The development and psychometric evaluation of the Internet Disorder Scale (IDS-15)

Introduction: Previously published research suggests that improvement in the assessment of Internet addiction (IA) is paramount in advancing the field. However, little has been done to address inconsistencies in the assessment of IA using a more updated framework. The aim of the present study was to develop a new instrument to assess IA based on a modification of the nine Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) criteria as suggested by the American Psychiatric Association in the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and to provide a taxonomy of the potential risk of IA risk among participants. Methods: A heterogeneous sample of Internet users (n=1,105) was recruited online (61.3% males, mean age 33 years). Construct validity of the new instrument – Internet Disorder Scale (IDS-15) – was assessed by means of factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. Criterion-related validity and reliability were also investigated. Additionally, latent profile analysis (LPA) was carried out to differentiate and characterize Internet users based on their potential IA risk. Results: The construct and criterion-related validity of the IDS-15 were both warranted. The IDS-15 proved to be a valid and reliable tool. Using the LPA, participants were classed as “low addiction risk” (n = 183, 18.2%), “medium addiction risk” (n = 456, 41.1%), and “high addiction risk” (n = 455, 40.77%). Furthermore, key differences emerged among these classes in terms of age, relationship status, cigarette consumption, weekly Internet usage, age of Internet use initiation, and IDS-15 total scores. Conclusions: The present findings support the viability of using adapted IGD criteria as a framework to assess IA

The causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in obese adults

Background: The causal nature of associations between breakfast and health remain unclear in obese individuals. Objective: We sought to conduct a randomized controlled trial to examine causal links between breakfast habits and components of energy balance in free-living obese humans. Design: The Bath Breakfast Project is a randomized controlled trial with repeated measures at baseline and follow-up among a cohort in South West England aged 21–60 y with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry–derived fat mass indexes of $13 kg/m2 for women (n = 15) and$9 kg/m2 for men (n = 8). Components of energy balance (resting metabolic rate, physical activity thermogenesis, diet-induced thermogenesis, and energy intake) were measured under free-living conditions with random allocation to daily breakfast ($700 kcal before 1100) or extended fasting (0 kcal until 1200) for 6 wk, with baseline and follow up measures of health markers (e.g., hematology/adipose biopsies). Results: Breakfast resulted in greater physical activity thermogenesis during the morning than when fasting during that period (difference: 188 kcal/d; 95% CI: 40, 335) but without any consistent effect on 24-h physical activity thermogenesis (difference: 272 kcal/d; 95% CI: 2254, 798). Energy intake was not significantly greater with breakfast than fasting (difference: 338 kcal/d; 95% CI: 2313, 988). Body mass increased across both groups over time but with no treatment effects on body composition or any change in resting metabolic rate (stable within 8 kcal/d). Metabolic/cardiovascular health also did not respond to treatments, except for a reduced insulinemic response to an oral-glucose-tolerance test over time with daily breakfast relative to an increase with daily fasting (P = 0.05). Conclusions: In obese adults, daily breakfast leads to greater physical activity during the morning, whereas morning fasting results in partial dietary compensation (i.e., greater energy intake) later in the day. There were no differences between groups in weight change and most health outcomes, but insulin sensitivity increased with breakfast relative to fasting

The causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in lean adults

Background: Popular beliefs that breakfast is the most important meal of the day are grounded in cross-sectional observations that link breakfast to health, the causal nature of which remains to be explored under real-life conditions. Objective: The aim was to conduct a randomized controlled trial examining causal links between breakfast habits and all components of energy balance in free-living humans. Design: The Bath Breakfast Project is a randomized controlled trial with repeated-measures at baseline and follow-up in a cohort in southwest England aged 21–60 y with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry–derived fat mass indexes #11 kg/m2 in women (n = 21) and #7.5 kg/m2 in men (n = 12). Components of energy balance (resting metabolic rate, physical activity thermogenesis, energy intake) and 24-h glycemic responses were measured under free-living conditions with random allocation to daily breakfast ($700 kcal before 1100) or extended fasting (0 kcal until 1200) for 6 wk, with baseline and follow-up measures of health markers (eg, hematology/biopsies). Results: Contrary to popular belief, there was no metabolic adaptation to breakfast (eg, resting metabolic rate stable within 11 kcal/d), with limited subsequent suppression of appetite (energy intake remained 539 kcal/d greater than after fasting; 95% CI: 157, 920 kcal/d). Rather, physical activity thermogenesis was markedly higher with breakfast than with fasting (442 kcal/d; 95% CI: 34, 851 kcal/d). Body mass and adiposity did not differ between treatments at baseline or follow-up and neither did adipose tissue glucose uptake or systemic indexes of cardiovascular health. Continuously measured glycemia was more variable during the afternoon and evening with fasting than with breakfast by the final week of the intervention (CV: 3.9%; 95% CI: 0.1%, 7.8%). Conclusions: Daily breakfast is causally linked to higher physical activity thermogenesis in lean adults, with greater overall dietary energy intake but no change in resting metabolism. Cardiovascular health indexes were unaffected by either of the treatments, but breakfast maintained more stable afternoon and evening glycemia than did fasting

