Exploring the Potential of a Wearable Camera to Examine the Early Obesogenic Home Environment: Comparison of SenseCam Images to the Home Environment Interview.

BACKGROUND: The obesogenic home environment is usually examined via self-report, and objective measures are required. OBJECTIVE: This study explored whether the wearable camera SenseCam can be used to examine the early obesogenic home environment and whether it is useful for validation of self-report measures. METHODS: A total of 15 primary caregivers of young children (mean age of child 4 years) completed the Home Environment Interview (HEI). Around 12 days after the HEI, participants wore the SenseCam at home for 4 days. A semistructured interview assessed participants' experience of wearing the SenseCam. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), percent agreement, and kappa statistics were used as validity estimates for 54 home environment features. RESULTS: Wearing the SenseCam was generally acceptable to those who participated. The SenseCam captured all 54 HEI features but with varying detail; 36 features (67%) had satisfactory validity (ICC or kappa ≥0.40; percent agreement ≥80 where kappa could not be calculated). Validity was good or excellent (ICC or kappa ≥0.60) for fresh fruit and vegetable availability, fresh vegetable variety, display of food and drink (except sweet snacks), family meals, child eating lunch or dinner while watching TV, garden and play equipment, the number of TVs and DVD players, and media equipment in the child's bedroom. Validity was poor (ICC or kappa <0.40) for tinned and frozen vegetable availability and variety, and sweet snack availability. CONCLUSIONS: The SenseCam has the potential to objectively examine and validate multiple aspects of the obesogenic home environment. Further research should aim to replicate the findings in a larger, representative sample

Four-year stability of anthropometric and cardio-metabolic parameters in a prospective cohort of older adults

Aim: To examine the medium-term stability of anthropometric and cardio-metabolic parameters in the general population. Materials & methods: Participants were 5160 men and women from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (age ≥50 years) assessed in 2004 and 2008. Anthropometric data included height, weight, BMI and waist circumference. Cardio-metabolic parameters included blood pressure, serum lipids (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides), hemoglobin, fasting glucose, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein. Results: Stability of anthropometric variables was high (all intraclass correlations >0.92), although mean values changed slightly (-0.01 kg weight, +1.33 cm waist). Cardio-metabolic parameters showed more variation: correlations ranged from 0.43 (glucose) to 0.81 (HDL). The majority of participants (71–97%) remained in the same grouping relative to established clinical cut-offs. Conclusion: Over a 4-year period, anthropometric and cardio-metabolic parameters showed good stability. These findings suggest that when no means to obtain more recent data exist, a one-time sample will give a reasonable approximation to average levels over the medium-term, although reliability is reduced

Meal size is a critical driver of weight gain in early childhood

Larger serving sizes and more frequent eating episodes have been implicated in the rising prevalence of obesity at a population level. This study examines the relative contributions of meal size and frequency to weight gain in a large sample of British children. Using 3-day diet diaries from 1939 children aged 21 months from the Gemini twin cohort, we assessed prospective associations between meal size, meal frequency and weight gain from two to five years. Separate longitudinal analyses demonstrated that every 10 kcal increase in meal size was associated with 1.5 g/wk or 4% (p = 0.005) faster growth rate, while meal frequency was not independently associated with growth (β = 0.3 g/wk p = 0.20). Including both meal parameters in the model strengthened associations (meal size: β = 2.6 g/wk, p < 0.001; meal frequency: β = 1.0 g/wk, p = 0.001). Taken together, the implication is that meal size promotes faster growth regardless of frequency, but meal frequency has a significant effect only if meal size is assumed to be held constant. Clearer advice on meal size and frequency, especially advice on appropriate meal size, may help prevent excess weight gain

Predictors of shorter sleep in early childhood.

The aim of this study was to identify socio-demographic and home environmental predictors of shorter sleep in early childhood, and to examine whether effects were mediated by the timing of bedtime or wake time

Genetic test feedback with weight control advice: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Genetic testing for risk of weight gain is already available over the internet despite uncertain benefits and concerns about adverse emotional or behavioral effects. Few studies have assessed the effect of adding genetic test feedback to weight control advice, even though one of the proposed applications of genetic testing is to stimulate preventive action. This study will investigate the motivational effect of adding genetic test feedback to simple weight control advice in a situation where weight gain is relatively common

Parental Reports of Infant and Child Eating Behaviors are not Affected by Their Beliefs About Their Twins’ Zygosity

