Analyzing the Language of Food on Social Media

We investigate the predictive power behind the language of food on social media. We collect a corpus of over three million food-related posts from Twitter and demonstrate that many latent population characteristics can be directly predicted from this data: overweight rate, diabetes rate, political leaning, and home geographical location of authors. For all tasks, our language-based models significantly outperform the majority-class baselines. Performance is further improved with more complex natural language processing, such as topic modeling. We analyze which textual features have most predictive power for these datasets, providing insight into the connections between the language of food, geographic locale, and community characteristics. Lastly, we design and implement an online system for real-time query and visualization of the dataset. Visualization tools, such as geo-referenced heatmaps, semantics-preserving wordclouds and temporal histograms, allow us to discover more complex, global patterns mirrored in the language of food.Comment: An extended abstract of this paper will appear in IEEE Big Data 201

Adapting a Family-Focused Diabetes Prevention Program for a Federally Qualified Health Center: A Qualitative Report

Purpose The purpose of the study was to explore the needs of high-risk Latinx/Hispanic women with a history of gestational diabetes who were patients at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in anticipation of a future family-based program. Methods Six focus group studies were conducted in partnership with El Rio Community Health Center, an FQHC in Tucson, Arizona. Thirty-nine women participated, each identified as Latinx/Hispanic, self-reported a history of gestational diabetes or prediabetes, and had at least 1 child aged 8 to 13. Three investigators independently reviewed transcripts from the focus groups to identify themes that reflected thematic saturation from participants' responses. Data coding and results were discussed as a group and any differences were collectively adjudicated. Results All participants had a family member with diabetes and worried about their and their immediate family members' risk for developing the disease. The possible benefits of participating in a lifestyle prevention program were universally recognized, but multiple barriers to participation were described, including scheduling conflicts, access to childcare, transportation, and the need to involve additional family members to reinforce program objectives. Conclusions There is a strong willingness to participate in a diabetes prevention program among respondents, but to be successful, interventions must be tailored to specific needs and challenges. Trying to apply existing prevention curricula with low-income Latinx/Hispanic populations may not be successful without adaptations.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Recruiting Women to a Mobile Health Smoking Cessation Trial: Low- and No-Cost Strategies

Background: Successful recruitment of participants to mobile health (mHealth) studies presents unique challenges over in-person studies. It is important to identify recruitment strategies that maximize the limited recruitment resources available to researchers. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe a case study of a unique recruitment process used in a recent mHealth software app designed to increase smoking cessation among weight-concerned women smokers. The See Me Smoke-Free app was deployed to the Google Play Store (Alphabet, Inc., Google, LLC), where potential participants could download the app and enroll in the study. Users were invited in-app to participate in the study, with no in-person contact. The recruitment activities relied primarily on earned (free) and social media. Methods: To determine the relationship between recruitment activities and participant enrollment, the researchers explored trends in earned and social media activity in relation to app installations, examined social media messaging in relation to reach or impressions, and described app users’ self-reported referral source. The researchers collected and descriptively analyzed data regarding recruitment activities, social media audience, and app use during the 18-week recruitment period (March 30, 2015-July 31, 2015). Data were collected and aggregated from internal staff activity tracking documents and from Web-based data analytics software such as SumAll, Facebook Insights (Facebook, Inc.), and Google Analytics (Alphabet, Inc., Google, LLC). Results: Media coverage was documented across 75 publications and radio or television broadcasts, 35 of which were local, 39 national, and 1 international. The research team made 30 Facebook posts and 49 tweets, yielding 1821 reaches and 6336 impressions, respectively. From March 30, 2015 to July 31, 2015, 289 unique users downloaded the app, and 151 participants enrolled in the study. Conclusions: Research identifying effective online recruitment methods for mHealth studies remains minimal, and findings are inconsistent. We demonstrated how earned media can be leveraged to recruit women to an mHealth smoking cessation trial at low cost. Using earned media and leveraging social media allowed us to enroll 3 times the number of participants that we anticipated enrolling. The cost of earned media resides in the staff time required to manage it, particularly the regular interaction with social media. We recommend communication and cooperation with university public affairs and social media offices, as well as affiliate programs in journalism and communications, so that earned media can be used as a recruitment strategy for mHealth behavior change interventions. However, press releases are not always picked up by the media and should not be considered as a stand-alone method of recruitment. Careful consideration of an intervention’s broad appeal and how that translates into potential media interest is needed when including earned media as part of a comprehensive recruitment plan for mHealth research

See Me Smoke-Free: Protocol for a Research Study to Develop and Test the Feasibility of an mHealth App for Women to Address Smoking, Diet, and Physical Activity

