The Need for Culturally-Tailored Smartphone Applications for Weight Control

Background: Approximately 35% of U.S. adults are obese, and this rate is expected to increase by almost 50% by 2030. New media such as smartphone applications (apps) provide a useful and low-cost way to disseminate weight control information. For many culturally distinctive population subgroups, however, there is currently an absence of research-tested smartphone apps for weight control. Methods: In this commentary, we highlight the need for culturally tailored smartphone apps for weight control and offer recommendations for further research by providing two specific examples: 1) the characteristic dietary patterns and absence of smartphone apps for weight loss for Hispanic Americans, in English and Spanish, and 2) and need for smartphone apps for weight loss for Brazilian Americans, including those who speak Portuguese. Results: Smartphone apps can be an effective intervention for improving diet and nutrition, encouraging physical activity, and reducing obesity, but few randomized controlled trials have been conducted of stand-alone smartphone apps for weight loss that focus primarily on self-monitoring of diet and physical activity. Further, there have been no published studies of apps for promoting healthy diet, better nutrition, increasing levels of physical activity, and weight loss among Hispanic Americans or Brazilian Americans. Conclusions: Low-cost, effective e-Health interventions (healthcare practices supported by electronic processes) are needed to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and weight control in culturally distinctive subgroups of the population. For weight loss, apps should be developed by use of evidence-based approaches that relate to behavioral theories. Additional public health research is needed to identify low-cost, effective strategies for weight loss for people who have varying levels of health literacy, and for non-English speakers. Culturally tailored e-Health interventions for weight control are more likely to address the needs of individuals and increase their motivation to engage in health promoting behaviors

Anthropometric discriminators of type 2 diabetes among White and Black American adults

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to determine the best anthropometric discriminators of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among White and Black males and females in a large US sample. METHODS: We used Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study baseline data (1987–89) from 15 242 participants (1827 with T2DM) aged 45–65 years. Anthropometric measures included a body shape index (ABSI), body adiposity index (BAI), body mass index, waist circumference (WC), waist:height ratio (WHtR), and waist:hip ratio (WHR). All anthropometric measures were standardized to Z-scores. Using logistic regression, odds ratios for T2DM were adjusted for age, physical activity, and family history of T2DM. The Akaike information criterion and receiver operating characteristic C-statistic were used to select the best-fit models. RESULTS: Body mass index, WC, WHtR, and WHR were comparable discriminators of T2DM among White and Black males, and were superior to ABSI and BAI in predicting T2DM (P < 0.0001). Waist circumference, WHtR, and WHR were the best discriminators among White females, whereas WHR was the best discriminator among Black females. The ABSI was the poorest discriminator of T2DM for all race–gender groups except Black females. Anthropometric values distinguishing T2DM cases from non-cases were lower for Black than White adults. CONCLUSIONS: Anthropometric measures that included WC, either alone or relative to height (WHtR) or hip circumference (WHR), were the strongest discriminators of T2DM across race–gender groups. Body mass index was a comparable discriminator to WC, WHtR, and WHR among males, but not females

Shrinking of Cluster Ellipticals: a Tidal Stripping explanation and Implications for the Intra-Cluster Light

We look for evidence of tidal stripping in elliptical galaxies through the analysis of homogeneous CCD data corresponding to a sample of 228 elliptical galaxies belonging to 24 clusters of galaxies at $0.015<z<0.080$. We investigate departures from the standard magnitude-isophotal size relation, as a function of environmental (cluster-centric distance, local galaxy density) and structural (cluster velocity dispersion, Bautz-Morgan type) properties. We find that, for any particular galaxy luminosity, the ellipticals in the inner and denser regions of the clusters are about 5% smaller than those in the outer regions, which is in good agreement with the finding of Strom & Strom (1978) based on photographic photometry. The null hypothesis (ie., galaxy sizes are independent of the cluster-centric distance or density) is rejected at a significance level of better than 99.7%. Numericals models of Aguilar & White (1986) predict that tidal stripping can lead to changes in the whole structure of ellipticals producing shrinkage and brightening of the galaxy, qualitatively consistent with our measurements and also with the findings of Trujillo et al. (2002), that more centrally concentrated ellipticals populate denser regions. Our observational results can be interpreted as evidence for stripping of stars from ellipticals in the central/denser regions of clusters, contributing to the intra-cluster light observed in these structures.Comment: AJ Accepted, 15 pages, 9 figure