Psychometric validation of the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 in a Portuguese sample

The Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2) assesses individuals’ generalized problematic Internet use (PIU) cognitions, behaviors, and negative outcomes. To date, the GPIUS2 has only been validated in English, Spanish, German, and Italian language. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate a Portuguese version of the GPIUS2 and provide a taxonomy of the potential risk of PIU among participants. A sample of 641 Portuguese-speaking Internet users was recruited online after a process of translation and back-translation of the original GPIUS2. In-depth validity and reliability analyses were conducted alongside latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify the potential risk of PIU of participants. The validity and reliability analyses revealed adequate results concerning the psychometric properties of the Portuguese GPIUS2. According to the LPA results, participants were classed as “low risk” (n = 289, 46.7%), “medium risk” (n = 256, 40.7%), and “high risk” (n = 77, 12.6%) of PIU with key differences emerging among the three classes. The present findings support the overall validity and usefulness of the Portuguese GPIUS2 and the results from the LPA may be potentially useful in informing practitioners currently working with clients struggling with PIU

A Low-Glucose Eating Pattern Improves Biomarkers of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Feasibility Trial.

Postmenopausal breast cancer is the most common obesity-related cancer death among women in the U.S. Insulin resistance, which worsens in the setting of obesity, is associated with higher breast cancer incidence and mortality. Maladaptive eating patterns driving insulin resistance represent a key modifiable risk factor for breast cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that time-restricted feeding paradigms (TRF) improve cancer-related metabolic risk factors; however, more flexible approaches could be more feasible and effective. In this exploratory, secondary analysis, we identified participants following a low-glucose eating pattern (LGEP), defined as consuming energy when glucose levels are at or below average fasting levels, as an alternative to TRF. Results show that following an LGEP regimen for at least 40% of reported eating events improves insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and other cancer-related serum biomarkers. The magnitude of serum biomarkers changes observed here has previously been shown to favorably modulate benign breast tissue in women with overweight and obesity who are at risk for postmenopausal breast cancer. By comparison, the observed effects of LGEP were similar to results from previously published TRF studies in similar populations. These preliminary findings support further testing of LGEP as an alternative to TRF and a postmenopausal breast cancer prevention strategy. However, results should be interpreted with caution, given the exploratory nature of analyses

Dispensing apparatus for use in a cued food delivery task

Neurobiological models of obesity postulate that obese individuals have difficulty regulating food intake partly because they attribute excessive salience to stimuli signaling food availability. Typically, human studies that investigate the relationship between brain responses to food-related stimuli and obesity present food cues without subsequent delivery of food. However, in order to identify the brain correlates of cue reactivity, we must record brain responses to food-related cues signaling food availability. Therefore, we have developed a dispensing apparatus for use in a cued-food delivery task in which event-related potentials (ERPs) to food-related images predicting food delivery and images not predicting food delivery can be recorded. Here, we describe a method where:• The experimental apparatus dispenses an edible item (i.e., a chocolate candy) which may or may not be eaten, or a non-edible control item (e.g., a plastic bead). • Deposit boxes are available to store uneaten candies and the non-edible control items. • The dispensing mechanism is capable of recording the exact timestamp when each delivery event occurs (e.g., release from the dispenser, arrival in the receptacle, storage in the deposit box)