery program on eating disordered attitudes, behaviors, mood, anxiety, and self-esteem.

Method: Participants (N=147 women) completed baseline surveys and were subsequently randomly assigned to one of two conditions: one in which they watched a reality TV cosmetic surgery program (The Swan) and one in which they watched a reality TV home improvement program (Clean Sweep). Assessments were conducted immediately post-video and two weeks later.