Ancestry specific associations of a genetic risk score, dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome: A longitudinal ARIC study

BACKGROUND: Associations have been observed among genetic variants, dietary patterns, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). A gap in knowledge is whether a genetic risk score (GRS) and dietary patterns interact to increase MetS risk among African Americans. We investigated whether MetS risk was influenced by interaction between a GRS and dietary patterns among Whites and African Americans. A secondary aim examined if molecular genetic clusterings differed by racial ancestry. METHODS: We used longitudinal data over 4-visits (1987-1998) that included 10,681 participants aged 45-64y at baseline from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (8451 Whites and 2230 African Americans). We constructed a simple-count GRS as the linear weighted sum of high-risk alleles (0, 1, 2) from cardiovascular disease polymorphisms from the genome-wide association studies catalog associated with MetS risk. Three dietary patterns were determined by factor analysis of food frequency questionnaire data: Western, healthy, and high-fat dairy. MetS was defined according to the 2016 National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria but used 2017 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology criteria for elevated blood pressure. Analyses included generalized linear model risk ratios (RR), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. RESULTS: The Western dietary pattern was associated with higher risk for MetS across increasing GRS tertiles among Whites (p \u3c 0.017). The high-fat dairy pattern was protective against MetS, but its impact was most effective in the lowest GRS tertile in Whites (RR = 0.62; CI: 0.52-0.74) and African Americans (RR = 0.67; CI: 0.49-0.91). Among each racial group within GRS tertiles, the Western dietary pattern was associated with development and cycling of MetS status between visits, and the high-fat dairy pattern with being free from MetS (p \u3c 0.017). The healthy dietary pattern was associated with higher risk of MetS among African Americans which may be explained by higher sucrose intake (p \u3c 0.0001). Fewer genes, but more metabolic pathways for obesity, body fat distribution, and lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were identified in African Americans than Whites. Some polymorphisms were linked to the Western and high-fat dairy patterns. CONCLUSION: The influence of dietary patterns on MetS risk appears to differ by genetic predisposition and racial ancestry

Seeking the Local Convergence Depth. V. Tully-Fisher Peculiar Velocities for 52 Abell Clusters

We have obtained I band Tully-Fisher (TF) measurements for 522 late-type galaxies in the fields of 52 rich Abell clusters distributed throughout the sky between 50 and 200\h Mpc. Here we estimate corrections to the data for various forms of observational bias, most notably Malmquist and cluster population incompleteness bias. The bias-corrected data are applied to the construction of an I band TF template, resulting in a relation with a dispersion of 0.38 magnitudes and a kinematical zero-point accurate to 0.02 magnitudes. This represents the most accurate TF template relation currently available. Individual cluster TF relations are referred to the average template relation to compute cluster peculiar motions. The line-of-sight dispersion in the peculiar motions is 341+/-93 km/s, in general agreement with that found for the cluster sample of Giovanelli and coworkers.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures, uses AAS LaTeX; to appear in the Astronomical Journa

Gravitational Lensing by Nearby Clusters of Galaxies

We present an estimation of the expected number of arcs and arclets in a sample of nearby (z<0.1) clusters of galaxies, that takes into account the magnitude limit of the objects as well as seeing effects. We show that strong lensing effects are not common, but also they are not as rare as usually stated. Indeed, for a given cluster, they present a strong dependence with the magnitude limit adopted in the analysis and the seeing of the observations. We also describe the procedures and results of a search for lensing effects in a sample of 33 clusters spanning the redshift range of 0.014 to 0.076, representative of the local cluster distribution. This search produced two arc candidates. The first one is in A3408 (z=0.042), the same arc previously discovered by Campusano & Hardy (1996), with z=0.073 and associated to the brightest cluster galaxy. The second candidate is in the cluster A3266 (z=0.059) and is near a bright elliptical outside the cluster center, requiring the presence of a very massive sub-structure around this galaxy to be produced by gravitational lensing.Comment: 22 pages including 9 Figures and 2 Tables, submitted to A

Association of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load With Risk of Incident Coronary Heart Disease Among Whites and African Americans With and Without Type 2 Diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

This study examined whether high glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) diets are associated with increased risk of developing CHD in Whites and African Americans with and without type 2 diabetes