Background: This paper presents the protocol for an ongoing research study to develop and test the feasibility of a multi-behavioral mHealth app. Approximately 27 million women smoke in the US, and more than 180,000 women die of illnesses linked to smoking annually. Women report greater difficulties quitting smoking. Concerns about weight gain, negative body image, and low self-efficacy may be key factors affecting smoking cessation among women. Recent studies suggest that a multi-behavioral approach, including diet and physical activity, may be more effective at helping women quit. Guided imagery has been successfully used to address body image concerns and self-efficacy in our 3 target behaviors—exercise, diet and smoking cessation. However, it has not been used simultaneously for smoking, diet, and exercise behavior in a single intervention. While imagery is an effective therapeutic tool for behavior change, the mode of delivery has generally been in person, which limits reach. mHealth apps delivered via smart phones offer a unique channel through which to distribute imagery-based interventions. Objective: The objective of our study is to evaluate the feasibility of an mHealth app for women designed to simultaneously address smoking, diet, and physical activity behaviors. The objectives are supported by three specific aims: (1) develop guided imagery content, user interface, and resources to reduce weight concern, and increase body image and self-efficacy for behavior change among women smokers, (2) program a prototype of the app that contains all the necessary elements of text, graphics, multimedia and interactive features, and (3) evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the app with women smokers. Methods: We created the program content and designed the prototype application for use on the Android platform in collaboration with 9 participants in multiple focus groups and in-depth interviews. We programmed and tested the application’s usability with 6 participants in preparation for an open, pre- and posttest trial. Currently, we are testing the feasibility and acceptability of the application, evaluating the relationship of program use to tobacco cessation, dietary behaviors, and physical activity, and assessing consumer satisfaction with approximately 70 women smokers with Android-based smart phones. Results: The study was started January 1, 2014. The app was launched and feasibility testing began in April 1, 2015. Participants were enrolled from April 1-June 30, 2015. During that time, the app was downloaded over 350 times using no paid advertising. Participants were required to use the app “most days” for 30 days or they would be dropped from the study. We enrolled 151 participants. Of those, 78 were dropped or withdrew from the study, leaving 73 participants. We have completed the 30-day assessment, with a 92% response rate. The 90-day assessment is ongoing. During the final phase of the study, we will be conducting data analyses and disseminating study findings via presentations and publications. Feasibility will be demonstrated by successful participant retention and a high level of app use. We will examine individual metrics (eg, duration of use, number of screens viewed, change in usage patterns over time) and engagement with interactive activities (eg, activity tracking). Conclusions: We will aggregate these data into composite exposure scores that combine number of visits and overall duration to calculate correlations between outcome and measures of program exposure and engagement. Finally, we will compare app use between participants and non-participants using Google Analytics

Conceptual understanding of screen media parenting: report of a working group

Screen media (television, computers, and videogames) use has been linked to multiple child outcomes, including obesity. Parents can be an important influence on children\u27s screen use. There has been an increase in the number of instruments available to assess parenting in feeding and physical activity contexts, however few measures are available to assess parenting practices regarding children\u27s screen media use. A working group of screen media and parenting researchers convened at the preconference workshop to the 2012 International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) annual meeting, “Parenting Measurement: Current Status and Consensus Reports,” to identify and prioritize issues in assessing screen media parenting practices. The group identified that screen media use can pose different risks for children, depending on their age and developmental stage, across physiologic, psychosocial, and development outcomes. With that in mind, a conceptual framework of how parents may influence their child\u27s screen-viewing behaviors was proposed to include the screen media content, context of viewing, and amount viewed. A research agenda was proposed to prioritize a validation of the framework and enhance the ability of researchers to best assess parenting influences across the three domains of content, context and amount of children\u27s screen media use

Parent Involvement in Diet or Physical Activity Interventions to Treat or Prevent Childhood Obesity: An Umbrella Review

Parents substantially influence children’s diet and physical activity behaviors, which consequently impact childhood obesity risk. Given this influence of parents, the objective of this umbrella review was to synthesize evidence on effects of parent involvement in diet and physical activity treatment and prevention interventions on obesity risk among children aged 3–12 years old. Ovid/MEDLINE, Elsevier/Embase, Wiley/Cochrane Library, Clarivate/Web of Science, EBSCO/CINAHL, EBSCO/PsycInfo, and Epistemonikos.org were searched from their inception through January 2020. Abstract screening, full-text review, quality assessment, and data extraction were conducted independently by at least two authors. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of diet and physical activity interventions that described parent involvement, included a comparator/control, and measured child weight/weight status as a primary outcome among children aged 3–12 years old were included. Data were extracted at the level of the systematic review/meta-analysis, and findings were narratively synthesized. Of 4158 references identified, 14 systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses (eight treatment focused and six prevention focused) were included and ranged in quality from very low to very high. Our findings support the inclusion of a parent component in both treatment and prevention interventions to improve child weight/weight status outcomes. Of note, all prevention-focused reviews included a school-based component. Evidence to define optimal parent involvement type and duration and to define the best methods of involving parents across multiple environments (e.g., home, preschool, school) was inadequate and warrants further research

Modifying effect of obesity on the association between sitting time and incident diabetes in post-menopausal women

Objective: To evaluate the association between self-reported daily sitting time and the incidence of type II diabetes in a cohort of postmenopausal women. Design and Methods Women (N = 88,829) without diagnosed diabetes reported the number of hours spent sitting over a typical day. Incident cases of diabetes were identified annually by self-reported initiation of using oral medications or insulin for diabetes over 14.4 years follow-up. Results: Each hour of sitting time was positively associated with increased risk of diabetes (Risk ratio (RR): 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–1.08]. However, sitting time was only positively associated with incident diabetes in obese women. Obese women reporting sitting 8–11 (RR: 1.08; 95% CI 1.0–1.1), 12–15 (OR: 1.13; 95% CI 1.0–1.2), and ≥16 hours (OR: 1.25; 95% CI 1.0–1.5) hours per day had an increased risk of diabetes compared to women sitting ≤ 7 hours per day. These associations were adjusted for demographics, health conditions, behaviors (smoking, diet and alcohol intake) and family history of diabetes. Time performing moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity did not modify these associations. Conclusion: Time spent sitting was independently associated with increased risk of diabetes diagnosis among obese women— a population already at high risk of the disease

Recruiting a Diverse Group of Middle School Girls Into the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls

School-based study recruitment efforts are both time consuming and challenging. This paper highlights the recruitment strategies employed by the national, multisite Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG), a study designed to measure the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce the decline of physical activity levels among middle school—aged girls. TAAG provided a unique opportunity to recruit large cohorts of randomly sampled girls within 36 diverse middle schools across the United States