Tracking of toddler fruit and vegetable preferences to intake and adiposity later in childhood

This study examined whether toddlers' liking for fruit and vegetables (FV) predicts intake of FV later in childhood, how both relate to childhood adiposity and how these were moderated by factors in infancy. Children in the Gateshead Millennium Study were recruited at birth in 1999–2000. Feeding data collected in the first year were linked to data from a parental questionnaire completed for 456 children at age 2.5 years (30 m) and to anthropometry, skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance and 4‐day food diary data collected for 293 of these children at age 7 years. Aged 30 months, 50% of children were reported to like eight different vegetables and three fruits, but at 7 years, children ate a median of only 1.3 (range 0–7) portions of vegetables and 1.0 portion of fruit (0–4). Early appetite, feeding problems and food neophobia showed significant univariate associations with liking for FV aged 30 m, but the number of vegetables toddlers liked was the only independent predictor of vegetable consumption at age 7 years (odds ratio (OR) 1.28 p < 0.001). Liking for fruit aged 30 m also independently predicted fruit intake (OR = 1.31, p = 0.016), but these were also related to deprivation (OR = 2.69, p = 0.001) maternal education (OR = 1.28, p = 0.039) and female gender (OR = 1.8, p = 0.024). Children eating more FV at age 7 years had slightly lower body mass index and skinfolds. An early liking for FV predicted increased later intake, so increasing early exposure to FV could have long term beneficial consequences

Interactions between glaciers and rivers in the Pleistocene Mediterranean

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Risk factors for eating disorder symptoms at 12 years of age: A 6-year longitudinal cohort study

Eating disorders pose risks to health and wellbeing in young adolescents, but prospective studies of risk factors are scarce and this has impeded prevention efforts. This longitudinal study aimed to examine risk factors for eating disorder symptoms in a population-based birth cohort of young adolescents at 12 years. Participants from the Gateshead Millennium Study birth cohort (n = 516; 262 girls and 254 boys) completed self-report questionnaire measures of eating disorder symptoms and putative risk factors at age 7 years, 9 years and 12 years, including dietary restraint, depressive symptoms and body dissatisfaction. Body mass index (BMI) was also measured at each age. Within-time correlates of eating disorder symptoms at 12 years of age were greater body dissatisfaction for both sexes and, for girls only, higher depressive symptoms. For both sexes, higher eating disorder symptoms at 9 years old significantly predicted higher eating disorder symptoms at 12 years old. Dietary restraint at 7 years old predicted boys' eating disorder symptoms at age 12, but not girls'. Factors that did not predict eating disorder symptoms at 12 years of age were BMI (any age), girls’ dietary restraint at 7 years and body dissatisfaction at 7 and 9 years of age for both sexes. In this population-based study, different patterns of predictors and correlates of eating disorder symptoms were found for girls and boys. Body dissatisfaction, a purported risk factor for eating disorder symptoms in young adolescents, developed concurrently with eating disorder symptoms rather than preceding them. However, restraint at age 7 and eating disorder symptoms at age 9 years did predict 12-year eating disorder symptoms. Overall, our findings suggest that efforts to prevent disordered eating might beneficially focus on preadolescent populations

Reconstructing terrestrial ice sheet retreat dynamics from hummocky topography using multiscale evidence: An example from central Ireland

The research reported here combines high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from airborne LiDAR with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys and macro- and micro-scale sedimentological analyses to study the geomorphology and internal structure and composition of ridges and mounds within an area of hummocky topography in the Brosna basin, central Ireland. Our evidence indicates that much of the hummocky topography consists of fragmented mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) indicating a phase of accelerated ice flow, overlain by groups of small ridges composed of subglacially derived till and sediment gravity flow deposits. Subtle differences in ridge morphology indicate they may be multi-genetic and formed both ice-marginally as moraines and subglacially as small ribbed moraine. We interpret MSGL-ridge associations as a subglacial bedform continuum reflecting the evolution from a deforming bed to brittle deformation, due to changing thermal and hydrological conditions at the ice-bed interface during ice sheet retreat. Adjacent glaciofluvial landforms indicate initial en- and supra-glacial meltwater drainage, possibly directly related to changing basal thermal/hydrological characteristics and subglacial ridge formation. Subsequently a subglacial conduit system evolved, and later retreat involved formation of ice-marginal ridges. The partially preserved landsystem reflects formation at a polythermal to active temperate ice marginal zone, rather than the stagnating temperate margin previously assumed for this area. Our work demonstrates the usefulness of hummocky topography in identifying changes in ice sheet bed thermal/hydrological characteristics during deglaciation and the importance of combining multiple evidence strands in reconstructing the processes involved in glacial landform construction