Parental perception of zygosity might bias heritability estimates derived from parent rated twin data. This is the first study to examine if similarities in parental reports of their young twins’ behavior were biased by beliefs about their zygosity. Data were from Gemini, a British birth cohort of 2402 twins born in 2007. Zygosity was assessed twice, using both DNA and a validated parent report questionnaire at 8 (SD = 2.1) and 29 months (SD = 3.3). 220/731 (8 months) and 119/453 (29 months) monozygotic (MZ) pairs were misclassified as dizygotic (DZ) by parents; whereas only 6/797 (8 months) and 2/445 (29 months) DZ pairs were misclassified as MZ. Intraclass correlations for parent reported eating behaviors (four measured at 8 months; five at 16 months) were of the same magnitude for correctly classified and misclassified MZ pairs, suggesting that parental zygosity perception does not influence reporting on eating behaviors of their young twins

Appetitive Traits associated with Higher and Lower Body Mass Index: Evaluating the Validity of the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire in an Australian Sample

Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the factor structure of the newly developed Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ) (Hunot et al., Appetite 105:356-63, 2016) in an Australian sample, and examine associations between the four food approach and four food avoidance appetitive traits with body mass index (BMI). Methods: Participants (N = 998) recruited between May and October 2016 via a university research participation scheme and online social network sites completed an online version of the AEBQ and self-reported demographic and anthropometric data. Of the sample, 84.8% were females, 29.6% had completed a university degree and the overall mean age was 24.32 years (SD = 8.32). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test three alternative factor structures (derived from issues raised in the original development study): the original 8 factor model, a 7 factor model with Food Responsiveness and Hunger scales combined, and a 7 factor model with the Hunger scale removed. Results: The CFA revealed that the original 8 factor model was a better fit to the data than the 7 factor model in which Food Responsiveness and Hunger scales were combined. However, while reliability estimates for 7 of the 8 scales were good (Cronbach’s α between 0.70-0.86), the reliability of the Hunger scale was modest (0.67) and dropping this factor resulted in a good fitting model. All food avoidance scales (except Food Fussiness) were negatively associated with body mass index (BMI) whereas Emotional Overeating was the only food approach scale positively associated with BMI. Conclusions: The study supports the use of the AEBQ as a reliable and valid measure of food approach and avoidance appetitive traits in adults. Longitudinal studies that examine continuity and stability of appetitive traits across the lifespan will be facilitated by the addition of this measurement tool to the literature

Behavioural Susceptibility Theory: Professor Jane Wardle and the Role of Appetite in Genetic Risk of Obesity

Purpose of Review: There is considerable variability in human body weight, despite the ubiquity of the 'obesogenic' environment. Human body weight has a strong genetic basis and it has been hypothesised that genetic susceptibility to the environment explains variation in human body weight, with differences in appetite being implicated as the mediating mechanism; so-called 'behavioural susceptibility theory' (BST), first described by Professor Jane Wardle. This review summarises the evidence for the role of appetite as a mediator of genetic risk of obesity. Recent Findings: Variation in appetitive traits is observable from infancy, drives early weight gain and is highly heritable in infancy and childhood. Obesity-related common genetic variants identified through genome-wide association studies show associations with appetitive traits, and appetite mediates part of the observed association between genetic risk and adiposity. Summary: Obesity results from an interaction between genetic susceptibility to overeating and exposure to an 'obesogenic' food environment

Common etiological architecture underlying reward responsiveness, externally driven eating behaviors, and BMI in childhood: findings from the Gemini twin cohort

BACKGROUND: Studies have reported that impulsivity predicts childhood BMI and that the association is mediated by eating behaviors. One aspect of impulsivity-potentially crucial in the obesity context-is reward responsiveness, which may predispose to responsiveness to palatable food cues. The behavioral susceptibility theory hypothesizes that genetic susceptibility to obesity operates partly via genetically determined differences in appetite regulation. Reward responsiveness may therefore be one of the neuro-endophenotypes that mediates genetic susceptibility to obesity. OBJECTIVE: To test whether reward responsiveness, eating behaviors, and child BMI share common genetic architecture. METHODS: We examined reward responsiveness, eating behaviors, and BMI in 5-year-old children from Gemini, a UK birth cohort of 2402 twin pairs born in 2007. All measures were collected by parent report. Reward responsiveness was derived from the Behavioral Approach System. Compulsion to eat and eating for pleasure was measured with the "food responsiveness" scale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Wanting to eat in response to environmental food cues was measured with the "external eating" scale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Maximum-likelihood structural equation modeling was used to establish underlying common genetic and environmental influences. RESULTS: There were significant positive phenotypic correlations between all traits except for reward responsiveness and BMI. Genetic factors explained the majority of the association between food responsiveness and external eating (74%, 95% CI: 61, 87), whereas common shared environmental factors explained the majority of the associations between reward responsiveness with both food responsiveness (55%, 95% CI: 20, 90) and external eating (70%, 95% CI: 39, 100). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates the importance of common environmental factors in the shared etiology between reward responsiveness and childhood eating behaviors. However, the common etiology underlying both reward responsiveness and BMI is unclear, as there was no phenotypic correlation between reward responsiveness and BMI at this age. Further longitudinal research needs to detangle this complex relationship throughout development