Development of sedentary behavior across childhood and adolescence : longitudinal analysis of the Gateshead Millennium Study

Background In many parts of the world policy and research interventions to modify sedentary behavior of children and adolescents are now being developed. However, the evidence to inform these interventions (e.g. how sedentary behavior changes across childhood and adolescence) is limited. This study aimed to assess longitudinal changes in sedentary behavior, and examine the degree of tracking of sedentary behavior from age 7y to 15y. Methods Participants were part of the Gateshead Millennium Study cohort. Measures were made at age 7y (n = 507), 9y (n = 510), 12y (n = 425) and 15y (n = 310). Participants were asked to wear an ActiGraph GT1M and accelerometer epochs were defined as sedentary when recorded counts were ≤25 counts/15 s. Differences in sedentary time and sedentary fragmentation were examined using the Friedman test. Tracking was examined using Spearman’s correlation coefficients and trajectories over time were assessed using multilevel linear spline modelling. Results Median daily sedentary time increased from 51.3 % of waking hours at 7y to 74.2 % at 15y. Sedentary fragmentation decreased from 7y to 15y. The median number of breaks/hour decreased from 8.6 to 4.1 breaks/hour and the median bout duration at 50 % of the cumulative sedentary time increased from 2.4 min to 6.4 min from 7y to 15y. Tracking of sedentary time and sedentary fragmentation was moderate from 7y to 15y however, the rate of change differed with the steepest increases/decreases seen between 9y and 12y. Conclusion In this study, sedentary time was high and increased to almost 75 % of waking hours at 15y. Sedentary behavior became substantially less fragmented as children grew older. The largest changes in sedentary time and sedentary fragmentation occurred between 9y to 12y, a period which spans the transition to secondary school. These results can be used to inform future interventions aiming to change sedentary behavior

Can't play, won't play : longitudinal changes in perceived barriers to participation in sports clubs across the child-adolescent transition

Participation in sports is associated with numerous physical and psychosocial health benefits, however, participation declines with age, and knowledge of perceived barriers to participation in children is lacking. This longitudinal study of children and adolescents aimed to use the ecological model of physical activity to assess changes in barriers to participation in sports clubs to identify age- and weight-specific targets for intervention

Non-Pharmacological interventions designed to reduce health risks due to unhealthy eating behaviour and linked risky or excessive drinking in adults aged 18-25 years:A systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND: Excess body weight and heavy alcohol consumption are two of the greatest contributors to global disease. Alcohol use peaks in early adulthood. Alcohol consumption can also exacerbate weight gain. A high body mass index and heavy drinking are independently associated with liver disease but, in combination, they produce an intensified risk of damage, with individuals from lower socio-economic status groups disproportionately affected. METHODS: We will conduct searches in MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, ASSIA, Web of Knowledge (WoK), Scopus, CINAHL via EBSCO, LILACS, CENTRAL and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for studies that assess targeted preventative interventions of any length of time or duration of follow-up that are focused on reducing unhealthy eating behaviour and linked risky alcohol use in 18-25-year-olds. Primary outcomes will be reported changes in: (1) dietary, nutritional or energy intake and (2) alcohol consumption. We will include all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) including cluster RCTs; randomised trials; non-randomised controlled trials; interrupted time series; quasi-experimental; cohort involving concurrent or historical controls and controlled before and after studies. Database searches will be supplemented with searches of Google Scholar, hand searches of key journals and backward and forward citation searches of reference lists of identified papers. Search records will be independently screened by two researchers, with full-text copies of potentially relevant papers retrieved for in-depth review against the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality of RCTs will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Other study designs will be evaluated using the Cochrane Public Health Review Group's recommended Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Studies will be pooled by meta-analysis and/or narrative synthesis as appropriate for the nature of the data retrieved. DISCUSSION: It is anticipated that exploration of intervention effectiveness and characteristics (including theory base, behaviour change technique; modality, delivery agent(s) and training of intervention deliverers, including their professional status; and frequency/duration of exposure) will aid subsequent co-design and piloting of a future intervention to help reduce health risk and social inequalities due to excess weight gain and alcohol consumption. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42016040128